It never bores to travel by road through Kenya. It’s a country with beautiful landscapes. The trip from the capital Nairobi to the western town of Eldoret is a journey through a diverse landscape. A journey along poor areas, rich ones and those in between.
From Nairobi, it’s a climb op to the top of the Eastern Escarpment of the Rift Valley. Through the town of Limuru where people never seem to shed their woolly winter clothes. Where fog and rain take each other’s place and the sun has a hard time to squeeze in.

From the farmland with cabbages, potatoes and carrots it goes steep down to the floor of the Rift Valley where cows and zebras graze on the savanna. Here the sun pops out and plays glistening games on the water of the lakes of Naivasha, Elementeita and Nakuru. The variety of birds is astonishing, just like the number of police officers. The passengers in the car remark how they are out in full force, most likely to collect bribes from motorists for themselves and the office bosses.

Then it’s a winding climb up onto the western escarpment of the Rift Valley. The temperatures drop while the pines trees seem to almost touch the whimsical clouds of black and grey. Then the forest disappears and seemingly endless views are on offer.

Fields where the grass is cut and bailed while on others planting is going on. In villages groups of men sitting together and discussing their universe while women are tending to the children, cooking and doing small trades.

The journey passes the Mau Forest, an important water catchment area which functions as the lungs of Kenya. Then follow small towns and villages with names that will be forever in the history books as they were the scenes of tribal clashes. And then there is Eldoret, a town built along one main road which is always gridlocked with cars, carts, motorbikes and people. My destination for this time.