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Saturday, 10 July 2010 20:51 |
Days 5 & 6
Well, we missed our flight on Thursday...
Yes, we missed our flight Thursday afternoon to Nairobi. It is always easy when things like this happen to start blaming people. However, we have learned that things in Kenya work much differently than in the States. And at the end of the day there was a breakdown in communication between Kenya Airways, our travel director & our team leader. In fact, we were told that the flight that showed on our tickets did not even exist. This was NOT a fun situation for all the type A personalities on this trip, but we were put on the 5:30 am flight this morning & everything is great!! We went back to the Neptune Hotel & got a few hours sleep before heading back to the airport at 3am.
Once we arrived in Nairobi, we were met by our guides for the Safari! While they dropped off the bags we would not be taking, we had a quick breakfast at the airport, then loaded up and headed out to Sweet Waters Resort for our 2 day Safari. The drive here was CRAZY!!!! The first two hours were almost completely on unpaved roads through small villages & dodging very large pot holes. Due to the fact that I did not receive much sleep on Thursday night I slept a majority of the way to Sweet Waters. We are very near Mount Kenya if you want to see it on a map. One thing that I noticed on the drive up here, during the time that I wasn't sleeping was that there was much more Christian influence in this area and the villages seemed to be much more educated and, I use this term VERY loosely, wealthy. It was obvious that Christians had made a huge impact in the areas that we traveled through and due to the lasting influence of the Love of Christ the standard of living seemed much better than it had in Mombasa. This is just an observation, I don't have any hard facts, numbers, stats to back up this, it is simply what I noticed in our travels.
Once we arrived at Sweet Waters we moved into our Harry Potter tents and then had lunch. Those that are familiar with HP & The Goblet of Fire will appreciate my last reference. These tents are much more like 3 Star Hotel Rooms, I'm posting some pics on Facebook so be sure & check those out! Our afternoon was incredible as we began our African Safari. We saw Antelope, Gazelle, Zebra, Giraffe, Elephants, Wart Hogs, Water Buffalo, Rhinos, Chimps & Baboons. It was very cool to watch Animal Planet come to life before my very eyes. A few of us had the opportunity to actually pet & feed a Black Rhino!! That was an incredible experience!! After we finished I grabbed a cup of some Hot Kenyan Tea & sat outside by the watering hole that is right outside our tent & watched many of these same animals come & get a drink!! I took a few moments to Thank our Great God for His Amazing creation!!
Now, I am sitting here writing this and about to head down for dinner before we go on a night Safari!! We will go out again in the morning around 6:30 for a few hours before returning to Nairobi in the afternoon! Then the slums of Nairobi & the Hope Center on Saturday evening & Sunday. A few hours at market on Sunday, then we board a plane heading back to the states. It is hard to believe that our time here is almost over.
I will try to update at least one more time before we return home. Again, thank you for your continued prayers & support!! |
