I reach my hand out blindly, searching for the little metal handle. Water pours down onto my soapy face as I find it and pull it downwards. I find myself pleasantly amused by this shower. The hot water sits in a big round metal tank that fills and filters itself from the ocean. A small fire sits beneath the chamber. Then the water is released from the showerhead when the handle is pulled. It is quite ingenious and economically friendly. I have always been a fan of outdoor showers. The mixture of the hot sun and warm water washing over my skin is nothing short of the height of luxury in my humble opinion.
The sun has yet to rise too high in the sky just yet this morning. Though its presence is surely felt as it is hot enough to not bother drying myself. For I will almost certainly be dried momentarily by the sun and then just as quickly my body will begin to perspire. So instead of a towel I brought with me only my kanga.
The kanga is an odd thing to me. Apparently it can be folded and worn in over a dozen different ways. It is a large piece of cloth resembling an oversized towel, or small blanket. Though the materials they come in are much different. Softer than silk, some of them were. Others had a more dense thickness but were a cotton texture. It was clearly designed to permit air to flow through. Which in this Kenyan heat was much appreciated. So far I had only mastered tying it around my waste as you would a towel.
The one I had chosen to wear this morning was solid black with tiny green and white dots all over it. The sounds of wildlife filled the air around me. I tied it on, making sure it was loose enough for my legs to move freely, and proceeded to head back around the house.
The house was a one level, three room expansive modern hut. Equipped with a generator that ran on solar power. Thank any and all of the African God's for African enginuity, and the giant air conditioner built into the wall of the hut. For without which we may both have died last night.
As I pass by the generator on my way to the front porch I notice that the piles of food I had left out last night have been eaten. "Don't feed the animals" our guide had said. "They are unpredictable and can become aggressive." Personally, I did not trust them to not get aggressive if I didn't feed them. So I wasn't taking the risk. I put a giant pile of leftovers just far enough away from our hut that they could come and eat in peace and leave us to ours. Apparently I was yet to be wrong about my suspicions.
In front of the hut there is a large barbecue made from an oil drum. I have always wanted to have one of these. It was a greyish green colour and looked as though it probably carried some form of chemical waste before being repurposed. Though I could just as easily be completely wrong about that. The handle for the hood was a piece of bent metal welded to the front. The mark of true craftsmanship!
I opened it up as I passed by walking towards the front door. I could have entered the hut through the side door that connects the bedroom to the shower and the latrine, but I didn't want to wake her if I didn't have to. Besides I had left all of my fire supplies by the front door anyways. So I cracked the door open slowly trying to be as quiet as possible, and grabbed the supplies just inside the doorway and closed up quickly.
Picking up a few medium sized split logs of wood in my right hand and resting them against my hip, I use my other hand to remove the grill from the barbeque and try to gently dump the chunks of wood. It was much louder than I would have liked, but still not too loud. I spray the logs with a bit of lighter fluid and toss a lit match at it. A slight burst of flame and we were off. I quickly tossed a pile of kindling over the flames so that the whole thing could catch. Then proceed inside in the hopes of waking a Goddess.
The hut was surprisingly expansive.The not so gentle hum of the giant air conditioner confronted your ears the second you were near the entrance. The front door opened to a small entrance way. Which led into the kitchen. The kitchen itself broke off into two separate directions once you passed the appliances and countertops. The left side held a small dinner table that would sit four comfortably. Then led into the living area. Where there was minimal furniture that included an indoor hammock. Much to both of our excitement! And an oversized air conditioning vent taking up most of one of the walls.
