As part of our safari trip, we had the opportunity to visit a Maasai village and go on a nature walk with some Maasai men. We had a diifcult introduction to the people as we waited at the gate of the Park the first day and were barraged with aggressive Maasai women trying to sell us things. Since there was little or no tourism in Kenya from January through the summer due to fears related to the election violence in January, people who relied on tourists are truly desparate. We bought a few things (expensive, but I see it as a [View Full Entry]

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These are animal pictures from the second and third days in Masai Mara. [View Full Entry]

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The next day, we left for the Masia Mara National Park, after a delicious breakfast at the camp. I rode up front with Humphrey, our driver. We took small detour to view the Menengai Crater just outside of Nakuru. We took an unmarked dirt road and came to a breath-taking view! We were on a highway for the first hour or so, and then the roads changed to sporatic pavement and very bumpy dirt....they were rebuilding the road and this sometimes made it easier on us and at others much harder! There were few private cars once we left the highway: [View Full Entry]

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Good morning new world! We got the news out in the van on a sarfari trip early this am....I think I'm the only American here..but everyone is happy! Tomorrow is a national holiday in Kenya! Everywhere in the camp I hear Swahili and the word Obama.... We have been on safari for three days now....we started out at Lake Nakuru on Monday and saw many animals, including a huge rhino up very close....flamingos, a leopard (asleep in a tree and hard to see...) and hyenas among others... We then drove to the Masai Mara on Wednesday and will stay here til [View Full Entry]

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I drove from the school to Nakuru by taxi. The driver is a friend of Vicki and Geoff's. We passed the Equator twice, and came down into the Rift Valley. The drive was beautiful... Nakuru is a big town and the scene of some of the election violence back in January. There I met up with the safari group, and we headed to Lake Nakuru, where we would spend the night. Once we were checked into the beautiful Flamingo Hill Camp, we went out to see the animals... The amount of wildlife is incredible...the pix will show better than words! I [View Full Entry]

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Once we got to Flamingo Lodge and checked in, we left on our first safari drive. The lake has no outlets, and it is very salty. The park is heavily wooded, with a large open area by the lake. Many trees blew down in a wind storm a few years ago, and you can see the devastation still. The first animal we came across was a leopard in a tree. It was hard to see, but it is rare to see them at all...and it turned out that this would be our only leopard viewing during the trip, so we were [View Full Entry]

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I am leaving tomorrow morning on safari! First to Lake Nakuru and then to the Masai Mara, on the edge of the Serengeti. The guide is a friend of Vicki and Geoff's, and I am joining a group Swedes he had already booked. I will end up in Nairobi on Wednesday night and then take a matatu back here on Thursday. Today we ate lunch at the airfield on the edge of the Laikipia Plateau. It is about 45 minutes from here by car. Expats gather there and the Brits have a helicopter training base. We were only a few kilometers [View Full Entry]

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We left Nairobi Thursday morning for Nyeri. The school sent a driver to pick us up....we had 11 boxes and bags by the time we left! We shopped for the basics here since it is a long walk from the school to town. We have been told that we will have a two bedroom apartment at the Upper School! We traveled in a school matatu (van) from Nairobi, and the driver took the more scenic route out of the capital, passing the ambassadors' residences just outside the city. I was leaning out the window, trying for a photo of these grand [View Full Entry]

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Today we were feeling even more sleep deprived since both of us woke up around 3:00 am....but we managed to put in a good day's work....hopefully the jet lag wears off soon! When I got up around 6:00 there were many birds singing, and cool fresh air coming in the windows. A bright yellow bird sat on the clothes line as I made coffee. Everything is so green and lush here. On the path between the lower and upper school, there are banana trees, and huge arching trees over the road...weaver bird nests and herons! The heron squawk here too, but [View Full Entry]

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We had an easy trip, considering the length of the flights (over 20 hours) and the distance and time zones crossed...We were able to stretch out on the last flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi, and got some sleep! All of our bags arrived with us, including the 85 pounds of books we are bringing for the library... Flying out of Seattle, we headed north and flew over LaConner...I could see the islands off our beach and the Olympic Mountains and San Juans further out. We then followed part of Highway 20 east, and the views were beautiful... Amsterdam was rainy and [View Full Entry]

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