As a treat after the first week of clinic, YL sent us to visit the Tea Farm, a gorgeous Bed and Breakfast nestled in the lovely hills north of Nairobi. It took us about 1.5 hours by car along a beautiful route with quaint, mostly clean little towns along the way. We drove threw the town of Banana, which seemed to have about a dozen little churches, one every 1/2 block or so. The elevation of our destination was about 7000+ feet, so it was even crisper and cooler than Nairobi at 5000+ feet. As we neared our tea farm, we marveled at the scenic terraced fields of tea, which seemed to extend throughout our line of sight along all the nearby hills.
Upon arrival at our small plantation, we were warmly greeted by our hostess Fiona, her husband Marcus, and brother-in-law Richard. Fiona had a pure British accent with a melodic voice and an endearing warm and gracious hospitality. As the proprietess of the farm that she inherited, she entertains visitors nearly every day of the year. The family charges a small fee, which they use to create a lavish lunch, bar, and tea time snacks for guests like ourselves. The entire day was relaxing and refreshing to our spirits, as we enjoyed a casual meet-and-greet time with other visitors from all over the world, followed by an informative talk (with tea and cookies) on the history of the family plantation and the growing of tea.
After the talk, we were escorted on a walking tour of the indigenous forest that still exists on the family land, with our guide, Kimani. Kimani's father before him also worked for the family, specifically for Fiona's mom who originated the plantation tours before her. Kimani was an expert naturalist, and peppered his talk with information about the forest, the tea cultivation, history, and good humor. He led us back to the house for lunch, where we lounged and relaxed and were served a multi-course and most delicious meal from family recipes. Boy, what a rough day! Fiona said we could stay as long as we wanted and walk the lush flower and vegetable gardens, which of course we did. She said that YL comes there to rest on her days off from the enormous responsibilities as our Village Director (VD). I could see why!
Upon arrival at our small plantation, we were warmly greeted by our hostess Fiona, her husband Marcus, and brother-in-law Richard. Fiona had a pure British accent with a melodic voice and an endearing warm and gracious hospitality. As the proprietess of the farm that she inherited, she entertains visitors nearly every day of the year. The family charges a small fee, which they use to create a lavish lunch, bar, and tea time snacks for guests like ourselves. The entire day was relaxing and refreshing to our spirits, as we enjoyed a casual meet-and-greet time with other visitors from all over the world, followed by an informative talk (with tea and cookies) on the history of the family plantation and the growing of tea.
After the talk, we were escorted on a walking tour of the indigenous forest that still exists on the family land, with our guide, Kimani. Kimani's father before him also worked for the family, specifically for Fiona's mom who originated the plantation tours before her. Kimani was an expert naturalist, and peppered his talk with information about the forest, the tea cultivation, history, and good humor. He led us back to the house for lunch, where we lounged and relaxed and were served a multi-course and most delicious meal from family recipes. Boy, what a rough day! Fiona said we could stay as long as we wanted and walk the lush flower and vegetable gardens, which of course we did. She said that YL comes there to rest on her days off from the enormous responsibilities as our Village Director (VD). I could see why!
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