Nairobi Days 1 and 2

4 month old elephant

Streaky Seed eater

Kibera Slum

We made it to Nairobi by being fleet of foot and some good luck.  We had only an hour between flights and would have been fine if the police had not been called onto the plane to remove a troublesome passenger upon arrival in London.  We needed special permission to reenter security and literally ran up the escalator to make the tram back to the same terminal we had come from (not very efficient).  It is our last day in Nairobi.  Yesterday we drove around the surrounding area by the giraffe refuge (roadside zoo), Karen Blixen’s (who is a heroine here, even though she only spent 4-5 years in Kenya) and visited the David Sheldrick elephant orphanage, where they developed the standard for baby elephant milk.  We visited a flea market, did some bartering (just like China), and dined at the Carnivore restaurant, which is the African version of the Rodizio Grill.  I ate crocodile (tasted river-waterish) and camel (boring) for the first time.  Anthony Bourdain would have been proud of me!  Washed it down with Tusker beer, which I really liked.  We also went by (not into) the Kibera Slum, which is the second largest slum in the world.  It has over 1.5 million people in it, their own school system, orphanages, etc.  Very sad.  The Nairobi people have all been welcoming and gracious.  Today we head into the City for a few hours and we take off to Amboseli tomorrow.  My roommate, Deborah, arrives for the trip this evening.  Tom Whetten, the tour leader and photographer is a retired cop from Tucson.  He’s got a great sense of humor, so Jerry and I feel very comfortable with him.  I learned a ton about photography from him last night just chatting over some Coca Colas.  He’s a wealth of information.  Our driver through Kenya, George, is  a really nice man and quite knowledgeable of the area.  We will change drivers and tour companies when we enter Tanzania and then back to George when we make the loop back into Kenya.  Internet is not a given in Nairobi, but hope to get this posted today along with pics of a 4 month old elephant; the Kibera slum (from afar) and a Streaky Seed-eater.

Into Africa-My Photo Safari Through Kenya and Tanzania

Dear Family and Friends,
Welcome to my first attempt at blogging.  Hopefully, I will get the hang of this over the next two weeks and be able to upload some photos and  experiences as we travel to Nairobi and down through the Serengeti, the Massai Mara, back up through the Oldevai Ridge, Lake Victoria, and back again.  This is a test post to see if I can publish text, add a picture (that my friend Greg took of a white rhino in Africa), and whether it works on your end!  I hope you can travel along with me throughout my African adventure.  We take off Friday, although I am ready to go now!  Love, Georgeann