When I last posted we had just arrived in the Nairobi Airport, which I must admit is chock'a'block full of shops and things to look at. Marylyn had made us promise to stay in the airport so, of course, we had to go outside. We already had our entrance visas bought and paid for, 8 hours to kill and an African bird book burning a hole in my bullet bag. So we went through the process of filling out their official government forms and immigration officers, passport stamping etc and went outside. I'm sure we were quite the oddity. We were offered about 50 cabs but we just wandered around the airport grounds (see Marylyn - we do listen a little bit). We saw many birds and IDed most of them. I didn't bring my list to the computer room but I will update that soon. After Paul reminded me that he is winning on the bird count I will have to work even harder!
It was so hot, I remembered to put on sunscreen after about a half hour but we both managed to burn our necks. After a while we had a sit down on a flag pole base to try to figure our one particular bird (Black Kite) when a cop wandered near us with the most over decorated military guy at his side. He had an abundance of gold braids and medals pinned to him. Anyway, either he told the cop to move us or the cop decided that he wasn't looking busy enough for the boss so we got roused. So that was the end of our Kenyan birding expedition. Still, I have Nairobi in my bird book and that is what really matters.
Our flight to Arusha was in an old prop plane that reminded me of those stories of tourists crashing & dying in some sort of local transport where people at home say "What on earth were they thinking, getting into that plane (or train, truck, boat)" It was a crazy bumpy ride (did not help with my stupid tourist fears). Unfortunately, it was so cloudy we didn't get the lovely view of Mt Kilimanjaro we had hoped for. Oh well, we made it without crashing so I won't complain. Readers of the Times Colonist can comment on some other dead tourists' transportation choices.
We were the first out the gate after picking up our luggage which was there(Mom must had recited some hail marys for that wish to come true). Our driver was there and he loaded us and our bags into a jeep and off we went. Within 2 minutes of leaving the airport grounds we saw actual, real live, honest to goodness Masai women in the field tending their cattle. Maybe only the anthropology majors will understand this but that made the three days of travelling all worth it. The drive was an adventure in itself. There were people everywhere, donkeys standing in the middle of the road, little brick houses. Awesome.
We got to the hotel and it is lovely, probably the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. Although last night I didn't really care. Mom went to have a shower and I fell asleep in my clothes. I finally woke up at midnight and changed into my pjs. A glorious 12 hours of sleep in a bed!!
Next morning we ventured out. We hadn't made it 6 inches from the hotel gates before we were assaulted by every street salesman in Arusha. You could practically hear the "fresh meat/money" vibe to them. It was a short venture. We changed some money and high tailed it back to the hotel. It was like dipping our big toes into a cold lake. Baby steps. We ate breakfast in the hotel (egg yokes are white here) and then tried again on the outside. We did better this time. We wandered around and did a bit of shopping. I am so jaded when it comes to shopping but everything here is so different. All of my rules about waiting went out the window. Already I have a bulky object that will soon be causing me no end of packing trouble. Do I ever learn? No. No, I don't.
By the evening we were getting pretty good at dodging the vendors. We even managed to go out for dinner at a nice little restaurant called Pepe's (Italian/Indian formally Italian/Mexican cuisine) Very good pizza. We tried (we really did) to find an African restaurant but we couldn't find a single one. We tried our first Tusker beer, which was delicious and cold.
We were constantly surrounded by a posse of men, offering us cabs, trickets, information, assistance. They would follow us for blocks. One guy I finally had to yell at. It makes Mexican vendors seem unmotivated. Stores started to close at 1 o'clock and it got so hot that we came back to the hotel for a rest. Plus, we didn't want to spend all of our money on Day 1.
Tomorrow the tour starts so we are at the mercy of the set schedule so I don't know when we will be able to post next.
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| A woman doing her laundry in Arusha |
When I last posted we had just arrived in the Nairobi Airport, which I must admit is chock'a'block full of shops and things to look at. Marylyn had made us promise to stay in the airport so, of course, we had to go outside. We already had our entrance visas bought and paid for, 8 hours to kill and an African bird book burning a hole in my bullet bag. So we went through the process of filling out their official government forms and immigration officers, passport stamping etc and went outside. I'm sure we were quite the oddity. We were offered about 50 cabs but we just wandered around the airport grounds (see Marylyn - we do listen a little bit). We saw many birds and IDed most of them. I didn't bring my list to the computer room but I will update that soon. After Paul reminded me that he is winning on the bird count I will have to work even harder!
It was so hot, I remembered to put on sunscreen after about a half hour but we both managed to burn our necks. After a while we had a sit down on a flag pole base to try to figure our one particular bird (Black Kite) when a cop wandered near us with the most over decorated military guy at his side. He had an abundance of gold braids and medals pinned to him. Anyway, either he told the cop to move us or the cop decided that he wasn't looking busy enough for the boss so we got roused. So that was the end of our Kenyan birding expedition. Still, I have Nairobi in my bird book and that is what really matters.
Our flight to Arusha was in an old prop plane that reminded me of those stories of tourists crashing & dying in some sort of local transport where people at home say "What on earth were they thinking, getting into that plane (or train, truck, boat)" It was a crazy bumpy ride (did not help with my stupid tourist fears). Unfortunately, it was so cloudy we didn't get the lovely view of Mt Kilimanjaro we had hoped for. Oh well, we made it without crashing so I won't complain. Readers of the Times Colonist can comment on some other dead tourists' transportation choices.
We were the first out the gate after picking up our luggage which was there(Mom must had recited some hail marys for that wish to come true). Our driver was there and he loaded us and our bags into a jeep and off we went. Within 2 minutes of leaving the airport grounds we saw actual, real live, honest to goodness Masai women in the field tending their cattle. Maybe only the anthropology majors will understand this but that made the three days of travelling all worth it. The drive was an adventure in itself. There were people everywhere, donkeys standing in the middle of the road, little brick houses. Awesome.
We got to the hotel and it is lovely, probably the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. Although last night I didn't really care. Mom went to have a shower and I fell asleep in my clothes. I finally woke up at midnight and changed into my pjs. A glorious 12 hours of sleep in a bed!!
 |
| Our glorious beds after three days of sleeping in chairs |
Next morning we ventured out. We hadn't made it 6 inches from the hotel gates before we were assaulted by every street salesman in Arusha. You could practically hear the "fresh meat/money" vibe to them. It was a short venture. We changed some money and high tailed it back to the hotel. It was like dipping our big toes into a cold lake. Baby steps. We ate breakfast in the hotel (egg yokes are white here) and then tried again on the outside. We did better this time. We wandered around and did a bit of shopping. I am so jaded when it comes to shopping but everything here is so different. All of my rules about waiting went out the window. Already I have a bulky object that will soon be causing me no end of packing trouble. Do I ever learn? No. No, I don't.
By the evening we were getting pretty good at dodging the vendors. We even managed to go out for dinner at a nice little restaurant called Pepe's (Italian/Indian formally Italian/Mexican cuisine) Very good pizza. We tried (we really did) to find an African restaurant but we couldn't find a single one. We tried our first Tusker beer, which was delicious and cold.
 |
| Pepe's outdoor dining room - My first Tusker! |
Tomorrow the tour starts so we are at the mercy of the set schedule so I don't know when we will be able to post next.
2 comments:
Ooooo....what's a 'tricket' and where can I buy one??
Glad you guys have landed safely and are on your way. Have soo much fun!
Got your blog address from Auntie M today and I read your epic tale out loud to Ellie. She was enthralled!!
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