Late-Afternoon Walk

It should still be pouring rain for most of the day until much later in May, but the rainy season has either ended early or given us a respite, but it's been achingly beautiful this week.  Highs in the upper seventies, blue skies, green and lush vegetation, the mud drying up... I was doing things around the house today, but went out to the gate to talk to the Allisons, who stopped by while they were out on their afternoon bike ride, and it was so beautiful out that I had to go out.

I went for a walk in the beautiful late-afternoon light.  At the end of my road, I turned right, going away from town, since I don't go that way often at all, as there's only houses that way.  The road goes downhill, away from the mountain and out towards the open savannah of the valley.  Well, I say valley, but even the valley here is at nearly 5000 feet of elevation.  

With all the rain we've had, everything is growing and green, and flowers are blooming.  It may seem odd coming from US weather, but here we tend to have more flowers in our 'winter' than our (dry, dusty) 'summer'.  

There's a big hill that stands alone out on the plain, and it's framed perfectly by the trees as my road goes toward it.  Unfortunately, the road turns before it gets too close to it.  

For a few minutes I was walking in the shade as the road is lined with trees for a ways past the turn off the my house, and at first I thought I'd just walk as far as the end of the trees, but once I got there, I had to keep going a bit further down the gentle slope towards the flatter savannah.

As it got close to sunset, I reached this area of small ravines carved into the land by water coming off of the mountain during particularly heavy rainy seasons.  I cut off the road a bit, following the footpath down towards one of the larger ravines to see what the view was like from a slightly different angle. 

Above, here's a picture looking back towards Monduli Mountain.  It's so clear tonight without the wispy clouds that come over it on rainy days.

Down by the ravine, I was greeted by a passing Maasai woman carrying a huge load of firewood.  After she passed me, she called over to a younger woman in the yard of a house across the ravine from us.  The girls called over to me to greet me and to make sure I wasn't lost (a white person wandering around a neighborhood where foreigners live is rather noticeable).  We chatted for a few minutes, and then I turned around to head back as the sun was setting and I wanted to get home before it got completely dark. I would be walking uphill on the way back, so I thought it might take longer, but then, I also wasn't taking many photos, so I made it without any problems.  I stopped by the duka (shop) across the road to by bread on my way by, and then headed home.

Today was one of those days that remind me of how beautiful this place is, and I'm grateful I get to live here.