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| Glenn's Journal for 10-17-02 - Nairobi We are up early, around 7:30 am, showering and packing for the long day ahead. We are out of the hostel around 8:30 am and walked to the train station which, with our new accommodations, was only 300 meters away. We bought tickets for the train to the airport and stopped into the grocery store for water and some breakfast. We caught the 8:59 am train and arrived at the airport about 20 minutes later. The train was packed so we had standing room only. Once at the airport we went through the usual, check-in, passports, and security before arriving at our gate. We waited at the gate for a while before boarding the plane in, what I would call, a free-for-all. We departed a half hour late but hope to arrive on time. The 7 1/2 hour flight was uneventful until the very end when we hit some air pockets that made us feel like we were on a roller coaster ride. Erin was not too happy about this but was very happy upon landing. We arrived into Nairobi around 8:15 pm with no accommodations but hoped for the best. On the way to baggage claim and the passport checkpoint we found an information station. The lady, Emma, was nice enough to ring a hotel that we had chosen from our guide book to verify availability. Sure enough there was a double room for the night. One action completed. She also assisted us in obtaining a taxi into town (we could have taken the bus but it was not recommended at night) and walking with us all the way through to the taxi. While at the taxi we were introduced to Mary who signed up to meet us in the morning to talk about safari choices, more specifically Come to Africa. (We had read to avoid or at least be wary of this company but we had made the appointment before knowing who she represented. She presented herself as part of the tourist information office but now I wonder. We were feeling pretty good that within the first hour of arriving into Nairobi we had found accommodation and would be dropped off at the door for an acceptable fare (guidebook approved). Once we entered the hotel the gentlemen at the desk signed us in and verified our interest in a safari. They recommended a few companies and provided a brochure on one of those we had been looking into from our guidebook. They even called a representative from Savuka Safaris to meet us tonight. We went up to our room and read through one of the brochures before Joyce arrived to talk about a safari for us. By 11:00 pm, less than 3 hours in town, we had agreed on a safari, and it left in the morning. Wow!!! We had agreed on a 13 day safari from the Masai Mara to Sambura, and back to Amboseli before returning to Nairobi on the 30th of October. We were ready to hit the hay but it took us a while due to our excitement to be going on safari in the morning. |
| A stunning safari view at the end of a long day in the bush |