Highlights of Kenya: Part 1!

September dawned and I continued going to work each day while Erich enjoyed some of the offerings from Nairobi Day Trips. We got an absolutely delightful surprise when Eliza blew back into town for a weekend to attend a Fair Trade conference and we got to spend some very quality time with her. It was so absolutely lovely and unexpected to see her after such a (relatively) short time, and to get to hang out again. Lots of drinks, delicious food, and general fun. But, sadly and strangely, no pictures.

Laura, another friend of ours from Korea (who was ALSO on that fateful Chicago-Seoul flight in August 2009) and her boyfriend Paul arrived on September 9 for a couple of weeks.

One of my favourite pictures from all of my time in Korea. Chuseok 2009!
Laura, Me, Erich
And two Korean children we stole, much to their parents' delight.

They landed around midnight on a night that happened to be RIGHT before a major deadline at work, so Erich and I went to the airport, dropped Eliza off for her flight, picked up Laura and Paul, and then had the cab drop me back at the office where I worked until 7:15am. Never a dull moment. But we got the documents in before the deadline, so that's really all that matters.

I love having visitors, and take my job as a tour guide VERY seriously. There is just something really great about having the opportunity to show people around a place you love. It was amazing to have Jo Anna, Carl and Monica, and my brother come visit Korea, and I was so pumped when I found out that Erich, Laura, and Paul were coming here. When I think about Kenya, I think of six pretty distinct areas: Nairobi, Rift Valley/Great Lakes (Naivasha, Nakuru, Baringo, all the way out to Lake Victoria), Southern Safari Belt (Amboseli, Tsavo, Maasai Mara), Coast, Desert North (Turkana, Samburu, etc), and Mountains (Mt. Kenya, Aberdares, etc). I knew that when my visitors came, I wanted to show them as much as I reasonably could, and give them an opportunity to experience as many different areas of this crazy country as possible.

I live in Nairobi and knew that while I was at work they'd have the opportunity to go out to the Rift Valley, so those two boxes were ticked. I am ALWAYS up for the coast, so that was the next one I wanted to tackle. On Friday evening, after work, I met up with my three visitors at the Nairobi Railways Station, ready to embark on what was sure to be an adventure: a 15-hour train ride from Nairobi to Mombasa.

Let me preface by reminding you that Mombasa is just a touch over 500km (310mi) from here. You can fly there in 50 minutes. If you drive, it should take about 7 hours. On a bus, 8. Yet, for some reason, the train takes FIFTEEN HOURS. Scheduled departure time is at 7:00pm, with an arrival in Mombasa at 10:00am the following day. Trains run to the coast on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and return on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  We bought first class tickets for just over $60 per person, which entitled us to a "cabin" with two "beds," two meals (dinner and breakfast), and bed linens. While this trip was definitely something I'm glad I did once (and god, it could have been so much worse) I don't think its a trek I'd repeat.

Let's start with the "cabin." I fully believe these trains were beautiful and state of the art....in maybe the 1950s. At this point, they are tired. The first class cabins have two couches/beds that are bunked. There is a small wardrobe, a dusty mirror, and a sink (that we kept covered because there were cockroaches living in it). It could have done with a good scrub down, but overall was not too bad. Bathrooms were at the end of each car, and were literally just a hole over the tracks. Lovely little signs requested that you only use the "toilet" when the train was in motion, hahaha.

Laura and Paul's spacious cabin.
Photo credit: Laura

And ours.
Photo credit: Laura

Yup. Pretty much.
Photo credit: Laura

And then there was the food. It was...edible. Could have used about 8x the spice (knew I should have brought pepper and Old Bay!) but it was okay. I'd bring snacks. The dining car was fun because it had a whole table setting, but the food itself left a bit to be desired.

Tables in the dining car.
Photo credit: Laura

Laura and Paul getting ready to dig in.

This soup was...theoretically mushroom? It had absolutely no flavour, and I think Laura described it well as "flour water."Photo credit: Laura

"Maryland chicken" (no idea why it was called that) that was pretty good, veggies, and potatoes for dinner.

Breakfast: eggs, sausage, toast, and beans.

I know some people who have had some pretty awful luck with the train (I'm talking 7-12 hour delays in departure and/or arrival) so I considered us immensely lucky to only have an hour delay on both ends. We left around 8:00pm, and arrived just after 11:00am. I actually slept really well, as I tend to do on modes of transportation. Though nothing beats the gentle roll of Semester at Sea's mv Explorer, I got into the rhythm of the train's motion and slept soundly for about 10 full hours. It was awesome.

Morning light over the bush.Photo credit: Laura

Train speeding ahead.Photo credit: Laura

The lovely and welcoming Mombasa Train Station...Photo credit: Laura

Once we arrived, we hopped in our waiting taxi and headed up to Watamu. Watamu is definitely my favourite escape in Kenya. Deserted beaches, warm water, lovely private homes to rent...its just the best. After spending a few hours winding our way through small coastal villages and stopping to pick up groceries, we arrived at the beautiful Acacia Cottage, just down the street from the Watamu Treehouse where we stayed before. The three bedroom house had air conditioning (crazy!), lots of space for lounging around, and a pretty garden area with a pool. It was about a 10 minute walk to the beach (down some really steep forest trails) so it might not be the best place to go with children, but it was fine for us. There were two housekeepers and a chef, all of whom were very sweet and generally lovely.

View of the garden/pool from the house.
Photo credit: Laura

Erich and I floatin' around, as we are wont to do.Photo credit: Laura

We used this pool a LOT.Photo credit: Laura

My favourite lounge area.Photo credit: Laura

Tasty tasty food. Overall, the food was really good, ESPECIALLY the 14lbs of crab we ate at this one meal, hahaha. I'd rank this coast chef second (after Treehouse, before Diani).
Photo credit: Laura

Might have gone a LITTLE overboard on the juices...
Photo credit: Laura

Mmmm, red snapper, fresh salad, and jasmine rice.
Photo credit: Laura

Overall the weekend was spent sleeping, eating delicious food, relaxing, going to the beach, and floating in the pool. A freaking perfect coast weekend, if you ask me. BUT we also got a little culture. On Sunday we went to the Gede Ruins, which are all that remain of a once thriving 12th century Swahili port town. It was deserted centuries ago, and only rediscovered in the 1920s. It was pretty cool, and we had a great tour guide. Also, lots of monkeys.

Laura looking lovely.

The photo before this was me looking (justifiably) horrified as the monkey leapt, unbidden, onto my shoulder. Gross.
Photo credit: Laura

Let's not even go into how I felt about the fact that, at our tour guide's insistence, the monkeys were lured to us using Orbitz gum.
Photo credit: Laura

Man, this reminds me of our time at Ta Prohm...on a slightly smaller scale, haha.Photo credit: Laura

Inside the ruins.
Photo credit: Laura

Old mosque. Looks remarkably good for being so old!Photo credit: Laura

Future imam?

Cute group pic...in front of a tomb. You know, the usual.
Me, Laura, Paul, Erich

Our wonderful tour guide, Betty.Photo credit: Laura

Baobab pod, anyone?Photo credit: Laura

On Monday morning before we left, we went out into the Watamu Marine National Reserve, where I floated around on a boat and sunned while the other three went snorkeling. It was perfect. The weather was beautiful, the ocean was GORGEOUS, and it was just so incredibly relaxing. A great way to end the weekend.

Erich, Paul and I heading out of Turtle Bay Beach Club to get on our boat.Photo credit: Laura

Heart!
Photo credit: Laura

Never want to leave.

But seriously, I could live on this boat.

Gorgeous!

Love all the blues and greens.

When we arrived in the marine park around 9:30am, it was DESERTED. But soon enough, hoardes of over-tanned Italians arrived to loudly interrupt the serenity. Oh well.

Laura and Paul snorkeling like pros.

Such a lovely day.

Erich being a creeper. He looks like a test subject, haha.

Amongst the fishes. Note the bait bread on his left, haha.

Erich, Paul and Laura.

Back on the boat and returning home.
Paul, me, ErichPhoto credit: Laura

We flew back to Nairobi on Monday night, and I had managed to develop a horrible cough and sinus infection that I didn't end up shaking until like last Friday. Annoying! On Tuesday I hung out at home and recuperated while others went out exploring. Tuesday night we headed out to Karen for my fourth visit to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. One of the perks of being a foster parent is getting to go back in the evening to watch the babies get fed and tuck them into bed. It. Is. Adorable. I also got to hang out with my BFF Maxwell, the blind rhino.

Waiting to go into the orphanage.
Laura, me, Erich
Photo credit: Paul

Did you really want ALL your fingers?

My buddy, Maxwell!

I seriously love him.

Look how pretty!

Baby eles ready for their evening bottle!

They run like a little cartoon.

SOMEONE was playing in the red mud all day.

So cute. 

Uhh messy eater, much?

Erich making friends.

In their stall ready to eat and sleep.

The little ones wear blankets when its chilly.

The blankets are made and donated by Shuka Duka. Love.

While we were there, we had the unique experience of actually seeing a brand new orphan being brought in after being rescued. Dame Daphne Sheldrick (wife of David Sheldrick) was there, and we got to talk with her for a little bit about the work that they do. It was pretty awesome. I hope that very skinny sick little elephant gets better quickly!

The rangers brought him in on the back of the pick up, straight from the airport.

It took about 10 burly men to lift the sedated baby out of the truck.

They tie up the babies for their own safety.

Dame Sheldrick overseeing the process.

They had to put in an ear IV to rehydrate him until he was ready to take a bottle.

Sad sad sad. Look how skinny. You shouldn't see an elephant's cheekbones.

He was sassy and not very interested in taking milk from a bottle. They use human baby formula and he was not a fan.

Eventually they got him drinking from a milk bottle and a water bottle at the same time.

They said that they usually have to bring other elephants out to drink in front of the new babies so they know its what they are supposed to do.

Good luck, little man!

Dame Sheldrick and I. This woman's family does absolutely incredible work for the wildlife of Kenya.

Wednesday was another day of resting and hanging out with Erich as Laura and Paul went and checked out Lake Nakuru. We had a group dinner at a Korean restaurant (Big Mama's) that night before heading out for our safari to Maasai Mara on Thursday morning. That is an entry all to itself!

Paul (lovely), Erich, Chris, Karin, a very blurry me, and a somewhat blurry Jess.
Photo credit: Laura