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Published: September 26th 2009
I had a good night's sleep and woke up way before my 8am wake up call. That's great and all, but the 2 things I wanted to do for the day don't open until much later, so I kind of lazed around. I spoke to our Nairobi travel agent and we (i.e. he) decided it would be best for me to have a driver for the day. That way I wouldn't have to try to find a reliable taxi back to the hotel, and I wouldn't be wasting that time as well. So Sylvester picked me up a little after 10 and we planned our day. The first thing I wanted to do was go back to the Elephant Orphanage. I absolutely love elephants, adore baby elephants, it's a super cheap entry fee and it's only open for an hour, so I'd still have lots of time for other things. Because I wasn't videotaping all the stories, I was able to take some pictures and actually pet some of the tiny babies. If I ever re-locate to Nairobi, that would be the perfect job, babysitting baby elephants - you get the cuteness and charm of human children, but they don't talk back (might run you over, but they won't talk back).
The second thing I needed to do was some SHOPPING!!! We had nowhere to put things until we got to Bumala, and since then I haven't really had the time, so that was my priority. I was going to go to the Maasai market at the Village Market, it's like a big flea market of African wares and it's at different locations throughout the week. Sylvester suggested I try some private shops, he said they were like factories and warehouses, that the vendors at the Maasai market buy their stuff there and then sell it for higher prices at their market, so I should be able to get a super good deal. The first one we went to was huge and had a million different things. The guy followed me around with a basket, said pick whatever you want, don't worry about the price, I give you a good deal. So I was conservative, but got things for almost everyone on my list, including a lot of stuff for me. Then it came to deal-making time. His initial request was pretty high, way more than I thought everything was worth. I tried to get prices on the individual things, but he was pretty vague, said the more items, the better the deal. So I worked out my numbers and we haggled over it for quite a long time. In the end, I got him down about about 20% but it was still more than I had wanted to spend. Oh well, they take Visa, and I didn't want to re-pick out things and start all over, so I paid. I figured I had at least done better than I had in the Dominican Republic, so I should complain too much. We stopped at another shop, much smaller and poorer quality stuff, but they had a drum I really wanted. I asked prices on a few other things I had just purchased and found out I had been screwed, so I paid for what I wanted and was done with shopping.
We then went to the Bomas of Kenya. Kenya has 42 different tribes, and the Bomas (Swahili for village) is a heritage site that have life-sized replicas of how most of the different tribes constructed their buildings and planned their villages. They also have a big amphitheatre where they have daily performances that showcase the different dances and songs. We got there just in time, and the place quickly filled up with school kids. I guess Friday is their 'field trip day'. Every chair (I'm not good at estimating, but there were probably at least 600-800 chairs), they had two rows sitting on the floor all around the circular stage, and they were packed in, sitting on all of the stair aisles. So many kids. And not great ventilation in the theatre so it got pretty hot and sweaty pretty quickly. The performance lasted about an hour and a half, each act lasting 5-8 minutes of drumming and dancing. Pretty entertaining, but my favorite part was the last act, the acrobat act. There were 6 guys and they were moving constantly for about 12 minutes, somersaulting over each other, balancing off of each other, skipping tricks, fire eating, limbo under a flaming bar that got all the way down to a 500 mL coke bottle. I videotaped the whole thing, but I wasn't keeping an eye on the little screen, I was so amazed with their tricks, I hope it all turns out. After the performance, Sylvester and I went to look at a few of the bomas and he gave me a little sociology lesson. By the 6th village, they were all starting to look the same - there are only so many building materials available out here and only so many ways you can use them to build huts.
Our next stop was the Mamba Village, which has a Crocodile Farm, a few ostriches and an orphaned giraffe. Since we hadn't found any crocs on safari, I figured I'd go check them out here. They have a LOT of crocs, too many in a tiny enclosure for my taste. I enjoyed the Croc Farm in Australia much better, but I learned a few new facts here. We walked over to see the ostriches, but they were in the back part of the enclosure so we couldn't really see them, oh well, I'd seen enough on safari to satisfy me, I'm not a big 'bird person'. The guide was really knowledgable so it was worth the trip.
It was only 5:30 and my flight wasn't until 10, but I wanted to get to the airport with plenty of time (I had to repack everything with my souvenirs) and I had seen enough sights. So we crawled thru rush hour traffic to go to the airport. Most of the cars here don't have air conditioning, but you don't want to roll your windows down all the way because there are street hawkers everywhere. They walk amongst the cars trying to sell you toys, sunglasses, ball caps, shirts, bags of oranges or passion fruit, little packs of peanuts, maps, car tools, even lamp shades, I kid you not. The young kids with the peanuts are really bad because they're cute and in raggy clothes and really work their charm. But Sylvester stepped in when they wouldn't go away. He dropped me off at the airport and now the waiting began. They have security right at the entry door, and since my souvenirs weren't packed in my suitcases yet, I had a little trouble as they thought I was trying to bring a sword across, turns out it was a letter opener. After I checked in, there were a few more souvenir shops and I discovered I'd been truly screwed over by the Maasai factory. But Hakuna Matata, no use worrying about it now.
Flight from Nairobi to Amsterdam was pretty uneventful. I had an center aisle seat and an empty seat beside me. I got a little bit of sleep but was pretty sore each time I woke up. But it went pretty fast. We arrived in Amsterdam at 5:00. I had an 8 hour layover and had originally planned to try to go on a short city tour, but by the time things opened, and then I had to be back at the airport by 10:30 to get thru security etc, I figured it really wasn't worth all the stress. So I went to one of the lounging areas where they have semi-reclined seats (all the other seating areas in the airport have armrests between each and every seat, so there's no way to lay down and sleep) and got a few more zzz's, and a few more cricks in the neck. Walked around a lot to work out my legs, waited, walked, waited, etc.
Flight to Minneapolis pretty uneventful. I don't want to sleep anymore until I get home, so I watched 3 movies and some sitcoms. I think I was sitting next to the Air Marshall. We were in the 2nd to last row and when he went back to the bathroom, he'd take longer than expected, he was talking to the flight attendants after we'd landed, and then in the customs area, he went thru the crew window. But he was pretty nerdy looking to be a law enforcement officer. Guess he's good at undercover.
So here I am in Minneapolis, on my final 6 hour layover. Then it's a 3 hour flight and I land just before midnight. In total, it'll be 35 hours of travelling, after being awake for 12 hours and doing touristy things. But I got some sleep so it's not going too badly. I apologize again for not getting a chance to attach pictures, but as I've been saying all along, internet in Kenya leaves a lot to be desired. I've taken over 500 pictures, and I'll be getting copies of all Todd and Heather's as well, so there will be LOTS to share with everyone. And I'm sure I've missed lots of funny and cool little tidbits, so I'll have lots to tell everyone when I see them. I think it's been my best trip yet, and it's only given me a taste of what Africa has to offer. There will definitely be more trips in the future.
Thanks for joining me. I can't wait to see everyone.
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Sharon Klancar
non-member comment
Welcome Home
Jennifer I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed hearing about your fantastic trip, I will miss hearing from you. I hope the final leg of your journey went well! As wonderful as your trip was I am sure it's great to be home also and see your family. I am sure your Mom & Dad will be happy to see you not to mention your Grandparents. Thanks again for your Super Great Reporting. Love Sharon