Sleek coated goats graze roadside,
women balance bounties atop their heads ~
strong necks carry bananas, sticks, and woven baskets.

Roots writhe and wrap through red rocks,
a mountain carved for modern passage.

School children walk home for lunch,
uphill and uplifted, by the looks of their smiles and waves. 

Perfumed air: stunning notes of wet clay, embers, ripe banana, and eucalyptus. 

Mothers carry their babies, swaddled on their backs; whether curious or sleeping, a beacon of sweet hope. 

Bright yellow weaver birds herald pure delight, weaving their ornamental nests, their bright song a signal to keep eyes on the heaven. 

Brick factories, a forever fascination - mountain mining, clay carting, rectangle packing, kiln firing, brick baking — schools made. 

Sapyinyo greets us with a toothy grin and iced lemongrass tea.

The thickest thunders and each lightbred leader tune our hearts for the adventure had and the wonder ahead.