When we first began talking about this ride, we thought it would be best to ride for six or seven days and then have a day of rest. Today’s spot in Sipi Falls was the perfect place for just that.

Last night was the first good sleep I’ve had for the whole trip thanks to the Advil PM I took before bed. I think I’ll do that more often. I didn’t wake up until 8:30. They had a wide variety of options for breakfast and we had our fill. I really appreciate how the accommodations here always include breakfast. The coffee is roasted right here and as you walk around you can see the coffee beans growing on the trees. It sure beat the instant stuff we have been drinking every morning.

After breakfast I took advantage of the spigot outside to wash all of our clothes which were getting pretty ripe. I’m not sure I got them that clean (that one day in the mud reaked havoc on everything) but I hung them up to dry on the line, only to take them down an hour later when it started to sprinkle. I hung the laundry up all over our room – on hooks, curtain rods, picture frames, and anything else I could find that would work. We are going to bed soon and all of our clothes are still wet so I hope they can dry a little by morning to not add any more weight to John’s load. I don’t know how these ladies do so much laundry every day without having major back problems. I washed clothes for maybe a half an hour and had to go lay down afterwards because my back hurt so bad. How sad. And embarrassing.

After laundry we took a short walk to the 65 metre waterfall, one of the three that makes up Sipi Falls. It was so beautiful and lush with so many different plants and flowers to look at. The locals hang around at the top in a man-made cave to give you a bit of a history lesson and get you to come to the gift shop. There were even some beehives in the trees along the path that make local Mount Elgon honey. Too bad we are on bikes or I would buy some.

So really all we did today was basically eat and rest. After walking to the falls we came back for lunch even though it felt like we had just finished breakfast. I’ve never thought of putting beets on a hamburger before, but wow, it was good.

The rest of the day was all about checking our brakes, replacing the cleats on my shoes, adjusting handlebars and getting things ready for the ride tomorrow. Oh and naps. There were naps.

And then, of course, more eating. This place serves coffee and cake around 3 o’clock so of course we had to take advantage. I relished all parts of today and the time went by fast. I know it will be very hard to leave to get back on the bikes tomorrow, especially because right out of the gate we have a short but steep climb. We get to ride down the mountain that we rode up yesterday and then about another 35 miles to a town called Kumi for the night.

I wish I had more profound things to say about today. But honestly, it was just nice to take a little break from the constant stimuli that happens as you ride your bike through East Africa. I didn’t realize how much my mind and body needed a break until today.