Motorbikes carrying men, women, and supplies whizz by. A few workers ride bicycles. The vast majority walk to work. Dark eyes and solemn faces track me as I approach. I smile and wave, “Mambo,” (what’s up) the skeptic looks lighten instantly, “Poa vipi” (cool, you?).
Dirt roads pocked-marked with rocks and holes make for a dangerously pleasant trail run by Seattle standards. I turn off on a “side road” (single track) and see 20 men hacking away at branches with machetes.
A herd of goats blocks the road and slowly moves off to the side. One baby goat remains in the middle, and I flinch as I pass. The teenage kids herding the goats start cracking up at my skittishness around the baby.
Women in ornately patterned traditional dresses carry buckets of water and other things on their heads. I imagine Ma saying, “look kids, no hands!”
After the run, behind the safety of the gates where we are staying, I talk to Akshura, a local worker, about my run. The men hacking branches with machetes gathered wood and crops. Many of the locals who live near where we are staying still heat their homes with wood. The women carry buckets because the houses do not have running water.
I asked about the piercing stares some of the men gave me. “Most people here are scared of white people. They don’t know how to communicate or act.” This makes sense to me. For each horror story we hear about things that can go wrong for tourists in Africa, African’s probably hear ten (true) horror stories about the crimes white people have committed on this continent.
Unlike the apprehensive men, the children laughed and ran with me. One child even raced me as we sprinted down the dirt road.
My first run outside the gates excited and alerted me to the fact that this will be unlike any adventure I have ever been on. Braving the cold of Canadian wilderness in the winter is one thing, but running through remote villages is another. In the Long Way Down—Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s motorcycle trip through Africa— Boorman’s wife texted: “I love you and miss you. Try not to worry too much about the unknown. Remember, lots of people have walked, cycled, and driven your journey before you, successfully. It’s a wonderful, exciting journey you’re on. We pray for you every night.”
Thanks Mrs. Boorman.
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