Last night was good too. We spent a couple of hours with Chris Shisanya over a beer or two (bia mbili), a kg of “wet fried” goat meat, plus spinach, potatoes, and rice at the Sportsview Hotel here in Kasarani (Nairobi). Maureen got to know Chris better after having introduced Connie (his wife) and him to us in the US some 7 years ago. Connie was in the city last night taking an exam for an Events Management course she is taking. Chris and Connie run the CLOUT program for the AIDS widows of Kasavai, where we will be in just a couple of days. (Tonight we have a business dinner/meeting with Chris and Connie, and Maureen gets her first sampling of real Kenyan tilapia, cooked and served the Kenyan way).
Today we are going off for an excursion in the outskirts of the city with our friend and driver Francis to
1. The David Sheldrick Foundation Wildlife Trust elephant and rhino sanctuary
2. The Giraffe Centre
3. The Karen Blixen (Out of Africa) home
4. The Masai market
The orphan elephant sanctuary was everything we expected and remembered. A must see for those ever in Nairobi. We got to see Naipoki, Ishaq-B, Sities, and Kiainuk along with all the other elephants in the nursery. Maxwell, the blind orphan rhino was there in his pen too.
Lunch after the Giraffe Center was at the Tamambo House, formerly the manager’s house on the Blixen Estate. Lunch was great and the grounds were beautiful.
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We’re back at the Sportsview having done all the above except number 4. We ran out of time and energy. Please substitute “4. Watch and engage in Nairobi traffic” for “4. The Masai Market.” And note that just because there are ATMs from 6 different banks in one room does not mean that any of them will give you cash when you use a MasterCard debit/ATM card.
The Giraffe Centre proved to be lots of fun. It turns out that giraffes are good kissers and they can neck too.
The Karen Blixen house came with a detailed but fast guided tour by Stephen. He was a complex woman.
Traffic in and around downtown Nairobi was hair raising particularly for Maureen who got to sit in the seat right next to our driver, Francis. He is very good and cautious, but Maureen said that either Sandy or I get to be in the front seat next time.
We had a working dinner with Connie and Chris at the Sportsview and Maureen was able to give Connie the beautiful quilt she made for her.
Thank you Terry for the blog. I loved the detail about your experience. The photos were wonderful, you truly are citizens of the world. Keep the captions and the bird pictures coming. Don Mullen
ReplyDeleteDon,
ReplyDeleteBird pictures yes, captions may take too much time but I'll try. Terry