Reveille at 06:00hrs triggered now ritual frantic activities prior to sitting down to usual bland fare for breakfast, washed down by teabags that had to be shared due to depleted stock! Today however would involve a mostly downhill trek to Efogi 2 via the Kagi Gap, with the highlight being a visit to Naduri village to meet the oldest surviving Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel - Ovuru Ndiki, 103 years young. The route meandered through fantastic hilly landscape, revealing spectacular views of Mt. Victoria drenched in cloudless blue skies from Kagi Gap, with Naduri village a tiny speck perched on top of one of the many dramatic ridges in between. On arrival at the village we dumped our gear for the short walk down to see Ovuri. Now very stooped and of tiny stature his physical frailty belied a sharp mind, with a life time of memories pinned to his chest and cap. Nonetheless I felt guilty intruding on his life, and not least for dragging him out of his home merely to entertain inquisitive tourists – I’m damned sure I wouldn’t get out of bed at 103 simply to have my photo taken with some whipper-snappers less than half my age!
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And so onto Efogi 2 via some frighteningly steep and slippery downhill slopes that left my legs shaking like a leaf by the time we got to the bottom, with knees decidedly ‘squeaky’. After arriving in the village and dumping our gear in designated sleeping quarters we strolled back to a stream at the entrance to the village to soak away aches and pains and attend to personal hygiene – in my case this involved bashing clothes against rocks to try and expel decidedly noxious odours! Feet also needed some repairs, but surprising minor given the punishment they’d received during the day’s hike.
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