Into Africa

Correction: The Black Hills Treaty with the Indians that didn’t work was signed in 1868.

In my quest to conquer all the continents I need to visit and learn about Africa. I started this adventure in Kenya. This country gained its independence from England in 1963. It’s population is over 14.5 million.

I will be on this trip for three weeks and will also travel to Tanzania.

I flew into Nairobi, the capital of Kenya with a population of over 4,5 million citizens. Kenya Air was OK. The flight from JFK was about 15 hours. It was so cold on the plane that I had my coat, hat and gloves on. I had a blanket on top of all that and I was able to sleep about half of the trip….time flies.

I got to Nairobi the day before I met up with my Overseas Adventure Travel group. I hung out at the hotel, had a massage and walked to a mall a block away. Kenya is one of the largest flower exporters in the world. About 300,000 plus workers work for growers. All the tables in the restaurant had cute rosé bouquets on all the tables. The food was good also.

The currency is Shillings. About 140 to the dollar. The cost of most things are about 30% less than in the US.

My OAT group is made up of 9 folks from the US. All retired except for two young 60 year olds. We have a local guide who is very knowledgeable and pleasant.

The first day activities included a visit to a bead factory. It is an enterprise that supports single mothers. I made an elephant with the same clay the beads are made from.

We went to lunch at Karen Blixen’s (Out Of Africa) restaurant. It was delicious and delightful to have our meal in one of the bamboo gardens.

The Kenya National Museum was our afternoon stop. We enjoyed the great/large bird collections and the permanent exhibition on the development of man. There were many fossils that were millions of years old.

Our second day started with a visit to Kaberi. This 2.5 square kilometer area is about 7 kilometers from central Nairobi. This is one of the largest shantytowns in the world. 1.2 milli9n people live in Kaberi.

After WWI, England gave these forested grounds to three indigenous tribes. Since then the populations have epotentially grown and mingled. The occupants are poor and the whole area has no running water. The 12 ft x 12 ft shacks have minimal electricity. There is no sewer system. Families pay about §2.50 a month to have access to a communal outhouse.

After the thought provoking morning visit to Kaberi I was ready to “ham it up” with Giraffes at the Rothschild Center.

Tomorrow we are off to start our safari and adventures into the national parks.