This is Why Kenya is Awesome vA 76
Isiolo, Kenya - Morning, my friends. So from Isiolo. The bike is ready. Let's see if we can... Let's go from Isiolo to Nanyuki today. Okay, I need to get the way open now. Excuse me. Can I get the...? - To get this away. - ...it away? Yes, please. Thank you very much. I'll go. Let's see if it's okay. Yeah, it's okay. - Yeah, best journey... - Thank you very much. - ...all the way. - Thank you very much. Yeah.
- See you when you come back. - Yeah, see you when I come back. Yeah. - Yeah. - Bye-bye. Very nice hotel. Landmark was very nice here. Let's go, but the problem is the first part out is the bad part for me, for filming. It's breakfast time. Oh, it's okay. It's (the khat shop) not open yet. Hello. Hello, my friend. - Hi. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- How are you? - I'm good. - You're good? - Yes. - Yes. Good. - Good. Today you're going to leave. - Today I'm leaving. Yeah. - Really? - Yes. - Which country? - Which? France. - France. - Yes. - You're going back to France. - No, no. I go to Nanyuki. - To Nanyuki? - Yes. - Nanyuki's here. - Nanyuki is just here. Yeah. - Yeah. - Okay.
Have a good day, mate. Good luck. - All right, good luck. Bye-bye. - Bye-bye. Let's go. - You're coming from... From Zinédine Zidane. - From Zinédine Zidane. Yes. - Zidane. - From Zidane. Yes. - France. - From France. Yes. - Yes. - Yes. - How can you leave your brother? without saying goodbye.
You have many, many, many to say. - Many, many to say. Okay. - Many, many to say. - Many? - Many, many, many, many. - Yeah, yeah. Many, many. - Many. - Have a good day, man.
Very nice to meet you. - No. - I think he says that you have to make a big speech when you say goodbye, but... - Welcome to Africa! - Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
- Welcome to Landmark! - Welcome to Landmark. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Okay, I need to go. - Go and greet all of them. - Yes, yes. - Yes? - Hello to everyone. - Bye. - Goodbye. - Bye. - Bye. - It's funny actually because this area is complicated to film because... Ah, there is wind already. Hello. What the f***?
Okay, my engine is switching off all the time now. (Dusty battery plugs) What the hell? Come on. Why are you switching off all the time? Anyway. So I was saying this area was complicated to film because...
Yeah, it's the area where people chew the khat and they don't want to be... They don't want people to know that they chew khat. But what is funny is the way they hide to chew khat because... They just hide right in the middle of the city where everyone can see them, but they don't want anyone to see them while they are right in the middle of the city. So it's funny. Hello, hello. Let's go. I'm a little bit worried because my engine was switching off all the time before.
What's this? What's that? (Dusty battery plugs) - Hi. - Hello. How are you? - How are you, man? - Good. - Are you okay? - Yeah, I'm okay. - Yeah, you're good, man. - Going to where? - Are you okay, man? - I'm going to Nanyuki. - Nanyuki? - Yes. - Nanyuki. Safe journey! Cool bike. - Very nice bike. Yeah.
- Yeah, yeah. Bye-bye. - Have a good day. - Cool bike. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Stay safe, man. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah. Hello. Oh, there is a tourist.
Hello. So today is gonna be... I leave quite late actually, but it's gonna be... It should be a hard day. It's 78 kilometers to Nanyuki.
Nanyuki's up in the mountains, at the foot of Mount Kenya. I am at 1,000 meters altitude here, and I have a pass at 2,500 meters before reaching Nanyuki, which is 2,000 meters high. So I start the day with a 40-kilometer climb with 1,500 meters of elevation gain during this time.
So, quite an intense first part of the ride. But it should be easy to find electricity if I need it or food on the way because now I'm riding through a much more developed part of Kenya. Let's go. Let's go to Nanyuki, guys. - Let's go, let's go, let's go. - Let's go, let's go, let's go. - Let's go. - Yes. - Yeah, yeah.
- So I calculated: it should be about a 4% climb, a 4% average climb over 40 kilometers. Well, which is gonna be quite intense. F***ing 4% for 40 kilometers. Hello. - How are you? - Good, good. How are you? The boda boda (moto taxi). When they see me, they... You're boda boda, no? You're boda boda? - What is this? - It's an electric bicycle.
Electric bicycle. It's a trike. Hi. - What are you riding? - That's a trike. Actually, I realize in terms of ethnicity, I don't know where I'm going now. I think it might be already the Kikuyu, because I think around Mount Kenya, it's the Kikuyu, it's the area of the Kikuyu, which is, I think, kind of the, yeah, the main ethnicity of Kenya or the...
Yeah, the ethnicity that has the most population. So I think I'm going to the Kikuyu area, which are the first Bantu people on my way. - Where? - Where? "Simama achone".
I think "simama/kusimama" means "to sit". Yeah, come on. Look at this beautiful tree. "Muzungu, muzungu." Well, it's just a lovely old man just behind. And it just reminds me, "Man, Kenya is awesome." It's really one of the most pleasant countries I've been to in my life, I think.
It's really, really... People are so friendly. Most of the time not too intrusive, just friendly without being oppressive. Before I went to many other countries in Africa. And I know tourists were always talking about Kenya, Kenya, Kenya, Kenya.
And I was always thinking, "What's with Kenya? I mean, there are so many countries, so many other countries, in Africa that are super interesting with great cultures, fascinating countries. Why does everyone talk about Kenya all the time?" And now I understand, Kenya is really awesome. - Hi, how are you? - Hi, how is it? - I'm fine. - Good, good. Fine. - Yeah. - Hello. - Hello. - Hello.
And I am on the steep part of the climb now. I think it's seven kilometers of steeper slopes. I think it's about 10k to my lunch break, maybe 4k or 5k more of a steep climb. There are a lot of resorts on the way. And I was checking my bent rack. So you can see here it's okay, but this part is cracked. I will be very careful all the way to Nairobi.
And in Nairobi, I'll try to reinforce the rack. Look at this amazing cactus. It looks like it's half a cactus, half a tree. Hello. - Yeah. - Hello. - How are you? - Good, good, good. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah. - How are you? - All right. - All right. - Yeah. - Where to? - Nanyuki. Let's go. So this way is Meru, guys. And up here is Nanyuki.
Ah, it starts to be hard. I start to be tired of those insanely long climbs. Since the south of Ethiopia, every climb is like 40-50k. Oh, man. Hello. Look at this beautiful place. Wow.
It seems that Kenya is full of awesome lodges. Come on, 4k left. Entrecôte Kisima Restaurant & Duka. This is where I'm going. They have a French name. The food must be very good. Hello. - Very nice. - Very nice. - Yeah, yeah.
- Hello. - How are you? - Good, good, good. - Where are you heading to? - Nanyuki. - Nanyuki. Safe journey. - Safe journey. Thank you! I am arriving at Kisima finally. Yeah.
Ah, I'm arriving. I am arriving. - Hi, you. - Hi. - Yes, that was hard. - Hey, man. - How are you? - Very nice. - Very nice. But the restaurant is just ahead of me. Oh my god, like 100 meters away. Ah, that was hard. I'm starving.
Four hours and 15 minutes to do these 37 kilometers, and 1,400 meters of elevation gain. Okay, I think it's here. Oh, yes, it's here. Look. Look at that, guys. Beautiful gas station. And the beautiful restaurant with a French name. Oh my god.
Let's park here. I'm a little bit away from the people and from the music. So that's perfect. Oh my god, I'm gonna eat like a dog. (???? Like a dog ???)
Thank you. Do you have juice already? - Yes. Watermelon. Let me confirm the fruits there... - Okay. - ...that they have there. - Thank you.
Let's see what they have. Oh, lamb steak. I need to go for my water. I'm dying. There is a lot of space here as you can see. So I'll see if I can bring my bike inside, so I can see it all the time.
Excuse me, can I bring my bike inside, so I can see it? - Yeah, it's okay. - It's okay? Just... I'll bring it just there. Thank you. Awesome. Thank you very much. And... Do you have lamb? - Yes. - Yes, I... Can I have lamb chops?
- Yes. - Yes? Okay. And... With ugali. - Yes. - And do you have some vegetables? - Yes, it's served with vegetables. - It's served with vegetables. - Yes. - Perfect. Thank you very much. - Okay.
- I can feel the pieces of pineapple. It's so good. That's a real fresh juice. Pure vitamins.
A little bit acid. Wow, fantastic. Oh, that's fast. - Yeah. - Nice. - You're welcome. - Thank you very much.
Look at that, guys. Oh, two beautiful lamb chops. Lamb chops are... It's not big, but it's the best meat in the world. - How are you? Are you good? Hi. - Very good. Yeah. - On a safari? - And you? Yeah, it's... I ride with this. Yeah. - Oh, it's got an engine. - It's electric. - Oh, electric. - Yes. - You charge it. - Yes. So it's half me, half the engine. - That helps you...
- But I still have to pedal. Yeah. - Oh, okay. - It just helps. It's assistance. - Wow. - I see. Very comfortable. - Very... Yeah, that's the main thing. It's very comfortable. It's a bit heavy though.
- Okay. Destination to where? - To South Africa, to Cape Town. - South Africa. - Yeah. - You are not serious. - Using this? - I'm serious. I came from France with this. - From France? - Yes.
- Come on, let's take a selfie. - Ah, no. - To Kenya? To Kenya? - To Kenya. Yeah, yeah. - Wow, wow, wow, wow. Ah, everybody, get on board.
There you are. - Great. - Well, that's great. - That's great. Yeah. Yeah, using this. Yeah, yeah. - Get it from your... - From France to South Africa? - From France to South Africa. Yeah, yeah.
- Try. - All the best. - Thank you. You too. Yeah. - It's electric. - Oh, it's really good. Wow. The meat is unbelievable. - Where are you heading to? - South Africa. - Really? From? - From France. - From France? - Yes. - Wow. You won't get there today. - No.
- Yeah. - That's for sure. Yeah. - Where are you going tonight then? - Nanyuki. - You're going to Nanyuki now. - Yeah, it's not far now. It's easy now. - Okay. - This morning was complicated. - And you've come from Isiolo... - Yes.
- ...this morning. That's the worst bit there. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now it's okay. All this climbing, it really was annoying. Yeah. - Yeah, the altitude. Well, good... - It was long and slow. - Yeah, good effort. - Thank you. - Wow. How do you steer it then? Okay, with the front wheels. - Yeah, it's just the front wheels and the... The brakes are also only the front wheels. - Yeah. And 8,000 feet, yeah? - I don't know in feet, but yeah, it was... - 2,500 meters. - Yes. High here. Yeah.
- Yeah. - But it was 1,500 meters just from Isiolo to here. - Yeah, yeah. - So quite... - Good effort. - Yeah. - Well done. Yeah. I hope you'll get to South Africa. It's all downhill now to South Africa. - I don't... I'm not sure.
- Yeah. - I would know if it would be only downhill. Yeah. - Yeah. - I would be happy. - Okay, good to meet you. Good luck anyway. - Thank you. Good to meet you too. - Are you going now? - Yes, I'm on my way now.
- Going from here to Nairobi? - No, I'm going to Nanyuki today. - Nanyuki today? - Yes. - You'll spend the night there. - Yeah, I'll spend the night there. - And you came all the way from... - Today from Isiolo. - ...northern Kenya. - Yeah, yeah, from Moyale. I arrived from Ethiopia. Yeah. - Ah. Ah, okay. It looks like a good expedition. - Yeah, it's good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Northern Kenya is very interesting actually.
- Yeah, Kenya is very interesting. Enjoy. Enjoy. - Thank you, thank you. - All the best. - Thank you. - Okay. - Good luck to you. Yeah. - Can I take your picture? - Yeah, yeah. Yeah. No problem. Yeah. So where are you from? - I live right here. - Oh, you live here? - Yeah, yeah. - Oh, wow. - That's a good effort. Where in France are you from? - I grew up in Picardy.
- In where? - In Picardy. - Where's that? - In the north, between Paris and Belgium. - Oh, up in the north there, yeah? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah. - It's like halfway between Paris and Belgium. - Did you set off from there then? - Yes, I set off from close to Reims actually. - In your... - With this thing. Yeah. Quite a long time ago. - Good effort. Yeah. - Thank you. - Good luck. - Thank you. - Yeah.
- Let's go. Let's go, let's go. Let's not go on the wrong side of the road. So it's just 40k left now. 42, I think, but this time it... Well, just. This morning was less than 40, and it took me four hours.
But this time, I have just 100 meters left to climb, elevation to climb. And then, it's all downhill all the way to Nanyuki. So a very "easy" afternoon. Ah, man, it's so pleasant to ride across a developed country, that has restaurants, and you can book an apartment on booking.com and...
The modern world makes traveling so easy. It's good to be back in the modern world. And I forgot to tell you, but of course, we are now at 2,500 meters high. That's why you see me with a jacket because it's cold here.
It's funny because it's very high lands, now it looks like Europe almost, because it's the same agriculture as Europe now, because of the altitude. Hello. Hello. - Hello. - Going fast, going fast. No more hat. Look at those acacia trees. Look at those acacia trees.
How are you? - Nice. Potatoes. - Potatoes, potatoes. Yeah. Beautiful highlands. What a nice market. - Yeah, yeah. Hello. - Yeah, yeah. Hello. Where are you going? - Hello. Hello. It's very populated around here. It's full of small villages on the way.
And we are arriving in the suburbs of Nanyuki. I almost have no more battery. It was a beautiful day. I'm very happy today. - Hi, what's up? - Hello. Good, good. Many people overtake me with their bicycles, with their motorbikes, and then they stop a little bit further to take a video of me. Wow, that's a big city. Man! Well, I need to turn right. Let's go for it.
Yes. Well, it's a big city with supermarkets, shopping malls. Wow. Hello. Their provincial towns are much more developed than in Ethiopia. - Bye-bye. - Nice, nice.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that people just love my bike. That's actually why I bought this bike. I just wanted something that looks different. - Hi. - Hi. - Where are you staying? - Yeah. - Yeah. - Hello. - Hello. Nice.
Yeah, I was right. Look at that. There is a shopping mall. So it's really back to the modern world. Kenya is so developed. It's really impressive. Okay, so it's not as easy as I thought.
Of course, the hotel is not at the location indicated. Where the hell...? It's supposed to be on this road. I found my place, which is very beautiful.
As you can see, I have a beautiful - well, an awesome - garden. So it's in a very quiet area, a little bit off the main road. I have this beautiful, beautiful garden. But the problem is basically they use booking.com and Airbnb, and they put the same place on both platforms.
And of course, they forget to... Well, when it's booked on one platform, they forget to put it on the other one. So I booked for six days, but then actually it's only available for three days. Yeah, that's quite annoying because for me to change places is, I mean, quite a pain. I have to load the whole bike just to go 500 meters from here, but anyway.
Well, it looks like in Nanyuki you have really beautiful accommodations. Look at that. I have actually a whole house. You see I have a whole sofa area with a TV, fridge.
A nice toilet and shower. I have a kitchen area, which is really nice, which is what I was looking forward to. So I can cook for myself. I can have some pasta. And I have a beautiful bedroom. Yeah, I will stay here for a few days because I need to work.
I struggled to work in Isiolo because... Well... Well, let's say some Kenyan women are very hungry for foreigners, for "mzungu, mzungu, mzungu, mzungu." So, a bit complicated to work. So now I am here. Hopefully, I will just live like a monk and just work, so I can be up-to-date on my work and continue my journey. So yeah, that's it. That was the way from Isiolo to Nanyuki.
And see you for the next adventures. Ciao, guys.
2023-10-23 06:18
