Jambo!

We're here in Nakuru, in a hot and noisy internet cafe, trying to work with a very slooooow internet connection. The sweet aromas of gasoline are drifting through the open window. We got here yesterday afternoon, and have checked in at a little place here in the city centre called the Care Guest House. The walls are pepto-bismol pink and the toilets have no seats, but the management is very helpful, the bugs are friendly, and the water is hot (bonus!!). We've been able to get some up-close pictures of a lot of wildlife up here, at a couple of the national parks (pictures to follow...it would seem the connection here is simply too slow to upload pictures. Rats!). Breathtaking, truly (you'll believe me when I'm finally able to upload some of these photos). We were able to do a night of camping at Naivasha Lake, which was a lot of fun, before heading here via matatu (public transport, consisting of '14 passenger' mini vans, which are usually crammed full with about 20 people. It's an experience, for sure...a bunch of sweaty people all shoved onto each other's laps...the word 'sardines' comes to mind...Good times). It's a little challenging to get by with the handful of Swahili words we've picked up along the way, but I'd like to think we're making progress (if very gradual!!) every day. Luckily for us, most people speak a fair bit of English, and sign language can really go a long way.

Well, I could probably ramble on for a while, but we've only got a couple of hours of daylight left and so we should get going before it gets dark (we've been advised not to walk about town after dark). According to the Lonely P., there's a hotel nearby that has a swimming pool that non-members can pay a small fee to access, so we're going to see if we can squeeze in a short swim before heading back to our little pink room. I, hopefully, will have pictures by the next time I update this....here's hoping, anyway...you just never know for sure :D

Traveling comes with its share of adventures...

Ok, where to start? The past couple of days have been a bit more eventful than I would have liked, but such is life. I could go into all kinds of ridiculous detail, but I think I'll spare you most of the details and sum it up as concisely as possible.

So, it would seem that prophylactic anti-malarials can have some nasty side effects, and we saw some of that in the recent past. I spent about 4 hours at a nearby hospital with Jenny yesterday, after she began to present with a variety of weird symptoms. In short, the doc told her it is most likely a toxicity to the anti-malaria pills she had been taking, and combined with likely dehydration I guess the drug reached a higher-than-normal level in her system. We were stuck in traffic on the way to the hospital (likely an hour or so), which was frustrating to say the least. But, all in all, we lived to tell the tale. The photo here (I wish I could take credit for it, but alas I borrowed it from google images :) ) depicts what Nairobi traffic looks like most of the time. Chaos, to say the least.

Anywho, that provided some excitement to our day yesterday. Needless to say, Jenny's not taking any more Mefloquine. As it happens, we were informed that it's actually better to just wear lots of bug juice and use mosquito nets than to take the prophylaxis (which apparently frequently cause symptoms of varying presentation and severity). Interesting.

So, besides feeling fairly exhausted, we're still in relatively good spirits. We're looking forward to (hopefully) being able to spend only another day or so in Nairobi before venturing out to see some wildlife and then head toward the coast.

That's about all for now. We're heading back to the hostel (after spending a number of hours in town, getting less done than we would have liked. Ah well), where we will probably strongly consider taking a nap. Ahh, sleep...

Voila! We're here

Well, we made here after a couple of looonnngg flights and inadequate sleep. Such are the joys of traveling. I retrieved my bag at arrivals in Nairobi, but Jenny's was missing, so we ended up spending a couple of hours trying to track it down (all this while our very patient driver was waiting to drive us to the hostel across town). As it happens, it somehow got stuck in Paris, so it had to be put on the next flight here (early this morning). So, back to the airport we went this morning, and Jenny was happily reunited with her things. A little bump in the road, but no matter.

'Nairobbery' really isn't so bad (during daylight, anyway). Yeah, it's crowded and I'm quite sure that I'll have black lung by the end of this (the diesel exhaust on the walk in is pretty thick. You feel as though you're walking in a blue cloud half the time), but all in all it's just another busy city, congested with people getting to wherever they're going.

The jetlag is a little rough, no lie, but other than that and the faint persistent nausea (hmm...maybe I shouldn't have had that tap water...?) we're doing great, though still finding it odd to think that we're actually here in East Africa. The next couple of days will most likely be spent in the Nairobi area, checking out a few sights and just getting used to the pace of life here. Hostels are great places to meet people - this afternoon we met a guy from the States who's been here for a couple of weeks and who might be able to show us some more of the city, which will be nice.

I'm getting hungry (again. I've already cracked open the giant bag of protein bars. Clearly, there's no way those will last this entire trip) and I think we're going to go find somewhere to eat in the next little while. There is a well-known Indian restaurant here in the city centre, that is supposed to be very good - authentic and affordable, so we're going to see if we can find it.

Well, I guess that's about all I've got for now. I'll try to update whnever possible. Until next time!

So, today marks only 5 days till departure!! I've begun to realize that I've really got to tackle the to-do list in the next couple of days, in order for everything to be organized before I fly. My favourite part is the actual packing. See this picture? That's just a prelim pile of necessities. I'll likely have to add a few things, but I'm trying to stick to the bare minimum (and perhaps leave enough room for a t-shirt and shorts and running shoes? :D)...who knows. Now that I have 2 of my visas, I'm much less stressed (hmm, not really stressed at all, which is interesting. Perhaps I should be, at least a little? Meh). Well, that's all I got for now. I still have a number of items to add to this pile, and I'm in the middle of doing last-minute laundry. Ah, I love packing! (Truly! The challenge of carrying all I'll need on my back for 4 months is uber exciting. Yeah, I'm a geek, but I've come to terms with it :D).

Beginnings...

Well, seeing as I created this blog a little while ago, I'm thinking I should probably post something. Today is the 9th of August, which means I fly to Nairobi in only 9 days. I know. I don't want to talk about. Or maybe I do, seeing as I find myself here, rambling. I (foolishly, perhaps, but this has yet to be determined) am working a few more shifts this week and will need to use my waking hours uber productively. Meh. I should maybe post a picture of my growing "to pack" pile next to my pack, to give you a better idea of what this will entail. Oh, and I'm still waiting for my passport to return to me (hopefully fully visa'ed), which is making me nervous. On the bright side, my to-do list is FINALLY getting shorter. It doesn't all seem quite real yet...