Day 34 Walk to Lepers' Lugga

12th September. We set off before breakfast, directly north up the lugga. It's very wide,  with fresh leopard spoor. Elephants had very recently made the most of the shade on the Eastern Bank, as we did too, with the sun rising and the equinoctal full moon setting to the west. Crashing in the trees let us know how close the elephants were.
After 2 hours, we reach a fork in the lugga, the camels caught up, and we stopped for breakfast of scrambled eggs and coffee. Home made bacon and sausages from Tim Hobbs had been cooked earlier. Thank you Tim! The men has their chai, picture above, made with cardamon, milk and honey.

We carried on up out of the lugga to a high area, of comifera trees with silvery bark but trees quite spread out. There were a number of bomas or homesteads. with traditional low houses and an animal shelter, surrounded by a protective strip of cut thorns. We met the primary school teacher who holds lessons under a local tree for the 40 six year olds in his class.

By then it was midday and the 2 Great Danes skip from shade to shade, trying to keep cool. Helen rubs water into their backs on the way. It was very hot, and we had climbed 1,000ft. 

We diverted via a steep drop to a lugga in a valley where lepers were sent to live many years ago. Now, it seems perfect for leopard, the side dotted with caves. Helen discovered the spot a few years ago and has only camped here once before - she has so many options and her knowledge is encyclopedic!

Just a sliver of network today, so light on pictures, as I think that makes a difference to the upload. Tomorrow we head up for the pass to the other side of the mountains.

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