I left Addis Ababa on the 30th October and reached Awassa on the 31st October. I spent two nights with Dawn Ngata Children and Orphans and Street Children Association. This orphanage is run by the Swedish and Ethiopian. They have done an excellent job at providing for streets children who now do not have to beg for alms and are given the opportunity at get educated.

I did not go empty-handed; as small token of my appreciation for their hospitality, I made small donation to the kids with pencils, books, food stuffs like juices and biscuits. I enjoyed myself tremendously there, a part of me felt like I was back in Nepal. The kids reminded me very much of home and they made me feel so calm inside. With the bad eat of Injera and falling ill, I have missed home and my family more than I have in quite a long while so I was so glad to be part of the children’s lives for sometime.

I barely wanted to leave them but I did anyhow, on the night of 2nd November to the town of Moyale. I had to stay another night at Moyale because I could not find another bus. For this leg of the tour, unfortunately, I have not be well enough to cycle the long distance so I have been taking vehicular transportation (a big truck) and cycled a little bit to reach the town of Moyale before I took another bus to Sololo.

From there it took me 72 hours to reach Nairobi. I travelled via Marsabit, Laisamis, Samburu and Nyahuru. The roads were in bad condition, very muddy with the recent rainfalls.We travelled at a speed of 45km/hour and only just covered 70 kilometres by the end of daylight but it was such a cool experience. This has been my longest ride ever on a vehicle to get to another place and it was terrific. The air was pristine and the view was to die for. It was like a tour of the safari. Everywhere I saw monkeys, elephants and if I was lucky even a cheetah chasing after its game. The 1,200 kilometre distance covered was really exciting and educational, even.

It was raining heavy when we were passing by Marsabit and the red mud got really sticky which caused a big truck to get stuck somewhere in the rain. Among us were more than 20 similar trucks like ours and a few buses. It took the bus forever to get moving and by then we were all starving, there were no houses, food vendors around the area. It was quite remote. Luckily, I had some biscuits and noodles in my bag so a couple of us gathered around and ate them to curb our very hungry stomach. We were afraid it was going to take longer than time than that, maybe days to get the truck moving as the guys were manually trying to push the tons heavy truck. There were about 500 people among us. When the rain finally stopped the next morning and the roads got dried, they truck started moving again. This happened quite often along the way.

I finally reached Nairobi on the 8th of November and as suggested by the doctor in Ethiopia that I should go for a follow-up check up in Kenya, I did yesterday. The Ethiopian doctor had suspected some form of ulcer in my stomach. I was growing anxious but thankfully, the doctor in Kenya gave me a clean report but that does not mean I am in good physical shape though they have given me the green light to cycle. I am busy meeting up with friends I know around Kenya and people I have met along the way here and also busy preparing letters to the media and the Mayor of the city. One thing about this city is that it is so developed but still amidst its modernisation, they have not fully given in to the sky scrapers. There are big and lush green trees lining the city centre and it is fully appreciated by me. I am particularly excited to check out their national park. This is going to be a thrilling journey.

Furtemba Sherpa

Nepalese World Cyclist

Peace and Harmony