Safari Part One

We were so excited. Everything had been packed for days, extra batteries had been bought, flashlights found, etc etc. After months of planning, we were more than ready. Our flight was due to leave at 11:45pm, around 9pm our friends arrived in a taxi to pick us up. Our traveling companions were Emily and Kelly two residents of a tiny northern Ontario town called Wawa. They have known each other since the age of four, been through school together and then University. When they graduated they decided to go into international work together so they headed to Egypt, which is where Valerie and I met them. They work at the same school as Valerie and I.

Anyway we arrived at the airport and checked our bags, everything was going well, no long line ups. Our flight is through Kenya Air, which is fun because I have never been on their airline before. We even bumped into some of the other teachers from the school who were also on our flight they were doing a safari through Uganda to see the Mountain Gorillas. So we board our plane and wait. About an hour after we had boarded the plane there is an announcement that some part of the plane is faulty and needed to be replaced, and that we would be sitting and waiting for the part to be fixed before leaving. Which would be fine except we were all sitting in a closed airplane with no real ventilation and it began to get very uncomfortable. It was hot and the air was very dry, and they wouldn't let us get off or open the doors. The man next to me kept asking for water and I was worried he was going to pass out. Finally after 3 hours they let us back into the airport where we discovered what was going on. The Egyptians had decided that the part the Kenyans wanted wasn't necessary so instead of finding it they told the Kenyans to take off. The Kenyans said no, they wouldn't go without the piece. Anyway they argued about it until 5:45 am, when finally the part was replaced and we took off. The flight to Kenya was about 6 hours from Cairo with a quick stopover in Khartoum. We arrived in Kenya a bit nervous, we weren't sure if we were going to be met in Nairobi or not. And Emily couldn't remember where she had put the contact info for our safari. Also during out wait we had time to sit down and read our lonely planets which made us a little bit more uneasy. According to the Lonely planet, Nairobi is now the most dangerous city in Africa even beating out Johannesburg, it is commonly referred to as Nai-robbery.

We were met by our guide-to-be Joshua, and he was great. He taught us the swahili word for welcome: karibu! As we walked out of the Nairobi airport we saw our first glimpse of our safari van, it was super, a mini-van with a customized roof that pops up and allows for picture taking. Joshua worked for a company called Safari Line who would be taking care of our Kenya stay. We had about an hours drive from the airport into Nairobi proper where we stayed at a hotel. It was an interesting drive, Kenya is much cleaner and orderly looking than Egypt. The people do not look as poor, and there appears to be a solid infrastructure. Even so as we stopped in traffic people started to appear trying to sell us things (see picture). Joshua warned us to keep our windows closed because the sellers would try to grab things within reach. The variety of things for sale was amazing, you could buy Milhouse dolls on sticks, hats, shirts, fruit, perfume, and freshly roasted peanuts. Valerie leaned out and bought some peanuts from a young man with a big smile. We saw lots of brightly coloured buses and several with theme paint jobs, we saw a David Beckham bus, and several Obama buses (his father was Kenyan).

Our experience in Nairobi was strange. We saw so much fear and so much security but we didn't feel threatened or scared. Everyone we met was helpful and kind. We even went out at night to a restaurant and walked back to our hotel (something both the guide book and our tour operator told us not to do). Perhaps we were naive, I don't think so. We went to sleep that night, excited and exhausted. We were in Africa!!!