Nothin' like a Friday in Nairobi

Thanks to JD's supreme navigational skills we wound our way towards Matatu #24 (this was no easy task) (what is a Matatu) to get some lovin' from our endangered Rothschild giraffes at the Giraffe Wildlife Refuge in Langata. We hopped on the Matatu (or 14 passenger bus)and were enlightened with some driving tips. I thought driving in Montreal was a vehicular challenge but this was a lesson in driving confidently through small openings. There are few stop signs I'm noticing and even fewer street lights. It's a first-come-thru-the-small-crack-between-2-cars-first-serve kind of system.

We walked down a road into some well-to-do region, with gated estates and many Land Rovers and BMWs passing us on our walk to the refuge. We arrived for our experience in giraffe feeding which includes long wet black-tongued giraffe kisses. There we met Philimon who was fresh out of tourism college. He gave us the low-down on the well-being of Betty, Laura, Daisy and Jock (the dominant male)as we fed the ladies a nice feast of giraffe pellets. Philimon then took us for a stroll thru the bird sanctuary where we spent 2 hours discussing Kenyan politics and Kibaki's future (or non-future?!?) as president. Philimon is 20 years old and his knowledge of the Kenyan state of affairs was mind blowing. Flower farms owned by Wazungus (means white people) in the east are dumping their pollutants into Lake Naivasha and depleting the Fish Eagle population.

Then off we headed for another Matatu ride, which I must say was a highlight for me. We were in the front seat listening to some wicked rap/hip hop while driving into the city at rush hour. The driver was startingly calm. While the driving habits would definetely be diagnosed as road rage in Canada here this is just the way it is. Leaving the matatu we were sent off with smiles and best wishes, a sweet moment amid chaotic traffic. I led the way home in an attempt to get my bearings and be an independent Nairobi dweller in preparation for venturing out on my own in the big city. We successfully made it to the grocery store for some veggies. It's never a dull moment here. Even tasting the free margarine samples in the grocery store leaves the marg rep giggling about something I did.
Big hugs to you all.
JD and Tracy