Taita Hills Hiking

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful.”~Alice Walker

So recently, I had a chance to visit one of my friends John (aka Bear) in the Taita Hills near Voi. While I was visiting Bear, we did a lot of hiking.

One of the days of hiking we went to this sacred boulder on the top of a hill. Well we tried to go there anyway... The actual path to the top is hidden since the top of it is sacred so we didn't actually mke it to the top. Either way, it was a really neat climb because on the way back we went through a dried up river so we had to climb down rocks.
(Picture rock climbing the dry river)

Later we found out the reason we didn't make it to the boulder is because it is a very sacred protected place. Bear told me he was told only elder males go there and before they go up they must take place in many rituals.

Then another day we hiked to the forest, went to and through the Chumbololo forrest to a set of rocks atop the cliffside where we could see a great view of the landscape below - we could see Tsavo West National Park, Tsavo East National Park, the town of Voi, and more....
(Picture of us at the view)








Another day we went out to a cliff side where there are skulls of elders long past. Nearby the cliff side there was a very pretty waterfall site. (Picture - waterfall)

There are many more pictures of the hikes on Facbook.

~Blessings

Fourteen Falls Sanctuary

A strong man and a waterfall always channel their own path.

I seem to have started a trend of going to a nature-esque location as a birthday treat to myself. In 2009, I went to Hell's Gate National Park, staying at a lodge near Lake Naivasha.
This year, I went to Fourteen Falls Sanctuary - named for having 14 waterfalls in the same location.

On my actual birth day (July 16th) I had a small dinner with some friends over at my house and enjoyed their company. About a week later, I had was able to go to Fourteen Falls and enjoy the beauty and peace of nature.

However, before the trip to Fourteen Falls, David (a fellow IT volunteer and myself) had a small trek to the Thika River, which was not far from his place.
Upon our arrival at the Thika river, we relaxed chatting and watching as the rapids went on. After having spent a short amount of time there, David went on a small hike near where we were while I remained at the river.. In his absence, I meditated a bit and sang a couple of mantras that make me feel peaceful - as this river also did. [The first mantra is the beginning of a song entitled "I Wanna Fly" by the artist Los Monjes Buddhistas; and the second mantra is the "Gayatri Mantra" by Deva Premal].
Now when I had finished singing these songs, I turned to look at some of the trees accross the river and I saw brances of the trees waving in the wind as if the trees and spirits were applauding my singing.
Although I don't have pics of the Thika river, I have a picture of the type of plants that were clapping:
















The following are some of the pictures of Fourteen Falls Sanctuary:









Fourteen Falls is named for the 14 waterfalls at the one location.









Now below the Falls, there is an island that is mostly rocks.
















As the island is mostly rocks, jumping between rocks to get around is a small challenge :)














David and I posing for a photo near the waterfalls.


As a result of this experience, I hope to continue this new habbit of going into nature to celebrate my birthday - and my oneness with all other beigns.

I also hope that I will be able to hear the messages from nature's spirits more clearly.