I never really sat with Muwangi (centre) to document his story but I thought I would share some memories of this man with you. Muwangi was our tour leader and just like the rest of the crew hails from Kenya.
He always seemed to have a smile on his face and a jovial laugh that often accompanied everything he said. Looking after a truck load of travellers is hard work but Muwangi makes it look dead easy. He never seems to get riled even when passengers bombard him with a hundred and one questions.
His tasks include making sure we have supplies for breakfast, lunch and dinner and keeping the pantry stocked for replenishing everything from our staples of bread and margarine to the little treats we all enjoyed – Nutella!
Muwangi shared some of his past with me during the many long bus journeys we took. I remember him telling me that he spent some time working for the UN refugees. He worked in the stores and often flew to other countries as part of his job – stock taking.
Being trip leader means there is a lot of paperwork that goes on behind the scenes that many travellers perhaps do not fully appreciate. Muwangi has joined me on occasion as I sat writing my blog with his own laptop and the admin work he must complete once we reach a campsite. I think it must be a nightmare keeping track of what is spent in each country in so many different currencies but he seems to find the time to stay on top of it all.
Muwangi has done lots of little things to make our trip special. This includes buying us little treats such as muffins in the morning to chapatis for dinner. He has often sussed out the best internet places and arranged us accommodation when we wanted an upgrade and our optional activities at destinations that offered them.
I have enjoyed spending time with this man and wish him all the best in his travels and thank him for going out of his way to make our trip comfortable.
The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” - Rudyard Kipling
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