Writing and Travelling.

It’s been a while since I have travelled at night to a far away destination. As I write this I am on my way to Limuru to see my grandma who has fallen sick and is there to get medical attention.  It’s fifteen minutes to eight pm right now and It feels alot different to travel as an adult.
Because of where I am going, I have come prepared in full winter attire. I have on a pair of bootcut black jeans, brown leather boots, a plain white t-shirt, a warm grey hoodie layered under my trusty wool inlayed denim jacket and just for good measure, I also have on a scarf and a bowler cap in my bag just incase Limuru is as cold as I remember.

I am awfully secure and prepared as I assume my mum usually was when we made this trip when I was really young, or any other journey for that matter. As a kid I put alot of trust in my mother and her ability to get me anywhere safely. I can remember this one time, my mother was in mombasa and my sister and I were supposed to go and join her. We got put in a truck with these two men who worked for my mom’s company. Now this truck was a heavy duty trailer and had that comfy section right behind the driver’s seat where the drivers took naps when they stopped along the way. My sister and I got on in Limuru, coincidentally which is actually where we used to live back then. I was about five or six years old at this point and having spoken to my mom before boarding this awkward vehicle I was excited to get on the road and also because my mom worked at a milk company then, I was also excited about all the free milk and yoghurt I was bound to get. After the truck was loaded up with cargo and sealed, which I assume is what happened because I was restlessly sitted in the front seat. We left for what was supposed to be a really long journey. I remember the journey starting in the evening and a few minutes after we had left nairobi I was sound asleep in the back compartment, and so was my sister. I remember being woken up by the drivers, who would take turns to drive as they simultaneously got to sleep. We were at a stop, here we got off and stretched our legs, got more snacks, and went to the washrooms. We got back in the truck and continued with our so far really relaxed and sleepy journey. My mom had called again and asked to speak to us so I was feeling secure and eager to see her and the new city she was living in, that we were going to be living in too in a few hours. The rest of the ride involved alot more napping, talking and playing with my sister, asking what seemed like the are we there yet question repeatedly and snacking. Finally I was asleep in the back compartment and I felt something about the air change, I awoke to find that it was dusk. The outside held the scent of the sea and I loved it, it felt so new and different. I was extremely excited at this point and spent the rest of the trip peeping through the drapes that separated the small compartment from the driver’s seat. I asked and found out that we were entering Mombasa. I didn’t fall back asleep, I was way to excited. This place was just like home, but there were alot of subtle differences, first off it was really warm and soon considerably hot. The people dressed and looked very different, the streets connected to bridges that overlooked a whole sea that disappeared into the horizon. The trees looked so different, alot of them were palms and tropical plants, in comparison with the trees back home, these looked peculiar but still beautiful. We rode into mombasa as the sun rised in the sky. I could not wait to see my mom but until then I was satisfied with the scenery and my strawberry yoghurt( I was really into strawberry yoghurt back then).
We finally got to my mum’s new offices where our cargo was unloaded and my sister and I got to see our mum, for the first time in a few months. It was really exciting to be in this new place and to meet all these new people who were extremely friendly and fun to be around. That was my first overnight journey that I can remember and as the car I’m in starts to approach limuru I realize that travel has been an important part of my life so far, that alot of my good memories lie on roads all across this beautiful country I call home. I love to travel, and even though I am an adult now and I can get myself almost anywhere safely I still really appreciate the warmth and security I get from knowing that someone always cares enough to find out if I was safe on my journey.
I plan to travel alot more, and with the grace of God, I plan to make alot more memories on roads and flights all over the world. Signing off, Ian.