Sunday was a good day for me despite setbacks in our projects. I took a break and went to Arusha, spending the night before returning to the boma. To reach home, I took a challenging dirt road after Namanga, but since there had been no rain for over two months, I thought it would be fine. However, it had rained heavily, causing three stretches of black dirt road to become almost impassable due to boggy conditions. The usual 25-kilometer drive took over three hours on Sunday.

I was lucky to give a ride to two Maasai men who needed to go to Mairowa. They would have walked the 50 kilometers, but I helped them halfway. They also helped me avoid spending the night in the bush. My Land Cruiser successfully crossed the difficult terrain, but it needs a good wash now. The real challenge came at the washes. We slid down the first one and had fun trying to climb out. The men cut trees and covered the road with branches to help us. After an hour, we managed to get through. We couldn’t turn back, and the next wash was even more challenging. There is a big ditch on the way out that I got stuck in a few months ago. I didn’t want to repeat that, so I drove carefully and let the road guide me.

I am counting down the days until I go back to the United States to visit my loved ones. I am excited about this upcoming trip. Although our NGO still faces many obstacles, we are forging partnerships with larger NGOs and our projects are progressing. Retirement was supposed to be a time of relaxation, but I find myself trying to unwind while still accomplishing our tasks. Nonetheless, I am truly enjoying this experience.

Rick