June 27, 2005

We had a very early wakeup call with breakfast at 6 and a 6:30 departure time. We were excited to finally see Mt. Kenya because it had previously been covered with clouds and haze.

Our first stop was at the Equator for a water demonstration and group photos. For the water demonstration we witnessed how in the Northern Hemisphere water going down a drain spins in a clockwise rotation while in the Southern Hemisphere it circles counterclockwise. Right on the equator it goes straight down without any spin.

The group photos were accomplished by everyone handing their cameras to the demonstrator and we posed for eight photos.

We stopped at a nearby shop and I found a box made from the bottle caps of Tusker Beer made locally. It was here that I had a minor first aid need when I cut my thumb on the rusty latch to the bathroom stall.

We continued south retracing our steps back to Nairobi. Because it was a weekday the traffic was much worse than on our departure day. We were warned to keep our windows closed as some of the local street vendors may become aggressive with their selling practices.

We arrived at our Nairobi lunch stop The African Heritage Center. We were served about 10 different dishes from different tribes. The specialty from Andrew's tribe was a green pasty substance which was quite tasty. It could be made with spinach or pumpkin leaves.

There was also artwork available from the different tribes. I ended up getting four more Christmas ornaments here.

We continued south towards Amboseli. We visited a girl's school that harbored over 600 girls from the Maasai tribe who had been rescued from the tribe's practice of arranged child marriages and female circumcision. The girls ranged in age from 6 years to 18. One girl who was 13 already had 4 children. They performed for us and we learned all about the school.

As we entered Maasai territory we were fascinated with the tribe's dress as we saw them shepherding their cows, goats and sheep along the way. There were many times we had to avoid such animals in the roadway.

As soon as we reached the Tanzania border we headed east along a dirt road for the final 50 miles to our destination. There was a Maasai market and we were disappointed that the Maasai do not like to be photographed. I could have taken 100 pictures!

Along this dirt road the animals changed from cows and goats to zebras and giraffes. Here they were the Masai species instead of the reticulated. There were fields of Morning Glory.

We also passed both active and deserted Maasai villages. They are a nomadic people and will just pick up and leave their village. They do not destroy it on their departure and other Maasai are free to then occupy the former dwellings.

The last 50 miles were incredibly dusty and bumpy as we crossed by the dry Amboseli Lake. We stopped a few times along the roadway to photograph Mt. Kilimanjaro with its white glacier top.

We really wanted to stop to photograph herds of wildebeest but it was getting dark and our driver, Felix pressed on.

We finally arrived at our Amboseli lodge which was like an oasis in the desert. This place had actual rooms and was not tents. Our room was interesting with its painted murals of wildebeests and overhead lights made of gourds. We also noticed a bamboo-shaped object on our desk which was plugged into the wall. We could not figure out what it was until we saw a packet of Mossi Chips and realized it was insect repellant.

As we walked to dinner I decided to use the Internet to e-mail Pat and Jennifer and had an e-mail waiting for me.

We also saw signs warning against feeding the monkeys. The key to our room was attached to a very long club.