Now this is Kenya...

First things first, I've heard from a couple of newer readers requesting info on why I'm in Kenya and what I'm doing here. A brief intro to that can be found here. But I will write more on that another day so keep watching (and asking questions, it gives me material for the "boring" days)

But today! Oh my head. It started out early because I was told we were leaving at 8am for Diane & Ibrahim to meet with the regional leaders in Ukambani to see the progress of the wells that were dug there. We were to meet up with Diane's niece Debbi and her husband Aram because I was going to spend the day with Debbi and Aram would go along with the Omondi's to Machakos. We ended up leaving about 9 after waiting to get vegetables to sell from the greenhouse, and (I can't believe I'm typing this) putting "naughty puppy" in the trunk. Yes, you read that correctly. We put a dog in the trunk of the car. She is permanently moving to Machakos to live with friends there.

So Diane, Bouvince, and I leave to meet up with Ibrahim and Ruth who sells the veggies. Then we did the car swap - Ruth to the Toyota w/ Bouvince; Diane, myself & the dog to the Land Rover with Ibrahim. We filled up and were on our way. Next thing we know, all the windows are rolling down because Naughty Puppy decided to live up to her name and release her waste (hmm, I found a tactful way to say that!) inside the car and we were in no place to be able to pull over & clean it out. So I spent the next 30 minutes or so with my face close to the window regardless of the dust & truck exhaust pouring in. I now know that I prefer the smell of diesel fumes to dog-doo.

Finally we arrive at the meeting place & Diane and I go in to find Aram & Debbi while Ibrahim got to clean up the car & the dog. SO happy that job didn't fall to the personal assistant! After some tea, the others headed south and we headed to the game park next door.

Swara Plains is a 20,000 acre private game reserve for non-predatory animals. There is also a small B&B inside with cottages for people who'd like to stay overnight. A little pricey, but not too bad. You can learn more about them here.

We had a lot of fun and saw quite a few animals - Thompson Gazelle, Vervet Monkeys, wildebeest, zebra, Masai Giraffe, a wart-hog, and lots of birds. I posted the pics on my FaceBook page if you want to take a look. On the way home we also saw camels, vultures (obviously something must have been dead out on the plains) and some storks.

Other 1sts today - I ate sugar cane for the first time & got a sunburn because of sitting in traffic.

Hmm, I guess life in Kenya can be interesting!