the sauna

the whitfield's sauna is a short walk away from the main house, in the heart of the eucolyptis forest that surrounds their home. it is far enough away that you cannot see any lights when you are out there in the sauna, but close enough that you can get back to the house in 2 minutes if you need to.

the sauna is, i am told, the exact same one that the whitfields had at their first house in africa. this means that it is the same sauna that my family used when we were here 17 years ago. pretty cool.

the eucolyptis forest is completely gorgeous. the trees stand over 100 feet tall, and they are as straight as can be, with leaves only branching out at the very tops. the bark of the trees falls off, laeving the ground literally covered with long strip of crunchy, tube-like bark. what is amazing, well the whole thing is pretty amazing, but what is really amazing, is that when the bark falls off the trees don't all have the same color wood. each tree turns different colors: some are greenish, others are blueish, other's purply, or grey. and no tree is only one color. in the daylight these colors are wonderfully vivid, but at night the trees begin to glow as the moon beams off their shiny surfaces.

the sauna itself is wonderfully hot, just like any sauna. i guess what makes this sauna special is that when you get too hot, (which happens in an instant, suddenly you realize that you absolutely cannot be in there anymore!) you push open the door to be greeted by the cool breeze and wonderful darkness of the eucolptis forest at night. on the side corner of the sauna are buckets of water to rinse off with, which feels silky and smooth and the wind just blows all around you and it's incredible.

you go into the sauna and get dripping wet with sweat, run outside into the darkness and cool off with the water, then get right back into the hot sauna. ther are benches at the far end of the sauna house were we just sat and listened, and enjoyed this spectacular piece of heaven.

the moon last night was just a sliver, but instead of being a sideways sliver, it was a bowl of a moon, just the bottom edge. the moon just poked through the thick trees, casting shadows all around the forest. i felt like a nymph. whatever that means, i just felt like one.

ps. to see pictures so far, go to: www.sophieskenyapictures.shutterfly.com

password: sophie

xoxox
sb