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Another fun weekend day!
Taxi George picked us up at 8:30am and we drove to Nairobi. It was great timing because we didn't hit any traffic while normally it is so backed up along the road and takes a lot of patience to get through! Our intent was to go to the elephant orphanage first but we got to Nairobi early and went to the markets in Nairobi. The city was very empty since many Kenyans go to church on Sunday morning or visit family for the day. Immediately after pulling up a crowd of men came around the car...a little scary! BUT they looked alright and George said it was okay to get out of the car. They were fighting over who got to work with us, I was cracking up (and pulling my bag tight!). One guy comes up to me and says "Okay, this is how it works...one of us will guide you through the market, we will hold everything for you, even the maybes, and we will do the negotiating with you at the end." Well, I was a little firm that I wanted to stay with my group and that the rest of the crowd should leave but it was actually quite nice that we each had someone with us. They were able to ward off pushy salespeople and take us wherever we wanted to go. I imagine they get some sort of cut of whatever they help us buy. It was, to my surprise, SO fun and I couldn't help but laugh at the situation. We only had 30 minutes so at the end they set down two chairs. One for me and one for the guide/negotiator. It was seriously so funny. So one of the other men would lie things down and we would negotiate in groups. On a piece of paper, he would write down his first price (always ridiculously high) and then put #2 down for my offer which I would write. It went back and forth like that until I decided I just didn't want to spend anymore. I didn't get very much, don't worry! I need to wait until next Sunday when I can hopefully go again and take more time! They had so much, it was beautiful.
Next we were off to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage! It is only open for 1 hour each day so that people don't interfere with the elephant's atmosphere. We crowded around he feeding area and a keeper walked out of the jungle of the Nairobi National Park with a trail of 15 baby elephants! We watched them feed and got to touch them as they passed. They went back and another 10 elephants between 3 and 5 years came out to feed on milk. It was really very neat to see elephants that close! Many of these elephants are rescued from the jungle where poachers kill their parents for their tusks. They are nursed here until about 3 years old when they can be reintroduced into the wild and adopted by a new family of elephants.
Next we went out to the Karen Blixom area where there is a very nice restaurant! We ate at a buffet with all kinds of good food and sat outside. The restaurant had a very serene feel and seemed like it was set in the 'old days', or how I would think of it.
Next, and last on our trip was the Giraffe Center. We drove through a very quiet part of town and there weren't very many people there. We got to feed giraffes from our hand who came right up to the fence! And if you didn't have food they would not even look at you. They are beautiful animals. If anyone is looking to go to Kenya they have a beautiful hotel called the Giraffe Manor where your back window/patio overlooks all of the giraffes! They even come right up to the hotel.
- comments
Katie Fritz Monica, I'm really enjoying your stories! Thanks for sharing with those of us left stateside. :) I hope your trip continues to be fun and educational.