If you don’t believe in reincarnation, then probably you have never been to heaven. And am here to remind you that heaven might probably be at Mbita! Mbita is a town located in Mbita sub-county, 35 km west of Homa Bay town, bordering Siaya and Lake Victoria. It’s in Homabay County in Luo Nyanza, Kenya, and this small countryside is just absofuckingly alluring! From the good-hearted people, to the food, the culture and the lake, there’s nothing not to love here. This is one place am coming back to, again, in this life.
I planned a road trip with my crew to visit Rusinga and Mfangano Islands months back. I did all the research work on the book and prepared a travel guide for my lazy peeps. And boy, your girl did an excellent job! From the routes to take, the fuel to be consumed to the places to visit and sleep, I did it all. But at the end of the day, it looked like I was the only one ready to go to the Luo lands because my team bailed out the last minute. But nothing could slow my spirits, the spirits of the Islands were with me. I still went.
Let me tell you, Kenya is beautiful and Kenya is a woman. Over beautiful landscapes and terrains, we made our way. Went two of us. And the guy beside me was great company, because why not? And he turned out to be enthusiastic as well about it(I had crossed my fingers of-course). Passing via Kericho with all its greenery to Ahero (where sugarcane trucks stood to be “attacked” by thirsty young chaps ) and to Homabay County., I was a lass in love. The landscapes and the hills were a scenic beauty erected beautifully on the terrains of Mbita. The air changed as we got closer to the great Lake Victoria and the breeze was to die for. Literally, you would stop to die in peace on the Lake.
We did a stop to just stare at the waters and the breeze was something else. There were dead snails with shells all over. Found out there are these birds that look like flamingoes that eat these snails. Quite friendly birds they were too. One of the few bird species known to build a real estate not just for the present egging but future generation. A young boy tells me they call them Onyinjo, which build one of the biggest bird nests in the world.
Night Life
We got to visit Rusinga Island. And to get there from Mbita mainland, you just kinda have to cross a tarmacked foot bridge. Night life in Rusinga Island is something else. The Island seemed like it slept at 10pm. The mainland Mbita, was off by 9pm. Lol. We hadn’t eaten by then and when we asked the hotel manager about food, he seemed shocked. He confessed that there was no way we could find a food joint at that ungodly hour! My bones! But we did get one. In the pitch darkness(I dont know why this place looked this dark at just 9pm) , we found a bar/restaurant that was well hidden. It was World Cup Season and the place was darn packed! It was a sort of miracle that we found seats. The DJ entertained the crowd and one could tell that the revelers were all visitors. Except the women ofcourse…lmao. One other thing, cows sleep on the road. So whatever you do on the road, do not drive with your lights off. See below, a mother cow and it’s young ones…and mind you, this is on the main Mbita highway road that leads to Rusinga Island. The town was already dead asleep at this time and the drive around town was something very therapeutically spiritual. The Lake is also very bright with fishermen lanterns lighting the massive waters. We also noticed that one side of the lake had more waves than the other. Formidable, right? But we never got to ask the locals how this was.
The Islands
The next day we proceeded to Mfangano and Takawiri Islands having missed a motor boat to Luanda K’Otieno. With these water boats, time is of essence but ironically, no one seemed to know the timings. Assumed maybe the locals do not cross over to other Islands. Maybe the ones that knew about the boat timings were the boat riders and fishermen. Funny. We decided to go to Mfangano, paid Kshs.250/- per person and went via a Water Bus. Quite a comfortable 45min ride. I even slept at some point. Takawiri Island was the first stop over. And it actually was more alluring than Mfangano. After a while, we proceeded to Mfangano and the drop off point was really one dirty place. I decided nothing was gonna spoil my good vibes., though I must admit the locals should do something about this. A lot of young men operated boda bodas, there were so many barber and salon businesses than I could count. Everyone seemed to do some form of business. What was most impressive though was the fact that young boys and girls bathed naked on one side while adults bathed on a different side of the Lake. And no one seemed to have a problem about this. The water is also clean over here. Much cleaner. You could drink it if you don’t look at the guys stack naked bathing and washing utensils on the other side. We also heard Tom Mboya musoleum was a few kms away. But we didn’t have the time, we left before the boat could leave us. The boat ride was another adventure. Water sipped inside the boat and the boat waved with the shores. But still I slept the 1hour journey back! Haha at some point, it became peaceful.
Food
The staple food is fish of-course. The way they cook it and present it, you have to experience it to know. And you can be sure we ate fish and ugali for all the 3 days we were there. Fish is cheaper in the islands than in the main land Mbita. I stuffed myself with a Kshs.150 very huge fried whole tilapia. They make it like a snack…amazing people.
Issa Wrap! Well, that just about wraps up my kidogo stay at this beautiful place that I didn’t wanna leave. Oh and one thing I almost forgot. The men! If you are a muscle-fetish kinda woman, then this is the place to get a man. I think it’s the boat-rowing, or the patience in waiting for the fish at night. Whatever they do, it’s working. And yes, the men seemed to be nice too. Something I carried with me. Superstitions? Well, those are just gibberish talks by old people. These guys are damn hardworking and humble.
So cheers to experiencing new cultures and travelling! Coz, well, as I always say, smell them damn flowers. We all will die anyway. Have a good one, will ya? xoxo
OF MY AFRICAN MINDSET 
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