Kenya Adventures

We flew to Ghana and then Kenya, arriving at 530 am, Sunday. It was cooler in Kenya in the morning, but so nice. The entire day the temperatures were perfect. I soaked it all in, as I know I’m going home to the snow and cold. We paid US$20 each to get out of the airport into Nairobi for the day, and it was well worth it. As soon as we left the airport we could see the stark contrasts between Liberia and Kenya. The taxi had plush seats and… drumroll please… seatbelts! The roads were well maintained, well marked, and there were many skyscrapers in the distance. We drove by Nairobi National Park and saw some giraffes! Sweet. We got to Amy’s hotel in central Nairobi and all crashed for a couple hours – felt so good!
A friend of a friend of Amy’s came to take us on a walking tour of Nairobi around 10 am. His name is Peter and he’s a Sudanese student taking social work in Nairobi. He was a great tour guide! At the end of the day my legs were swollen and sore and my feet blistered, but we saw a lot! We went to a craft market where the vendors gave us hardly any breathing space and were so pushy that all I wanted was to escape asap. Their pushiness totally turned me off from buying their beautiful wares.
We sauntered through parks where there were flowers, fountains, music, picnics, faces being painted, paddle boats in a lake and people seeming quite content. We saw parliament, the downtown core, and some “real” hustling-bustling Nairobi.
One of the funniest parts of the day was when we had to pay for public toilets where you squatted over a hole in the ground! ☺
Another funny moment was when we had just finished a big breakfast in a restaurant – with the world’s best pineapple – only to hop in a car headed for Peter’s place to have a Sudanese lunch an hour later! This was due to a bit of miscommunication between Peter and ourselves regarding the plan for the day. We still ate the amazing Sudanese food, and just didn’t need to eat for many hours later. We met his family and saw where he lived. His sisters didn’t speak the best English, but were so kind, gracious and welcomed us into their home. I was surprised at how nice their apartment was – they had cable tv and we watched Sister Act together.
At the end of the day we again collapsed in the hotel – all three of us very sleep deprived for the past 3 days. I can’t tell you how nice it was to have a bath to wash away the sweat and dust and soak out the travel aches before my next 9 hour flight to London.
We parted ways with Amy – left her to her cozy hotel before her safari the next morning. And then there were two. By chance at the airport we met a friend from the ship, Luke, who’d left two weeks ago for other destinations, and he happened to be on our flight to London with us. And then there were three again!
Now I’m in London, alone, as we’ve all parted ways, contemplating how much more I like to travel with people than by myself. I’m killing time.
London impressions: crisp and cool, Christmas lights and decorations all over, extremely expensive shops, lots of people headed here, there and everywhere. It feels like a bit of culture shock and it’s not even been 3 months. I can’t wait to see my family at the airport in about 12 hours!
What a trip: three 9 hour flights, two layovers (18 + 6 hours), little sleep (probably total 12 hours fitful sleep over the past 4 days). I cannot wait for a soft bed and a LONG sleep.