Thanksgiving/ National holiday for ex-prez Moi
Trip Start
Sep 14, 2005
1
8
28
Trip End
May 2006
Nairobi, Kenya
Monday, October 10, 2005
We'd spent the day in a small town called Karen (after Karen Blixen of 'Out of Africa') just 15km out of Nairobi. We'd paid our fabourite cab driver, Justus, to spend the day with us. Our first stop was the David Sheldrake elephant orphanage. Skeptical? Don't be! They actually do great work, caring for baby elephants and releasing them back into the wild with a phenomenal success rate! For only an hour on weekdays (11-12), tourists can visit the site and see the animals. Visitors are asked to stay behind a rope while the elephants are paraded out in front of us, where they're fed enormous bottles of milk, given leaves to eat, and soccer balls to play with! First, the park staff brought out a 2-yr-old rhino, who eagerly gulped down four 4-litre jugs of milk before promptly rolling in a mud puddle - all only 4 feet from us! His name was "Sheeda", which is ki-Swahili for 'problems'!! =)
Next, five 2-yr-old elephants were brought out. They each drank 4 bottles of milk, while caressing the faces of those feeding them with their inquisitive trunks! Finally, a tiny 2-month old elephant came out. The staff had put sunscreen on her ears and had to follow her around with a huge umbrella to shade the little tike from the glaring African sun. The 2-month-old elephant was the size of a german shepard dog, but probably weighed three times as much! She also squealed and grunted constantly, as she nudged the bellies of the older elephants (which stood maybe 5ft tall) in vain for milk.
Our second stop in Karen was a Giraff Centre, where visitors can feed any one of 5 giraffes from a raised platform. Mark and I were a little apprehensive at first, as we stuck out our flexed palms filled with cereral pellets for the giant beasts, but then we eventually got comfortable and fed them pellet by pellet as we played tug-o-war with the giraffes' foot-long tongues. The game was to hold onto the pellet as long as possible, allowing the giraffe to try to wrench it out of our fingers. But to top it off, I put a pellet between my lips and the giraffe plucked it from my VERY extended lips.... I guess you could say I've got a new party trick! I think Mark was a little jealous that I kissed an 8-year-old female giraffe! =)
Our final stop, was Justus' house. He lives in a small village just outside Nairobi, on a family 'compound' (as he calls it). His plot is the size of two N.american city house lots, is encircled by a scrap-wood fence, and houses about 6-7 families in three different buildings. Justus and his sons build all the cement houses themselves, and the rest of the lot is covered in Justus' aloe plants, which he uses for 'herbal medicines'. Sounds romantic, no? Well, I should also mention that yard space is also taken up by retired and rusting buses and cabs, piles of corn husks for the two cows, stray dogs, and grandchildren playing with old tires... ok, it still sounds somehow romantic.
Justus first took us to his two-storey personal office/library, where he spends time writing editorials for the local papers, and making various herbal medicines, which he says can cure anything from cancer to diabetes. (Yes, I had a long chat/argument with him about this... and concluded with 'there's no proof herbal medicine doesn't work'!...true enough) In fact, I promised to post his contact info here, just in case any of you should feel the desire to seek his wisdom or medicines, or both! His email address is justconnections2001@yahoo.com. Justus is a busy man when he's not driving cabs. In addition to making medicines, and writing articles, he also brews his own beer and liquor - which (perhaps thankfully for us?...) he had none of when we visited. He has promised Mark and I a taste of his brews in January, so I eagerly await, (what I'm told can be) an out-of-body (and perhaps mind) experience. Anyway, we got a full tour of his enourmous garden, drank bitter 'Stoney' gingerales, and drove back to Nairobi in the sunset. Gotta run. Hope all is well. Love Pam xoxo
Comments
Pamela, helloooooooooo
Hi Pam!
I'll write a proper e-mail soon, but just wanted to drop a quick hello. I've just read your entry of Oct. 10 and loved it ... I'm insanely jealous, of course. I want to be making out with wildlife too ... *sigh* What a sketchy sentence. Though it was with some members of my family, my Thanksgiving dinner wasn't very traditional either ... what with the lack of turkey (I avoided it because of its meatiness). Point is, I'm in great support of non-traditional holiday dinners. Sounds like you're having a brilliant time, can't wait to hear more!!!
Go see Moneeza! She's got a kick-ass looking house in Addis!
Take care,
all love,
Yo.
xox