Masai Mara to Nairobi

Another good night's sleep, warmer this time because we put our sleeping bag on top. We woke up at 6:00 am for a 6:30 safari. All the drivers were looking for cheetahs today but we didn't see any. We saw about 8 hot-air balloons. Chris says that even if they see an elephant, it will look like a dik-dik to them. A dik-dik is the smallest gazelle. We did see 3 male elephants walking in single file, and 2 behind them. Besides the usual animals, we saw 2 male buffalo. Something that was very cool was that we became part of a wildebeest herd. They were running away from us but they ran down the track so we followed them until we parted the herd.

Whenever the safari drivers pass each other, they stop to report on animal sightings. One driver stopped and asked Chris for directions. He asked in swahili because he didn't want his clients to know that he was lost. Chris says April and May are the worst months for getting lost because of the rains. If you get stuck and it gets dark, you will never find your way out. The high seasons for safari are July to September and January to March. But I would recommend coming from July to September because the wildebeest are here and they are very interesting. They leave in October.

Back to the camp for breakfast, and we left at 9:30. The first 2 hours were very bumpy and dusty. The bumping kept shaking our seatbelts loose. We stopped at a "curio" shop, which was a large indoor market filled with African wood carvings etc.

Today was a high security day because of the referandom results coming in. So far the yes side has 5 million votes and the no side has 2 million. There were 12 million who registered to vote. Not everyone was able to vote because they were away from their homes working (our driver, for instance). Chris stopped at one point to report our location and our destination, so there could be plainclothes police along the way looking out for our safety. They are serious about protecting their tourists here!

We had arranged to meet Polykens at a petrol station, and amazingly we pulled in at exactly the same time as him. We transferred our things and said goodbye to Chris. We tried going to Bomas of Kenya (a Kenyan cultural experience with dances, etc) but they were closed because that is where they are counting referandom votes. So we went to Diguna to drop off our things and we went for a walk around the compound. They have beautiful grounds which border the Nairobi Game Park.

We went to the Karen Blixen Museum, of "Out of Africa" fame. We were given a guided tour of her home by a very knowledgable guide. The kitchen was a separate building. There is a huge palm tree which she planted when she arrived. The guide told us what was original and what was used as props for the movie, including the boots and jacket Meryl Streep wore. We were not allowed to take pictures indoors because the movie people own the rights to the home. Karen Blixen lived there from 1913 to 1931. She led a very sad life, and died of malnutrition in Denmark. One thing I did not know was what a good painter she was.

Dinner at Talisman Restaurant, lots of atmosphere and good food. Chatted with Blacklaw and Elisha and Elisha's mama. Accidentally erased the blog and had to start all over again. Grrr.
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