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Nairobi Area |
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I had a full day on my own in Nairobi and had no set plan on how to spend that day before beginning the Sarari portion of this trip. There are Museums and shopping and all sorts of places to explore on foot, but I wasn't totally rested so I hired a driver for the afternoon at the Kenya Wildlife Trails Office and set off for places I had read about, Karen Blixen's home, (made famous in "Out of Africa") and Giraffe Manor, a place I seriously considered staying.
All the arrangements had been made and I was delivered to the 860 Hotel before noon. I settled in and went down to the patio restaurant on the second floor. It is just about treetop level and the jacaronda trees were full of purple and blue blooms. It was a warm sunny February day and I selected a table where I could enjoy the views of the busy streets below and also watch the chef grill my hamburger.
While watching the chef prepare my burger, the idea crossed my mind that it might not be beef he was cooking. I wasn't quite sure what kind of meat I was going to get because the menu actually said "hamburger". There were several clues that this was not beef as I know it. First off he hand made an inch thick patty from a nearby large bowl of ground meat. When he finished cooking it, it was still an inch thick. Second, he would occasionally add grease with his spatula to the burger while it was on the griddle. Hmmmm.
The finished product looked very much like beef. Nairobi water is safe for tourists so I added the tomato, lettuce and other condiments. The first bite. It tasted like VERY VERY LEAN beef. Had I not watched the chef, I would not have given it a second thought. Maybe it was horse. I'll try anything once. (see: Carnivore Restaurant, Nairobi)
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This is quite a contrast from the skyscrapers and shops in town. This is a place where locals come to socialize and bargain for goods. There is a whole hillside of homes that are nothing more than make shift boxes with tin roofs that are crammed together all helters skelter in a present day "Hooverville". I am told these rent for as little as $1.90 per month and the average income in Kenya is around $400.00 per year. I will be happy to post an update, if I am wrong. This would indicate that drivers and people in the tour industry have very well paying jobs indeed.
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Another common sight just outside of downtown is people carrying jugs of water along the side of the roads. It certainly emphasizes what a precious commodity water is and how we take it for granted. Here women washed clothes in a small stream outside of Nairobi and upstream people filled jugs to take back home. Mostly, I saw women carrying jugs on their heads from the stream. Occasionally, I would come across a cart with a 50 gallon drum of water. Sometimes the cart was being pulled by a mule. Sometimes men pulled the cart along.
Much activity happens along the roadways. Even though my room at the hotel 860 had CNN, I imagine that this is how most of the news of the day is passed along. Here we see a young man splitting wood into thin strips to make mats. In typical Kenyan fashion, he works by the side of the road in the open air making and selling his goods. |
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My driver, John, told me that the two main tribes in this area are the Maasai and the Kikuyu. The Maasai are a nomadic people who raise cattle. The Kikuyu are aggrarian who tend to stay longer in one place. After spending some time in the teeming city of Nairobi and seeing the cramped conditions of the Hooverville, it is no wonder that many opt for the old way of life.
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This is probably not a village. This is more likely a family community. A woman makes her own hut and is visited by her husband. The presence of several huts indicates that either there is one man here with several wives or perhaps a couple's grown children and their wives live here. |
Another common sight are the crops planted along the roadside. Crops are even planted in the median strips of multi lane divided highways closer to down town. These crops are planted by permission of the local chief who tells the people what and where to plant. I don't pretend to understand how it works, but certainly combining tribal politics to any form of democratic government must make for a complex and delicate balance of power. Hence there are crops in the most unexpected places.
The drive to Karen Blixen's farm was most interesting and not as far as you might expect if your only experience is seeing the movie, "Out of Africa". |
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The home has some of her original furniture and the grounds are beautifully kept. Once again I was struck by the contrasts in Kenya and tried to imagine the struggles and culture shock Karen must have faced when she came to this country carrying her Limoge china a century ago.
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This afternoon's explorations included a visit to Giraffe Manor. This estate provides an up close and personal experience with the world's tallest creatures. The Manor House itself is only open to guests. It's a bit expensive but a portion of the tariff is a charitable contribution toward preserving the Rothschilds Giraffe. Food pellets are provided in bins inside the two story viewing structure. Holding out a pellet in my flattened palm was an invitation for the giraffes to eat. Their tongues are long and soft and sticky. Soon my hand was covered in goo. There are plenty of little sinks around to wash off the sticky giraffe spittle. It was a hard choice. Take photos or feed the giraffes. The absence of photos here should indicate my decision, but you can always visit Giraffe Manor to see what I mean. It was great fun. |
We made a few other stops along the way including a shopping center that was just a few notches above an open air market. The prices were good and there was no bargaining so I quickly loaded up on T-shirts for the folks back home. Back in town I spent a few sheckles at the Hotel Casino then settled in for an early eveining. Tomorrow my safari would begin in earnest with a trek to the Ark in the Aberdare.
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