Karibu Kenya!

Day One, 22 September – 23 September

Welcome billboard

Abdul arrives to take me to the airport at 7:30 pm. Traffic is very bad getting out of Mahboula and again arriving at the airport. I go first to the money exchange and turn 90KD into about $295 USD. Then on to check-in. The line is snaking back and forth and people keep cutting in. Thom arrives and joins me in line. We wait for at least an hour and then at the Emirates counter we are told that they “have a booking for us, but no ticket.” After being shuffled to another person, we are forced (as we don’t want to miss our connection or the trip is lost) to buy new tickets. They don’t take credit cards. I went to ATM. It was broken. I would miss my flight if I went looking for another, so the guy takes my $295 cash and says he will exchange it later (I did get a receipt, but I’m still trying to get a refund for the second ticket purchase.) This was very stressful and put a very bad taste in my mouth for Emirates Airways (This has yet to be resolved.). Our flight was due to leave as we were going through immigration, but it was delayed so were able to board. We finally arrive in Dubai and parade all over the airport before finding our gate. I meet Janine (whom Thom knows from a previous trip to Sri Lanka) and we board the plane. We have no problem with our ticket or pre-printed boarding pass.

Kenya Air arrival in Nairobi

Janine and I talk a bit to get to know one another and we sleep some as well. It is a five-hour flight. We are served a snack and drinks after take off, and they handed me two bottles of wine (I guess they didn’t want to be bothered when I called for a second.) and two packages of nuts. Before we landed they served us breakfast. So now it’s 23^rd September.

We arrive in Nairobi and get through immigration pretty easily.

I love that it says No Parking and there are all those cars parked.

Maribou Stork. There were flocks of these in Nairobi. They’re HUGE birds.

We find our way out of the airport and are met by Tom, a driver, who takes us to our hotel. We saw lots of these on our way to the hotel. We are allowed to check-in, freshen up, and then we meet in the lobby to get a taxi and begin our adventure.

Karibu means welcome

We head for the outskirts of town and go to the Elephant Orphanage where we watch the keepers feed some baby elephants of various ages and are even able to touch them.

Wee baby elephant

ostrich at the elephant orphanage

They seem to love wallowing about in the dust and mud, and played in the water buckets. As we were walking out of the orphanage we came across a warthog family just wandering around. We didn’t venture to touch them, but did take some photos.

Warthog family just strolling around.

From there we headed to the Giraffe Reserve. These giraffes are Rothschild Giraffes and we saw them up close and personal.

Rothschild giraffes

Hello!

You have food, I presume.

They had food we could feed to them, and even hold it in our lips and they would “kiss” us to get it. These are the same giraffes that have breakfast with guests at the Giraffe Manor. We looked at it, but it was VERY expensive.

Then we found our way to the Masai Market. It moves from place to place around the city every day.

paintings

carvings

It wasn’t as big as I anticipated, but I bought some earrings, some paintings, a mask, and a makeba (one piece dress with inner ties at the waist). I spent way too much money.

The bargaining begins. (I’m not very good at it.)

Then we went back to the hotel and I stuck my feet in the pool while Thom soaked in it. Then Janine, Thom and I went to share a pizza and beer.

We change and meet in the lobby to go to Carnivore Restaurant. There are 40 of us on this trip! We pile into vans of 4-7 people. The traffic is horrendous and it takes us an hour to get to the restaurant. We are seated at long tables and a few shorter ones nearby. Then we are served from skewer after skewer of various meats: sheep, lamb, pork, chicken, beef, crocodile tail, and rabbit.