KENYA: Travels 20-9 Nov

Sat 20 Nov: Nairobi – Packed and spent day at hostel. Departed for Carnivore Restaurant, renowned for its delicious variety of meats (see below). Our favorite by far was crocodile. While we feasted (yes, we tried everything), we thought about how happy Liz’s dad and mine would be, had they been there with us. Taxi to Nairobi airport, evening flights to Europe.

Carnivore Restaurant Menu
All Inclusive
Starters:
Ginger Carrot Soup ~ House Salad ~ Cole Slaw ~ Roasted Potatoes ~ Roasted Vegetables ~ Chickpea Salad
Meats:
Chicken ~ Turkey ~ Spare Ribs ~ Ostrich ~ Pork Chops ~ Pork Sausage ~ Crocodile ~ Lamb Chops ~ Lamb Sausage ~ Beef ~ Ox Testicles ~ Ox Heart
Sauces:
Tikka Masala ~ Fruit Salsa ~ Green Chili ~ Wildberry ~ Mint ~ Garlic ~ Sour Cream
Yum!
Fri 19 Nov: Mombasa-->Nairobi – 7:30AM bus to Nairobi left several hours late. Made friends with ailing street kittens while waiting. Arrived mid-evening.

Thurs 18 Nov: Diani Beach-->Mombasa – Morning at beach. Taxi/ferry to Mombasa. Visited Fort Jesus and old town, rode in tuk-tuks, slept intermittently due to extreme heat and resounding late night/early morning calls to prayer.


Wed 17 Nov: Diani Beach – Day at the beach. Rode camels and swam in Indian Ocean. Pre-dinner drinks at Ali Barbour’s Cave Restaurant, meaning, a restaurant in an authentic underground cave.

Tues 16 Nov: Mombasa-->Diani Beach – Arrived 6AM, took ferry and local bus to Diani Beach, arrived at Stilts Lodge, 200m from the beach where we stayed in tree-houses! Monkeys were everywhere and their stealing habits became problematic. Afternoon and evening spent relaxing on white sands of the Swahili Coast.

Mon 15 Nov: Lake Nakuru National Park-->Nairobi – Morning game drive around the lake, saw thousands of pink flamingos, storks and other large birds, rhinoceros, baby baboons playing, lioness with four cubs, zebra feeding her young and many giraffes. Drove back to Nairobi, overnight bus to Mombasa.



Sun 14 Nov: Maasai Mara, Narok, Great Rift Valley – Morning game drive through Mara, new sightings included wildebeest migrating, buffalo herding, lion and lioness mating. Visited Maasai Village, saw traditional jumping/dance demonstration and deplorable living conditions. Drove northwest to Lake Nakuru spotting zebras, baboons and buffalo along main highway.

Sat 13 Nov: Maasai Mara National Reserve – Full day game drive through park. New sightings included cheetah and cubs devouring a fresh kill, zebras and wildebeest crossing the river with hippos and crocodiles waiting, lions cuddling, leopard in a tree, ostriches, warthogs and their youngsters scurrying along (think Pumba from the Lion King), an eagle in its nest, spotted hyenas, multiple animal carcasses and a band of meercats.

Someone's running late for school...

Fri 12 Nov: Great Rift Valley, Narok, Maasai Mara National Reserve – PM game drive through Mara. Sightings included: zebras, giraffes, buffalo, impalas, LIONS, elephants, bushbacks, jackals, hot pink/purple lizards, wildebeest, baboons, monkeys. Our sightings started even before we arrived at the reserve, with a 20 foot giraffe crossing the road in front of our car.



Thurs 11 Nov: Karen – Visited Karen Blixen house (site of book/movie Out of Africa), marveled at her collection of fur rugs (lions, leopards, zebras, impalas…) Thought of S3 Maranyundo students celebrating their graduation with Rwanda’s first lady.
Wed 10 Nov: Nairobi - Met with safari tour operator at hostel, negotiated 4 day safari to Maasai Mara and Lake Nakuru starting on Friday, shopping for crafts and souvenirs at Nairobi’s City Market, dinner at South African burger chain in town, Liz arrived PM
Tues 9 Nov: Kampala-->Nairobi – Left Kampala at 6AM on Akamba Royal Class Bus to Nairobi which, for $7 more than the regular bus, featured:
-breakfast
-huge reclining seats with adjacent (though non-functioning) outlets
-fewer passengers - therefore fewer stops
-more humane bathroom breaks (this means 3 over the course of the 12 hour drive, rather than 1)
-a driver who helped us out of a sketchy passport-control issue at the border, and
-Viewing of Home Alone 1 and 2 on the 24” TV at the front, plus intermittent Thai sub-titles
Lunch was this angry-looking samaki, chips & posho for roughly $1