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Published: October 14th 2006
Lake Nakuru Baboon Cliff -Africa 6
We kept referring to ourselves as the Africa 6, we still do when planning parties and taking a head count for dinner etc. "Kenya is the Keeper of the Medicine that Heals the Soul" Nelda
1st day in Nairobi, Kenya:
There was little I did not want to photograph. I wish there was a way we could photograph what the heart was feeling. Maybe that is what these blogs are trying to accomplish. To share how the heart experiences the trip. The memories from Kenya will be forever burned into my heart. It feels like a secret, a small glimps of heaven. I wish this trip on everyone. My heart still pangs for the land, the colors, the people, the silence. I can't imagine not returning. I feel like I have left a very special new friend. One that is the keeper of the medicine that heals the soul. One for which I yearn.
We flew out of San Francisco on the afternoon of the 16th. An eight-hour layover in London and then on to Nairobi. Our trip was booked through Kenya.com out of California. They contracted with a Safari company called Nature Expeditions Africa LTD. A very special thank you to each of these companies for taking such good care of us and making this trip of a life time
Katie, Garrett, Brittney & Spencer
Now this was taken on our trip to Cabo but I wanted a nice close up of the kids for this blog. a reality. A special thank you to our guides Peter on the Kenya side and Moses on the Tanzania side. By the end of our journey they felt like one of our family. We highly recommend all of those named above. The best advice they gave us was to enjoy everything and expect the unexpected. Not to let our preconceived ideas of the trip spoil the adventure we were about to have. Great advice as it did help, starting with our limo that broke down 5 minutes from our home. But hey we were in a limo and we were on our way to Africa so shut up and enjoy the adventure, right? Darn right!.
The Nairobi airport staff was very helpful as we realized our 18-year-old son Spencer's suitcase was missing. At this point we had no idea that three days later it would be found and flown in by private plane to our hotel in the Masai Mara. We had our doubts but our Safari company kept on the airlines and Kenya Air did deliver after all.
Peter and company met us at the airport and loaded our bags into the Toyota Roadrunner like vehicle with
Brittney and Spencer's Gaduation
They left this ceremony and were up all night for project Grad. We left early the next morning for our flight to Africa. These guys were excited but exhausted. Congratulations guys. a pop up top. This would be our home on the road for the next 14 days. One bag per person plus a backpack. Tight squeeze even with this limited luggage. A few minutes drive over to our hotel for one night only, The Panafric Hotel. The staff was lovely but the hotel seemed a little dreary and had a lonely feel to it. But we were excited to be in Africa and were exhausted. Our Safari package included all meals, hotels, transportation, park entry fees and driver/guides. We needed to eat but we could not wait to stretch out in a real bed after flying and sitting in airports.
We had all our shots and drenched our clothes in deet spray. We were warned about fresh fruits and veggies and milk. Well we probably saw two mosquitoes on the whole trip and ate everything in site. No problems. Pat did have a small bout of tummy problems but took our prescribed antibiotics and it was resolved in a day. Staying in the nice hotels while expensive saves you from dealing with insects and bad food. If you can manage it I would suggest going the civilized route.
Limo breakdown
Five minutes from our home our limo broke down and we had to switch limo's. We did not have a laptop on this trip but I did keep a written journal and lots of video and pictures. I purchased a new Panasonic Lumix DMCTZ1 10x optical zoom. I bought 2 2g and 1 1g-memory cards. That would net me about 3000 pictures at 4mp. I brought my 3-year-old Olympus as a back up as you do not want to be out on Safari and have a camera fail. Worked out great. The hotels even had portable units to download pictures onto discs, but I was not aware of this. You must bring your own converters, as the hotels do not sell these. Very strange.
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Ludia
non-member comment
Just envious!
Nelda, if Pat was 30 I'd marry him. I envy you all, Katie and Brittney are just the luckiest. I'd love to travel with my husband and just spend weeks and months in such beautiful scenery. There's nothing more to life than just enjoying it that way. Oh! Have fun and have more and more fun. God bless you all!