Menangi Crater to Kisumu

Before I left Nakuru I wanted to visit Menangi crater, 9km out of town. I got up at 8am and went to the bus station to look for a moto to take me there. I could've taken a taxi but it's more expensive and I prefer the open air of a motorbike. I found a driver quickly,or should I say he found me. He quoted me a supercheap price and I suspected he didn't know where exactly I was talking about. It became clear when he wanted to take me the opposite way when we came to a roundabout. I made myself more clear ( I thought I was pretty clear before!) and this time he was sure. He doubled the price but that was still cheap so it was ok. He kept asking for directions the whole way there. About half way there, the road turned to dirt and ruts but my driver negotiated it well. The way was all uphill and we passed by some people and kids who were very friendly waving and screaming 'hello'. I must say most Kenyans I've met have been very friendly and genuine.
We finally reached the crater edge with a panoramic viewpoint. The crater is extinct but vegetation can be seen growing in the crater floor on the old black lava flows. The crater is a few km in diameter and has most of its walls intact. Satisfied with the crater and my photos I went back to town to eat and try and change money. Breakfast went well but the $ changing not so well. Nakuru is a large town and I went to every bank and forex bureau and not one would change travellers cheques. I couldn't believe it. Thankfully I travel with a bank card/visa and cash but I always try to change my travellers cheques first. I took some $ out with my bank which was painless and easy. Hopefully Kisumu, where I'm going next can change T/C.
I packed up my stuff and walked to the bus station. I got into a minivan, known here as a matatu, right away going to Kisumu. The driver said it was leaving in 40 minutes. Yeah, I had my doubts about that since it was already noon and most vehicles leave in the morning. We left 3 hours later! They gave me the front seat and I sat and read while I waited. There were tons of hawkers selling all the same shit - locks, combs, jewellery, wallets, electric razors, hats, water and candy. I was a prime target being white and stuck in the matatua. Everyone selling something must have approached me. All were friendly and some even left after I expressed no desire to buy anything but some hung around to talk. Then they were some that gave me their sob story and told me just to give them money because they had a 'pure heart', whatever that means. I was glad when we finally got going.
The journey took about 3.5 hours to Kisumu and the road was pretty rough for most of it. We passed through the tea growing region of Kericho. Neatly pruned valleys of tea blanketed both sides of the road and some were even being harvested. We descended the central highlands down to Kisumu on the tropical slopes of Lake Victoria. I took a moto taxi, known as boda boda because they used to be the main transport to take people from the Kenyan border to the Ugandan border. It's all about the way they pronounce the word border,like boda, and then the boda boda was born. There are motorized boda boda and bicycle boda boda's with a bug cushiony seat over the rear tire. I took the boda boda to the Western lodge but thought it was a bit pricey and just didn't like the way the guard who showed me the rooms acted. I couldn't get a straight answer out of him and I don't have much patience when I'm tired, hungry, dirty and carrying both my packs. I checked a few other places and ended up settling at the Lakeside Hotel, not in the guidebook but a big room, attatched bath and the rate included full breakfast. Kisumu has my kind of climate, it was 28 C when I arrived and only dropped to 25 C during the night. The only problem was that no hotel had any fans in the room. They said the breeze from the lake is the fan. I don't know about that! I prefer a fan, it was borderline trying to sleep and I was just on the edge of lying there sweating but I didn't and slept ok. I was just so damn thirsty all night and finished my 600mL bottle of water beside my bed before morning.
Thursday morning I had to get up before 9 because that's when breakfast stopped being served. It's ok I was up anyway and had plenty of rest. Since I'm on the shores of Lake Victoria I thought I should go down to the waterfront for some pictures. To do this I walked 3km to the village of Dunga, which is supposed to have the most pleasant access. I could have stayed in town but it was something to do. It was sunny and a very agreeable 30 C. I got my haircut really short, no more thinking about hair for a few months now! I came to Kisumu because it's on my way to my real destination of Kakamega Forest Reserve, western Kenya's only rainforest. I started to buy supplies because there is no restaurant there, I'll be doing all my own cooking. The forest has trails and I think I'd like to stay for 5 days so I'm buying enough food to last for that. After Kakamega I'm going to make a break for the Ugandan border so I'm not sure when I'll be back online. But rest assured if you don't get any updates from me for a while at anytime, it just means that I'm out doing stuff and nothing to worry about.