January 14, 2015

27 hours in transit but we've arrived in Nairobi! :) The trip from airport to hotel was only supposed to take about 15 minutes but....police barriers and a spike belt that we almost ran over and that left us in a crush of traffic and an hour had passed before we arrived at our destination, The Boma Inn - Nairobi. Hard to tell in the dark (it is 8:30 pm here as kenya is +11 from home) but the garden we walked through to get to the front door sure made me want to go back down there tomorrow to sit and have a leisurely coffee! Rooms are comfortable and clean. Staff is outstanding! Easy to see that we won't be allowed to carry anything from this point on during our African adventure. There are always two or three men in spit and polished uniform at the ready for just such a task. I know we don't look the part and we certainly don't smell the part but boy oh boy it will be easy to feel like we're running with the rich and famous while we're here! :) Now to back track a little....we came through customs no problem and were met by Coleman a wonderful young man who had a sign with our names on it right front and centre of the crush of people waiting at the airport. He said he could tell it was us as soon as he saw us coming. Could it be that he knew he was getting a group of four women and could it be that he had heard they might all be a little crazy ....like doing this whole 3 weeks with nothing but carry on luggage?! However it all worked out and as we walked the several blocks to the parking lot where his partner/driver Mork was waiting with the vehicle we passed the crew from the KLM flight we had just left. A couple of the crew members recognized us right away and wished us a fun and wonderful adventure for our time in Africa. Coleman couldn't believe it....he's been doing exactly this job for 7 years and during that time he has met thousands of guests at the airport. Never before has he ever has any of his guests be remembered by their flight crew so he knew it was going to be a fun night. The drive from airport to hotel was interesting. There is a lot of traffic in Nairobi city and according to Mork it is common for thm to honk often and even bump into one another as they try to squeeze into a tiny space between other vehicles. We tried to get Mork to bump someone (as none of us have ever done that before) but alas...the opportunity didn't present. Perhaps on our way back to the airport we will have our chance. Words we learned tonight include: Jambo (hello), Asante (thank you), and Cariboo (you're welcome). To back up even a little further there is one regret that I have from today. I mentioned in an earlier post that Leah (Darlene's granddaughter) had sent us with a list of things to take photos of as well as a miniture of herself so she could be in the pics too. Well, one of the items on that scavenger hunt list is to take a photo of a guy (or two) who would be a good match for Leah and that she might like to see a photo of. Believe it or not, I met him right at the end of our Calgary Amsterdam leg and didn't think to take the photo till it was too late and he was off en route to Helsinke while we were making the LONG trek to gate G for our Nairobi departure gate. So Leah....this description is going to have to do....his name is James Bond (yes I'm not joking). I guess him to be about your age. He's been travelling for the better part of this year, he's pretty cute, he plays a guitar, and (drum roll please)....he is from Prince George! We'll keep looking for one for you but I gotta say that he would have been pretty perfect! Gail and Darlene just walked in to our room all nice and clean as they're already showered and in their p.j.'s I'm the only one that is still dirty and in need of some personal care so will see if I can upload a couple pics, shower, and hit the hay. Darlorlynga