Ben, Felix, and Logan on our hike
Today, Felix took Emily, Logan, and I on a hike to the Mau Mau Caves outside of Naro Moru. He led us out the back gate of the Batian’s View property and out onto the trail heading south. It was a beautiful walk, and Mount Kenya was covered by clouds in the background. The scenery changed every 20 minutes it seemed, as each valley or field was a different type of environment than the last. We also walked through a handful of small villages, with locals waving and children asking “How are you?” from every direction.
Hike to Mau Mau Falls with Felix!
We eventually came across the Mau Mau Caves, which were underneath a waterfall. The way across to the caves was over a very questionable plank and wire bridge, and a board broke under Emily’s foot. It was more comically startling than actually scary, since the bridge was only about 3 feet above a knee-high stream. We climbed up and away from the caves and had lunch, and continued on our way.
Emily Snapping a Photo of Ben
Eventually, we ended up at the Bantu Lodge, whose thumping pop music we heard from at least 10 minutes away. The lodge was surrounded by a family or two of baboons, so we made sure to steer clear of where they were milling around and entered the gates. The inside of the lodge had a restaurant, a DJ, and a giant field filled with rope bridges, playground equipment, and grazing horses. We parked ourselves in a shaded grassy spot, and Felix called for a taxi, since hiking the road back would have taken too much time for our outing. As it turned out, the drive back was much longer and farther than we had realized, and we were glad we didn’t have to go back on foot.
Bantu Lodge Sign Showing Distances to Global Destinations
Most of the hike was silent, except for the sounds of our clothing and footsteps, but there were a handful of good discussions with Felix about education, and how it differed in Kenya and the United States. He seemed curious about the American tradition of home-schooling, and how that compared with primary and secondary school in Kenya. The fact that the U.S. does not have a federal academic aptitude test also seemed to interest him, since the Kenyan tests carry such weight for the students here. It was good to get a viewpoint on education in general from a non-American, and a Kenyan in particular.