Our new home – MONDULI – A photographic essay.

There is a beautiful walk down the hill to the main town from the volunteer house we are currently staying in- beautiful unless it is raining or has done in the last 12 hours or so that is. After rain it is a quagmire but that’s why we have gumboots! This place is known as Pastor Justin’s House or Pole Pole Palace depending on how much local savvy you have.

We are sharing with 

Sara and 

 Ellie.

 At the lower level the track down is jacaranda lined and I can hardly wait until that avenue is in bloom in October or so!

 Further up there are coffee bushes with both blossom and berries in the current season.

 As we reach the tarmac we see the first of the “town houses” and this one immediately caught our attention and we dubbed it the “garden villa” for obvious reasons.

Every school day we walk to Tumaini’s Store and sit on the bench out the front to wait for the Land Rover to arrive and pick us up for the run to school.

Usually it is covered in mud and often there are tales of it having to be push started as our volunteer colleagues tumble out of the interior to buy a few snacks, before we all cram in for the ride to school.

Just as short walk down the road (as opposed to along the main drag),

there is the regular market the location of which is not to be confused with the Thursday or Sunday markets.

 They are both nearby but both have separate zones and all are definitely afternoon not morning events!

We pass a proliferation of bars, barbers, general stores, kanga traders, stationery and printing outlets and grain shops as we head out of town towards Orkeeswa. We are gradually becoming more familiar with their wares and have found a few that we like to frequent at this early stage.

 Often on the track coming up or down or waiting outside the T-shop meeting point, we see Nuru, the motorcycle taxi (boda boda) driver who is incredibly friendly and very enterprising it would seem, considering the number of trips we always see him doing.

As we get to the outskirts of town the view opens up to this kind of vista

 but once we leave the tarmac the journey to school is a feast of bomas,

 and candelabra trees.

With a bit of luck and a fair wind soon we will be moving to this residence, locally referred to as the Doll’s House for obvious reasons! The walk will be slightly different, when we don’t set off in the ‘Landy’ or pushing it that is, and we will no longer have housemates, but the town and its growing familiarity will remain the same.