The weather certainly did not approve of our 4am plans. By the time we woke up it ws raining heavily so for safety’s sake we decided to depart later.
We left for Kalokol at 6 am. The road to Kalokol takes you past a Muslim cemetery,which strangely has no gravestones but sticks to mark the graves. Some white and others unpainted making them blend in with the surroundings.
The drive to Kalokol is very bumpy. The road was constructed in 1984 (It does not look like it has been recarpeted since then). What is left is some semblance of tarmac with huge gaping potholes. We spent more time off the road than on it.
We eventually got to our destination, Kalokol and then drove to Longech to see if we could find any fishermen.
Each kg of fish goes for Kshs 200 ( $2), he is holding about 4kgs.
Once we were done we drove back to the main town to see if we could find anything interesting. Jeri spotted some women weaving baskets and after asking for permission, they graciously let us take their photos.
.
Lunchtime found us back in Lodwar and after a quick meal we were back on the road. This time we were headed to an area called Gold. When it comes to naming people and places the Turkana are very literal. The area is called Gold because of the gold mining that goes on there. Majority of the miners no longer use the traditional panning method, they instead use metal detectors which makes their task easier. Gold mining must be a lucrative affair as the detectors go for between kshs300, 000 ($3000) and 500,000 ($5000).
Currently a gram of gold goes for kshs 2,500.
We were able to take photos of two men using their detectors not too far from the main town. I asked if they could show me how the detector works, which they gladly did, and I was able to walk around to see if I could detect any gold. I did not but the experience was fun nonetheless.
.
Tomorrow we attempt to catch the sunrise by Lake Turkana’s shores again. Hopefully the weather will not thwart our plans.
The Author All posts
9 Comments
Obviously I’m arriving late for your series. And I want to tell you how proud I am of your endeavor, Rachael. The pictures are as gorgeous as when I last left off and I would get a kick out of searching for the gold too. Good post, my friend 🙂
Glad to have you back Mike.
Turkana has oil, now gold … time to pack my bags and head their 🙂
he he he. All the best.
Rachel – what an experience. The fisherman photo is a beautiful study of browns, I really like it. And the shot of the sunlit mountain range in the background and the almost purple rocky ground is gorgeous. I look forward to the lake 🙂
I had to read through your other posts for this wonderful series. What a fun adventure and such varied landscapes and people. I love the details in your photos. That would be so fun to search for gold too. That basket is beautiful!
Its a shame that I have never been to Lake Turkana the and that area in general. The furthest I have been is Samburu; Archers Post but not past that area because it wast safe to go past when I last visited. I have to visit soon!! I don’t Care what the situation will be like :)Safaris in tanzania and zanzibar
From my experience the western side of the lake is safer. It is not the best of ideas to travel on the eastern side without security. We had a run in with bandits and I ended up losing my bag.
good one dear one,you will be blessed abudantly…..I always am behind your episode.would like some sharing,who knows maybe will help you make the next episode,I’m in turkana too