Our First Drive to Eldoret Town

After two years of owning our Mitsubishi Pajaro, several hundred dollars of repairs, insurance, international drivers licenses, and petrol, I was able for the first time to actually drive the vehicle. It was a beautiful Tuesday morning, following the usual afternoon downpour of the day before, and the 6 kilometers of Kenyan reddish-brown dirt roads were their typical slimy, muddy selves. To those who know what it is like to drive in about 4 inches of freshly fallen snow, you know what I’m talking about!

It is difficult and actually silly to make the trip to Eldoret without hauling people and/or goods to and/or from the big city. Our maiden voyage was no exception. In the back of our jeep-like vehicle was a refrigerator in need of repairs. Since it took up the entire back of the Pajaro, William (the refrigerator’s owner) drove ahead of us in his smaller vehicle, thankfully providing direction and wisdom for navigating the notorious dirt roads. (William would use his vehicle to pick up extra passengers along the way.)

It is actually a story in itself just describing these “roads”. Cattle use them as well, not to mention the foot traffic, pikipikis (small motorcycles, often loaded with extra people and goods), tractors, an occasional pig wallowing in a puddle, etc. Since the local people are used to these heavy rains they control the water by crowning the roads with rather steep slopes on either side. This pretty much dictates your strategy when driving under wet and slick conditions… you stay in the middle of the road or risk slipping off into oblivion on one side or another. Usually it is just woods, weeds or a field you would slide off into, but the slopes off to the sides are often so steep it is impossible to keep your vehicle from rolling on its side. This is just to keep the pressure on to keep from getting too far over. If there is actually some sort of deep ravine off the side they sometimes build what I call Kenyan guardrails… a row of pretty tough weeds and bramble, pulled and strategically placed to indicate danger. All of this being said, you might be asking yourself, “What if another vehicle is coming in the other direction?” Yes… well… in our maiden voyage, we only encountered cows. I stayed in the middle and they managed to walk around us.

There are various strategies to travel these local roads. Some feel speed is essential to maintain momentum through the mud, especially approaching inclines. However, I chose to shift into 4WD Low, never get beyond 2^nd gear, and follow the heart of the tortoise. Ahead of me was William the hare. His back end swerved from one side of the sloped road to the other, probably in 3^rd gear, but actually moving forward much slower due to the additional distance from going side to side. My slow and steady pace kept our vehicle much straighter, in the middle of the road, and probably saved one or two heart valves from rupturing. I just kept telling myself, “Since we have William’s fridge in our car I don’t want to make the ride too bumpy.”

It took 30 minutes to travel just under 4 miles and then we finally made the tarmac (asphalt “highway”). Only about 20 more miles to go to our destination… Eldoret. Truthfully, I could easily turn this short story into a novel but I will just say a few more things. I still have not figured out if the highway is 2 or 4 lanes. Tarmac does not have mud, it has potholes, otherwise known as craters… which have mud in them… along with a few hubcaps, retreads and other broken automobile parts (now that was an exaggeration). The general rule of thumb when driving on the highway is this… if there is space on the road, it was obviously meant for you. Oh yea, Cathy just reminded me of the “mutatu” drivers. Those are the many, many vans that travel up and down the highway as taxis. They clearly believe it is a 4 lane highway. These vans are probably 6 to 8 passenger vehicles, with legal capacity of 14, but I personally counted 19 in one of them. Horns are important when driving in Kenya. Blinkers mean something, but usually not as directional indicators. And headlights, well, I think they mean that they are not stopping or getting over regardless of which of the 4 lanes they are in.

In the end, Cathy and I now feel that we can be a blessing to others as we make the journey from village to city, instead of being at the mercy and graciousness of others. Here are some facts to ponder. Though Cathy can purchase about a weeks supply of fruits and vegetables locally for about $2, just to get to the city of Eldoret costs approximately $16 dollars (over $5/gal). That doesn’t include the wear and tear on the vehicle. We truly do thank God for the provision of what seems to be a sturdy and trustworthy vehicle, very much needed to get around here in Kenya. And if you think the roads are an adventure wait until you read about our “office”.

I Thess 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God.