Nairobi (June 8-9):
Nairobi is the capital of Kenya with a population of over 2 million. We stayed there for only two nights before heading out into B.F. Africa. While there, we visited the Nairobi game park for a first taste of the wild. It was pretty weird seeing elephants, giraffe, and other big African game in the back drop of the city.
We stayed in the Fairview hotel which is located in a compound next to the Israeli Embassy. The security was so tight there I wasn’t even allowed to take pictures leading up to the hotel. There were road blocks and armed guards surrounding the compound. I didn’t know whether to feel safe or feel like a target.
Karen Blixen is the author of Out of Africa. Her home was turned into a museum. She died in 1961 at the age of 77. She apparently lived life to the fullest. When she died, she was suffering from Syphilis, and arsenic poisoning, which she took for the pain. Also, we noticed that the tea pots she drank from were made of lead. She was also a heavy smoker. It’s amazing she made it to age 77.
David Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage:
We also visited the elephant orphanage made famous after it was featured on 60-Minutes in 2006. They take in orphaned elephants abandoned when poachers kill the adults for the ivory.
