Ramblin' Men/Women



Our Accomodations at Pepe's Hotel

After being pampered for a week in Norway by our gracious hosts, the Kenya team set off for Africa early Friday morning. A few flights and a short delay later, we landed at the small Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania late Friday evening. We eventually located our ride to the hotel and piled into a vehicle which looked fit for a safari. Tanzania’s Speedbump Highway (actually, A23 ) connects Kilimanjaro to a small city called Arusha, where we spent the night. The hotel we stayed in was a small bed and breakfast, “basically paradise,” according to the website. Based on the employees’ hospitality, paradise is an accurate comparison.



Roadblock

From there, it was a straight shot on the international highway, A104, across the Kenyan boarder and to Nairobi. We’d like to thank Lindsay Litwin, a Jhpiego employee from the Baltimore headquarters who has joined us on the first leg of our trip in Africa, for all of her help in straightening out transportation and accommodation plans so far. Lindsay has spent time in Africa before with the Peace Corps, and we are grateful for her experience and guidance.

Kenyan/Tanzanian Border

Though it was quite overcast Saturday morning, we still caught some incredible views of the Tanzanian landscape. Jutting mountains, expansive deserts, and large goat and cow herds made for a scenic ride. Some of the locals had put up a road block at one point, but luckily it was on the other side of the road. The border between Tanzania and Kenya made for a particularly interesting little adventure. We were introduced to a few of the more daring local entrepreneurs, some proffering their photographic expertise for a sizable fee and others attempting to exchange currency at twenty times the actual rate.

Cafe in Nairobi

Another shuttle transfer and a short delay in Nairobi traffic brought us to our hotel in the city – the Desmond Tutu Conference Center. Once again, we were shown a very friendly welcome with pineapple juice served as we checked in. After retiring to our respective rooms (each of us given our own - a greatly appreciated luxury), we ventured out into the city to withdraw some Kenyan shillings and find a meal. At first it appeared we were out of luck, but Melissa’s navigation proved crucial in eventually finding an upscale shopping mall down the road. After pulling out about thirty thousand shillings between the four of us (the exchange rate is 80 shillings to one USD), we strolled over to an affordable-looking café, the Nairobi Java House. We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the meal for the price. Having just gotten accustomed to the high cost living of Norway, where we might pay $13 for a beer, $12 seemed like an extraordinarily low price to pay for an entrée and dessert or coffee.

Tonight the four of us are resting in our peaceful hotel after a few long days of travel. We have an early morning ahead of us - a safari through one of Kenya’s famous national parks awaits us on the other side of the sunrise.