Hippos and Tea

Hippos are one of the world's deadliest animals. It never ceases to amaze and petrify me when the hippo boat tour guides here in Kisumu purposefully navigate their relatively small wooden boats TOWARDS the hippos. The last time I went for the boat ride, the guides had us maneuvering around and through a herd(?) of hippos in the water, including a protective mama hippo! I was petrified, but I got some awesome photos. Long story short, I survived. In case you were wondering, I totally have several exit/escape strategies for hippo attacks in and out of the water. Yes, they are that versatile that they wreak havoc in the water and on land!

Lastly, as many of you know, I really appreciate, dare I say -- love --  tea. The highlight of my life/this trip was a visit to a tea estate in Kericho. Per usual, I dozed off in the front seat of the safari van but was wide awake and in great form for the entire visit to the tea estate. Kericho is always lush and the estate we visited was massive (one super massive estate with nine massive sub-estates) and absolutely gorgeous. One of my students loves tea as much as I do. He and I were among the first taste testers and constantly asked our guide about job opportunities at the estate. My student was offered a taste testing position...I just got a chuckle :-/. After seeing the entire process of making tea as we know it -- from the field to the factory to the store -- my appreciation has shifted to include admiration for the thought and efforts that go towards the process. It is a tedious and labor intensive process at all levels. I would be happy to provide details/talk about it (over a cup of tea), if any of you are interested. For now, I hope you enjoy the pictures.

You know what I love more than tea, though? McVittie's biscuits AND tea! I need to get a tour at McVittie's at some point down the road...I would love for you to join me!

Originally written 22 June 2014.

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