INTO AFRICA KENYA AND TANZANIA, FEB 16 - MAR 4, 2024

Friday, February 16  2024

We are crossing a big one off the bucket list - a safari to Kenya and Tanzania!  We are going with EF GoAhead tours, since we have had good experiences with them in the past. 

Lots of prep for this trip, including shots, pills, duffle bag luggage, treating clothing with insect repellant, etc.  Visas for both Kenya and Tanzania.  Definitely not a last-minute type of trip.  But today we are ready!

Neighbors Danny and Donna graciously took us to the airport for our KLM flight to Nairobi, changing planes in Amsterdam.  Check in is a breeze and we take off as scheduled.  Beth watches Barbie and another movie she has already forgotten, while Greg reads.  Neither of us is good at sleeping on planes, despite the "relaxant" our PCP prescribed.   4 hours in Amsterdam goes by pretty quickly and then it is another 8 hours to Nairobi.  There we go through customs complete with fingerprinting and photos.  A GoAhead rep is there to take us to The Boma hotel, so we finally settle down just past midnight on the 17th (actually 18th).

Sunday, February 18

Our hotel is quite modern and very nice.  Breakfast buffet then a meeting with the group. 

 Adam Mtinga, from Tanzania, is our tour director and Ja4 (who speaks 5 or 6 languages!) our Nairobi representative.  We are reminded to use only bottled water for drinking and even brushing teeth.  Also warned not to interact with street people, drink lots of water, remember the malaria pills and not to take photos of military or government buildings or people. ( The US Embassy here was bombed by Al Qaeda terrorists in 1998 and consequent security measures are still in effect.)

 We are off to the Nairobi National Museum and a little drive through town.  The museum is packed with info but our guide, Ashley, speaks quickly with a strong accent so we only catch maybe 50% of what she is saying. Could spend all day here if we were to read everything.  Most signs and billboards, etc. are in English.

Animals, birds, products, customs, tribes....

The city is a mixture of modern and old and quite busy even on a Sunday. Many toyota and other cars, colorful public buses and tuk-tuks (motorcycles with attached seating or carts).   Lots of street vendors.

Lunch at Tamarind Brasserie is a buffet with quite a selection, beautifully arranged.  The fresh fruits are great - mango, pineapple and watermelon will be at almost every meal.

Then we are off to the Karen Blixen estate.  She is a Danish author who spent 7 years in Africa trying to maintain a coffee plantation.  She was made famous with the beautifully filmed movie "Out of Africa".  Our guide Moses is a volunteer and student. 

                                                        This pretty glossy ibis joined our presentation.

Next is Kobe Tough and Sand & Storm Leather where we are greeted in song.  Over 400 women are employed here making and selling leather goods and beads.  Some beautiful work!

At the Group Dinner we meet other travelers from the US and Canada - 17 of us in all.  New York, Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Vancouver, 4 from Boston... 

Early to bed but we are 9 hours time difference from Houston and quite out of whack!  Not much sleep.