Chillin’ in Nakuru and shopping, African style (Nakuru)

The morning we checked into Jamka Hotel we were dropped off in Nakuru, Kenya’s fourth largest city and quite a pleasant, chilled out place. We wandered to the “curio” market (souvenirs), and I continued further into the more local area. There was a man with a scale on the sidewalk charging people for the privilege of being weighed or having their height measured.  There was a

Shopping

woman sitting outside with a green phone and calculator.  A vendor selling what were clearly goods scavenged from the garbage. Another guy with a gorgeous display of eloquently sliced vegetables on a board, for what purpose I did not know.

When Ali and I were later approached by a sketchy looking character, we ducked into a clothing shop.  It was dark, floor to ceiling clothes, filled with about ten women, each of whom had their own four-foot wide section.  A couple of shirts caught our eye, so before you could say how-ah-yoo Ali and I were in the back change room/broom closet, trying on Ugandan blouses while the proprietor, Ann, looked on happily.  When our transaction was complete I asked if we could take a picture, after which I asked Ann if she had an e-mail address. “No, but I have a phone number!” she eagerly replied. I explained that it would probably be a challenge to e-mail her the photo under the circumstances, and although most working Kenyans seem to have cell phones, I thought the prospect of a fax machine unlikely.  We then entered a second shop and were greeted by another woman named Ann who was wearing none other than a Toronto Maple Leafs t-shirt! The Leafs, official team of the Global Village.

Leafs nation

We continued wandering through this buoyant town until we grabbed the African equivalent of a tuk-tuk (three-wheel taxi) back to Jamka’s. You can imagine our delight when we were told that we’d be moving hotels the next morning!  Although I was disappointed not to try the shower of death, I happily took an antihistamine for my now-confirmed dust allergy, wrestled with the mosquito net and went to bed.