Thompson Falls

There is place in Kenya called Thompson Falls.  Its located on the equator and is a place I have wanted to visit for the 11 years I've lived here.  I finally got the chance the end of February.  Teresa, my friend and househelp has wanted to take her daughter there, so we asked our friend Moses to accompanying us and we all took off!  This is some of the landscape we encountered along the way.

After a few hours, we reached the equator.  

We all  had to have our picture taken with "the sign".

Ok, last equator "sign" picture.  

This little pot you see under this sign is very important.  There is a young man nearby who is eager to show us what happens to "draining" water on the equator.  Basically, there is a wooden match sitting in a bowl.  The bowl has holes in the bottom so the water can drain into the bucket below.  On the equator (right under the sign) the match doesn't move even though the water is dripping through the bottom.  If you move 20 feet south of the sign, the water drains out of the bowl in a clockwise manner.  The match helps you see the direction the water is moving.  Then you go 20 feet south of equator, and the water begins spinning counter-clockwise.  It looks like a trick, but it is really just a demonstration of the gravitational pull of the earth.  Very cool demonstration.

Another sign along the way.

After about four hours of driving, we arrived at Thompson's Falls, our destination.

Our first view of the actual falls.  

We took turns standing at the "best picture" site.  After all, there isn't much else to do there except just stare at the falling water.

Teresa and Wambui

This adorable child was standing at the railing.  I couldn't resist taking her picture.

These are some Kikuyu people dressed in traditional dressed.  They were hanging around hoping to earn some extra money by having tourist pay to have their pictures taken with them.

Kind of scary.  I'm sure it all meant something in their culture, but I'm not sure what.

Stunning views.  There is something about falling water that is just mesmerizing.

If you are fit enough, you can walk down to the bottom of the falls.  Of course that also means you have to walk back up!  I stayed at the top while Moses, Teresa, and Wambui went all the way down.  There  was a whole bus full of students from a local school.  Of course they went to the bottom.

We took a picnic lunch.  It was breezy and cool and perfect weather for our picnic.  The falls were in the background, and with plenty of good fellowship, it made for an awesome day.

The picture below is off coffee bushes.

As we headed back to Nairobi, over to my left, I realized there was a full moon.  It is very hard to capture the beauty in a moving car, but this is what I captured.

Then I looked to the right and saw this incredible sunset scene -- again from a moving car!

The day was restful and enjoyable.  I always enjoy opportunities to move around in this beautiful country.  I look forward to future journeys.