Everyone and Everything Has Arrived

Geri arrived at the hotel this morning. She had problems at Heathrow with her luggage but they did get it switched over to Kenyan Air. After breakfast I called the airport and found out that my luggage did make it into Nairobi. I told them I would be out to pick it up. The people that are taking us on the sightseeing picked me up and off to the airport we went. I got to the airport and was told that my luggage was being delivered to the hotel. Long story short, it arrived, intact, around 11:30.

It was nice to travel to the airport during the day. I still don't have a good grasp of the size of the city, but was able to see some residential areas. I saw my first wildlife - 3 giraffes - in a field near the airport. They were off in the distance and were just travelling along. We took a side trip through the city in order to avoid traffic. Americans are so truly spoiled. I didn't see the the worst part of town, but certainly a pocket of poverty.

The driver of the van is great for giving a general view of HIV/AIDS in Kenya. There are so many billboards for prevention, but the issue is still big. Much of it problems, according to him, revolve around the stigma of simply having HIV. He said it is slowly getting better. The other problem is many of the tribal customs. Poligamy, circumsion ceremonies, etc. This is definitely an issue in the rural areas of Kenya and something that is common in the area I'm going to.

Tomorrow is our first real day of sightseeing. We are going out to the Karen Blixen House, the Sheldrick Elephant Trust (http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/) and Giraffe Manor. Sunday will be a trip to the Nairobi Wildlife Reserve.