Magadi is in fact quite hot...

I am pleased to report that Magadi is in fact rather hot. in fact, according to the book on kenya my mom gave me, its the hottest place in the country sometimes reaching temperatures of 40-42 degrees celcius, which is really really really hot. Unfortuntaely for us, on the day we were there locals were reporting an unseasonably not hot day (even considering that it is winter here) and that we woudl not be able to understand the true hotness of the place. and so it goes.
in addition to being hot magadi also smells. i would liken then smell to a mixture of rotten eggs and urine, though, it not being summer, the smell was at a minimum. The reason magadi smells is that it is build on soda flats. Magadi Soda is a british company and is the second largest producer of soad in the world. They own the entire town (even things technically owned by the government are run and paid for by the company). The town is fairly small and drab with blocks of company housing for employees and a "golf" course for visiting executives. The golf course has no grass, and no one in kenya actually plays golf so its a bit frivolous if not downright silly. There is also a swimming pool with generally unhelpful hours (1030 to 12 some days a week) and one evening a week. Unlike other places in the country residents of magadi appreciate cold beverages and you can get ice cold cokes and fantas everywhere. Due to the danger involved in mining soda workers here are among the best paid in the country. There appear to be very few families however and a lot of lonely men so finding a proper drunk is pretty easy at any hour of the day. We were fairly successful at the hospital considering the majority of patients come from 20 t 60 km away. There is no transportation infrastructure there and they have to walk in the heat and over the salt/soda flats with no water. i cant even begin to imagine but it must be excruciating. The hospital was among one of the nicest we have seen as it is funded almost entirely by the company. the staff even has a computer and it was really interesting to see the ways that they have thought to use it to make their work easier. magadi is also the cleanest place in possibly all of kenya. trashcans have not caught on as being generally useful, even in nairobi ( i have counted 3 so far), however due to the british presence there are trash cans and signs politely requesting you to dispose of your trash everywhere.
after a day of work we went and played in some hot springs a wee bit out of the town. it was quite fun and relaxing, though i dont buy senaw's claims that the water heals skin diseases (i still have some spots).