On the road again..

Dec 17th (Friday)

...or should I say in the air again .  We left Wayne and Pams apt about 3:30.  Wayne took us to the bus station and made sure we got on the bus going to the airport.  it is about an hour ride so we did not want them to have to take that ride and then turn around and head back.  We made it in plenty of time and had a good flight.  It was like a date...we have airport dates and plane dates...dinner and a movie!!

View of Rift Valley in Kenya

We arrived in Doha airport .  (that is in the country of Qatar in case you wondered)  i bet you might even wonder where that is too...a small country in the Arabian peninsula.  How is that for a geography tip of the day.  I tell you that because I needed informing myself.

It was rather shocking to  go into the terminal because it was so busy!  There were people milling around going every which way and so many different nationalities and types of dress and languages.  It was sensory overload...especially at 11:30 PM.  We were not leaving till 7:30 AM so were trying to decide what to do or where to go for the next 8 hours.  The bottom line was the terminal was to small for the amount of traffic going thru.  There were signs of enlarging it which is kind of important since they will be hosting the soccer World Cup in 2018  or 2022(i can't remember).  So that gives them time I guess to expand.

Mt. Longonot in Rift Valley

Back to the wandering of the airport.  We saw signs  to "quiet rooms" so we found one and it was jammed pack full of sleeping people on "cots" and it was about 90 degrees in the room.  But it was quiet.  So we went looking around some more and found a lounge you could pay to go into...after considering the options we asked about it only to be told they were out of food and seats so were not allowing any more people in.  In the end we found some empty spots where people had pulled benches together to put their feet up on.  It was nice for those sitting there but made for less seating in a very crowded place.  We saw a man getting up to leave and grabbed his seats and sort of stretched out and tried to sleep.  Doze would be a better word for what we did... we were near the windows and it was chilly which did not help the comfort level.  As I sat there I listened to all the noises that were going on simultaneously...click click click of someones heels, plates being cleared and stacked in a nearby cafe...someone blowing their nose...someone else coughing...a baby crying...loud talking and laughter...phone ringing...announcement to not leave your luggage unattended...airplane taking off nearby...Roger snoring (not really).  All those sounds were going on around us and made it difficult to sleep...not to mention the bright lights.  At about 3am i went to the restroom and realized the airport had calmed down...everywhere i looked people were sleeping or trying to sleep .  The area I had gone to was nice and warm so I talked Roger into moving even tho we could not put our feet up.  We found a seat and it seemed much quieter than where we were.  So between that and the warmth we zonked out for a couple hours with our heads and arms sprawled over our back packs.  About 5:30 when i woke up it looked like a busy bee hive again.  I am not sure where all the people came from but again it buzzed with activity.

Wow!  Is the picture of the cute couple or Bougainvillea

We left on time and were able to nap a bit more on the 5 and half hour flight to Nairobi.  It was so nice to be greeted by Doug and Lisa.  It was about 1PM as we headed out to have lunch.  Africa..we both felt so at home with the sights and smells.  Its very much what you envision a third world country being like.
The traffic was horrific, the roads bumpy...the pollution pretty bad and dust everywhere...writing it out I can't put my finger on why we like it so much...if you were here you would see that once you come to Africa it gets under your skin and you want to come back.

Bougainvillea at Rift Valley Academy

Our nephew Dan was arriving later in the eve...about 9:30PM so we decided to stay in Nairobi and kill time.  We went to lunch in a shopping center...walked around looking at the shops and what is available and then went to a ceramic bead factory near by.  It was interesting to see how they make them and put them into jewelry.  It was beautiful work.  They export about 75% of what they make...most to the states where...you pay mega bucks for them ...ha ha..  We spent alot of time  in the shop there looking at all the different things they make...so much variety!  I am sad I did not have the camera to get some pics.  We ate  a leisurely dinner at a nice Italian restaurant catching up till it was time to go  get Dan.  We arrived home about midnight ready to crash.

Doug, Lisa and Dan with us on a hike around the perimeter fence - overlooking the Rift Valley

This morning we got up rested and anxious to look around.  We are at Kijabe, a large station where Rift Valley Academy is located.  There is also a hospital nearby (Roger says the best in Kenya) and a small town.  Doug and Lisa work at the school teaching and are dorm parents for jr. and sr. girls.
We walked around the campus which has changed alot since Roger went to school here.   The views of the rift valley are amazing.  Roger hiked to the mountain in the picture above when he was a jr. in high school.  Left school at 12:01am (because they asked the dorm parent is they could leave early in the morning and they said yes so he and his two friends figured that was as early as you could get) and got back about 4 in the afternoon...dead tired!  The mountain is a crater and they made it to the rim.  It's fun to hear stories of the good ol' days of his growing up years.