Going back south

Monday, 4.11.2013
We have squeezed out (agreed on) 15 minutes of additional sleep from Agnese. The news arrive that a Russian eclipse observer has outpaced all. He had gone 50km in the direction of Sudan and seen the full eclipse phase. We are a little bit envious. Many enthusiasts have arrived for the solar eclipse. We meet a traditionally obese American lady from Dakota. A meter thick layer of snow has fallen in Dakota. Here in Lodwar though, the temperature is 35 degrees Celsium.

After breakfast the first activity is restocking of food. We are looking for a shopping center with a sweet name of Kilimanjaro supermarket. Moving through the bumpy streets of Lodwar we find a humble one-storey building with this vibrant title. Having bought the products we head out. In the streets of Lodwar one can see both modern people dressed in jeans and ones dressed in the traditional tribal costumes. Colorful ethnic palette.

Past the window a semi-desert with few trees is sliding. It seems a person can not live here. But suddenly, in this abstract environment appears a figure, dressed in a cloak, thin legs with a stick and seat under his arm, going somewhere in a direction known only by him. The existence of humans is shown by goat herds. Goats are the main means of living for the people here. They give milk, blood and sometimes meat. How many goats are needed for a family to survive, remains a mystery. The number of goats is a measure of a family’s wealth. Ilgonis reads pieces from the Kulik’s books on Kenya. How to control a donkey. To stop the donkey it should be pulled by the tail, to accelerate should be hit under the tail with prickles. But what are the camels doing here? I did not see that anyone using them. Maybe they are wild?

The people living in this desert earn some money by gathering stones for building and burning charcoal for grill and selling them to city dwellers. For the most part, these desert people live in small huts of branches. In places here called cities, probably the government, builds more serious houses with tin roofs. Will these desert people feel good in those?
One stretch of road is considered to be dangerous. So a guard with a machine gun joins our company for 2000 shillings again.

Our driver has become quite energetic. The car runs jumping on the scary road potholes. Once in the end, we see our suitcases hanging in twines. A little more and they would have been lost. We have come to the accommodation unusually early. Marich pass field studies centre. We have decided for comfort and are renting double rooms. Since there is plenty of time until the darkness we are going on an excursion. We are accompanied by great horde of children and are giving them souvenirs – pencils. The local village. House size around 6 square meters. Arrangement is poor, without a chimney. Only the small children are sleeping with their parents. Big kids get their own house built. We are talking about the local weddings, beer from sausage tree fruits, poligyny (several wives).

Past our accommodation a fast river is flowing. During the day we noticed women rinsing something in the river. This is gold apparently. We try out swimming in the river. The kids are very pleased that such a stout uncle as me goes swimming. River is shallow and the water is rapid. A very refreshing feeling. A beautiful sunset on the river. Dinner and then off to sleep in our beds.

Part 2: The Eclipse

Sunday, 3.11.2013, continued:
On the way to the eclipse place of course there were quite many local villages, but less than in regions to the south. The quality of life also was significantly lower than elsewhere, mostly just small cottages with tin roofs or their traditional clay huts with thatched roofs. For us as tourists it is an interesting view, but it is understandable why people are so happy that oil has been found in this region. This is one of the least developed regions of Kenya, with a low standard of living and a high degree of uncertainty caused by the nearby Sudan. At the same time, because of the relatively small industrial impact here it is possible to observe the local tribal culture and traditions more pronounced.

For the solar eclipse observation already a sizeable group of watchers had arrived at the moment we turned up. Approximate arrival time – a bit past three in the afternoon. Partial eclipse phase started only at four and seventeen minutes, so before it there was some time during which Ilgonis set up a telescope to project a solar image on a sheet of white paper, and all of us had a lunch. Nothing grand, just a couple of sandwiches with cheese and cabbage leaves, but at that point nobody really needed anything more than that.

Everyone was waiting for the solar eclipse, the great goal of this trip. During this time we also became acquainted with our neighbors – the other eclipse watchers who had come here. There were both local Kenyan and nearest African countries’ representatives as well as distant travelers like us, for example some eclipse hunters from Russia. It quickly emerged that everyone has the same problem, namely the lack of glasses that would be suitable for observing the eclipse, as well as our joint team t-shirts caused genuine interest. In general, this is an idea for people who want to profit to make a stall in the eclipse observation sites, where to sell T-shirts, glasses and other souvenirs. I think that many would be willing to pay much more than usually in this situation.

At the start of the partial eclipse phase all gathered around the telescope, and soon we were joined by a number of locals, including our driver, who somehow somewhere managed to get the eclipse glasses. Telescope projected an upside-down image of the sun; gradually a dark notch could be seen appearing in the sun, which with time grew even bigger and bigger. Of course, everyone photographed, as well as they knew to do it. Given that I did not know how, I got a short lecture on eclipse photography from Ilgonis. The whole main trick lies in a minimum short exposure. Vitolds worked as the team’s main photographer, who also got pretty good pictures. Turned out that American scientists’ tent s close by, where with the use of powerful hardware they carry out a study of the sun, which is only possible during the eclipse. However, I no longer remember what exactly. Of course such events are accompanied by journalists; they would not miss anything, not even an eclipse the middle of nowhere in Africa. So Ilgonis as a real astronomer was also interviewed for some Chinese television channel.

As we approached the moment of total phase, which was to start around 5:20 PM, the clouds began to gather. Ilgonis had warned that during the eclipse the sky will dim and the wind will rise, but this time with the wind came clouds that began to threaten the opportunity to see the total phase of the eclipse. About five minutes before the total phase clouds went in front of the sun and covered it. Such a situation remained until about five minutes after the total phase, which was about 15 seconds long. In other words, we did not see the total solar eclipse. Admittedly sky darkened for a moment, but the total phase was too short, so the night did not fall as it happened during the solar eclipse in China, at least as claimed by Agnese. We observed the partial phase of the eclipse for a while and went back to the accommodation in Lodwar. Much of the eclipse viewers began to leave already shortly after the total phase. The partial phase would end only around six thirty , it is after sunset , so I think it was wise to not wait for the end, but to go back, because the road was not brilliant and ride in the dark would be daunting. However, still a certain part of the road had to be driven during the darkness.

The solar eclipse did not leave any special impression on me, maybe because I did not see it, or simply because it is not my field of interest. I do not know about the other members of the group, it seemed, however, that everyone is disappointed with the failure to observe the magical moment when the day shifts to night and the solar corona is visible.

First thing that was done after arriving in the accommodation was making dinner, because, of course, everyone was starving abominably. The exception, as always, was Vilks, because he has his own schedule, which states that nothing after 7pm. At the end of the dinner, we were joined by Russian eclipse hunters who stayed at the same property as we did. They hoped to find someone who had been able to observe the eclipse, as even though they had tried to get out of the cloud area, they had not managed, and the moment of the totality was absent. Everyone was tired from the long day and soon went to bed. Agnese and Anders still exchanged travel stories with the Russian group, united together by a common characteristic, that is, traveling to countries where the eclipse occurs.

Kisumu to Marich Pass

Friday, 1.11.2013
Morning, Kisumu, waking up at Lake Victoria. The technical data of the day: Route Kisumu-Marich Pass, the plan is to spend 3 hours driving, our reality 9h. The distance is around 250-300km. The condition of the road… it’s hard to comment THIS bad road with potholes which is also covered by speed bumps. Even though there are repairworks going on in many places,  there are no predictions that anything will seriously change during next 10 years therefore it is not advisable to go by a common car, but rather by an offroad vehicle.

The event’s of the day. We wake up under a sausage tree and walk to look at the bay of the lake Victoria. It is not advisable to swim here as there are parasites which get and start living under the human skin. We leave the campsite at 8:50, then shopping for groceries and beer, searching for a tyre for the car therefore we leave at 11am only.  

The route which is long and boring is made ornate only by the life bubbling along the roadside – people who are gathering here always wanting to be together, the small, tiny huts which are not anymore made from sticks’ carcass and clay , but from Marichno aereted concrete bricks, children who always smile and greet us whenever they see us. The area becomes more fertile and when stopping in any place local ladies bring some fruit they want to sell. We would like to buy, but we are just driving and driving. Life through the car’s window and dust since we MUST manage the planned route, otherwise we might arrive late to the place where we will be watching the total solar eclipse. We buy something, however -the only purchase is a long sugarcane which should be peeled and then chewed, and the mouth gets filled by juice as sugarwater. It costs 50 shillings, we buy only half of the cane for 25 shillings, and the length of it reaches over all the saloon of our vehicle.  

At the beginning of the day we are driving through Kakamega, we have flown past several possible sightseeing objects, but we manage to catch one – at Webuye village we turn to right and with an advice from the locals arrive at the opposite coast of the valley of Nzoia river. Strong, effervescent, muddy in a bald valley among stones -that’s how it looks.

It doesn’t need too long to look at, in half an hour we have lunch, and our driver Karioki tells about the leaves of Manuakou tree. We notice the tree because of its strange fruits, similar to sweet peppers, but the bitter tea is made from leaves only and it has helped against malaria in ancient times. But the young people nowadays are not using it anymore. The meadow and trees around are full of sounds, insects and birds are making all kinds of sounds.  

The big value of Kenya are its people. Kind, very, very kind, with a serious attitude and smiling, happy. On our way, whenever it’s possible they try to start a conversation, shake hands, especially children are trying to touch us for whom our white or maybe colourless ;) skin looks a miracle.  

Further our route goes through Kitale to Marich Pass, and along the setting of darkness in the saloon of the car come sharper feelings of potholes and lively conversations. Ilgonis tells about the Solar eclipse. If you would like to know what exactly, you should find out the answers to the following questions:
– how many times the Sun is bigger than the Earth,
– how many times the Moon is closer to the Earth than the Sun,
– why the totality of this year’s eclipse lasts only 15 seconds,
– how do you feel when you have never experienced sex, but know about it, have written about it, and then one day experience it…  

Anyway, our road among the potholes tumbles further, runs pat the sunset and the shadow games of sunset where especially beautiful photos get created, past the school children crowds in towns who are gathering on Friday nights, in different uniforms for each school, to go home somewhere by bus. We try to take photos of everything on the run since we cannot afford to stop for a minute, we must get to the designed place.  However, if also you go to this red chocolate country, stop for a moment to get a good shot, to have a chat with the bypassers and to greet the children which appear around you from nowhere. Because. It is important to stick to the plan, but a minute of feelings won’t crash it most likely. Much more than a good technical organisation is to feel a good mood and to take care about smile in the faces of companions.  

But we arrive in Marich Pass field studies centre  campsite and are sleeping in a classroom where beds have been brought in with mosquito nets. It’s the first time we sleep under them and it is very romantic and a bit scary as well. Maybe about the unknown.