Notes From The Travel Journal - Nairobi

It's tough to know how to write about this latest travel adventure. A lot of people asked us why we chose to travel to Kenya and Tanzania. Was it on our "bucket list?" Was it something we had always dreamed of doing? The short answer was no. Looking back, I can't imagine how a safari hadn't been on my radar. It's a combination of some of my all-time favorite things - stunning natural scenery, animals, and winter time warmth. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this would be something I'd love.

The idea for this journey didn't stem from lifelong travel dreams but instead emerged from a conversation with friends as we discussed a potential journey to celebrate my 40th birthday. I wanted a destination that would be warm on my actual birthday, but also offered an activity or cultural experience beyond just sitting on a beach. Someone suggested Zanzibar. Once that idea got into my head (and I figured out where it was), it was tough to remove it. Then we thought, well if we're traveling all the way to Zanzibar, we can't NOT check out other parts of Eastern Africa. After talking with some of Simon's colleagues who operate an NGO that works in Kenya, we pieced together this adventure.

Our expectations were nonexistent. I worried we allocated too many days for actual safari and that'd we be bored. But other than that and more than any other place we'd been, we had no clue what was in store.

After a restful and lovely Christmas at my parents, we drove down to NYC on the 26th, arriving in time for a delicious pizza dinner before crashing at our friend's place. Our direct flight to Nairobi left at Noon on Friday, 12/27 arriving into Kenya at 10:30am on Saturday, 12/28. It was 14 hours. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. We both managed a bit of sleep and were met by super nice reps from Cheli and Peacock, the tour operator we booked through. They shuttled us to a local hotel where we napped before taking a quick trip to the Karen Blixen Museum.

The Museum and tour were nice, but the taxi ride was better with our driver telling us more about Nairobi as we paused along the side of the highway to observe Kibera, one of the largest urban slums in Africa. He shared his perspectives on the challenges of change, investments from China, and other interesting bits we would otherwise not learn.

We rallied for dinner and cards in the bar before crashing in anticipation of heading to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy the next day.