Yo pienso que yo necisito escribir en espanol, seeing as I promised in my last entry to write completely in Spanish. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give this place justice if I tried to describe my last six days solely in broken Spanish.
My emotional departure from Atlanta was complete with tears on my part, endless hugs to my parents, and a long series of waves that still put a smile on my face today. The two nine-hour flights went by relatively quickly and without much to tell. With a fake itinerary from Phil, in case they hassled me about my exit date, I nervously went through the Kenyan customs. A beautiful woman with a beautiful accent let me through without so much as a second glance.
Phil was waiting at the airport and was shocked by the “lightness” of my bags. However, upon our arrival to the cottage, as I began unpacking all my rolled-up clothing, he quickly realized that despite their deceptive weight, I had indeed brought an unfathomable amount of clothing…in his opinion (I was proud of the restraint I practiced, thanks to Nicole and Jaci and Laura).
On Sunday afternoon (I arrived Saturday night), we had a nice lunch with Phil’s dad and stepmother, Henry and Nicki. They are incredibly welcoming and very friendly. Later in the afternoon we relaxed with Ivan (Phil’s twin), Ivan’s wife Lyn, Lyn’s sister Laura, and Laura’s six-month-old son, Alistair. It was also great fun and nice to hang out with them again.
Sunday night Phil cooked us a delicious dinner and I continued to find nooks and crannies for all of my things. Monday saw us go on our first adventure. We gassed up the Land Cruiser and headed out of Nairobi for a four-hour drive to Lewa Downs, a 65,000-acre conservation area. Lewa has several houses and lodges on it, our family first met Phil when he was the manager and head guide of Wilderness Trails. We stopped on the way at a beautiful airstrip for lunch. They served us delicious sandwiches while we sat on a green lawn enjoying the sunshine. There were old, white men who looked like were straight out of the movies with there white hair, safari shorts, and safari shirts. They had their lunch, grabbed their briefcases and hopped into their little planes to fly off to their farms. I felt like I was in a movie as we barreled down the highway with African music playing past small villages, mango trees and pineapple fields.
We arrived at Lewa and everyone flocked to Phil. It’s been six years since he worked there, but his popularity hasn’t faded one bit. Lewa looked much as I remembered it and unfortunately, its beauty is indescribable. On our walk to our room, we passed monkeys and a herd of impala; we could see giraffe eating just outside our window; the food was phenomenal and the hosts were lovely. On our second day we went for a drive with Simon, a new guide at Lewa. Management wanted Phil’s opinion as to whether or not he was ready to “go it alone” with wagani (clients). So we had a great drive and saw many sites I remembered from eight and half years ago – it brought back wonderful memories and really made me miss my family. I asked Simon tons of questions, learned a lot, and Phil gave his stamp of approval.
On Tuesday evening we took a car and drove to what Phil says is one of the best views in Africa. It was stunning! The sunset wasn’t the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen (due to the clouds) but it was a nice way to end the day. On Wednesday we got up early, had a breakfast with the family (and the monkeys who stole bananas from the buffet), and went on our way. The ride home was soooo interesting. We had an anthropology lesson about the people of Africa and more specifically the tribes in Kenya. It led into general Kenyan history and the drive went by quickly.
We’ll continue to visit friends for the next few days and have driving lessons until Monday. Phil heads off on safari and I attempt to get settled all these thousands of miles from home. I’m looking forward to reaching out to contacts and seeking work again. I just hope it’s successful, I know it will take time, but I’m ready to get the ball rolling.
Please email or comment on the blog and let me know about life. Have a great weekend! ~EKY V.
My emotional departure from Atlanta was complete with tears on my part, endless hugs to my parents, and a long series of waves that still put a smile on my face today. The two nine-hour flights went by relatively quickly and without much to tell. With a fake itinerary from Phil, in case they hassled me about my exit date, I nervously went through the Kenyan customs. A beautiful woman with a beautiful accent let me through without so much as a second glance.
Phil was waiting at the airport and was shocked by the “lightness” of my bags. However, upon our arrival to the cottage, as I began unpacking all my rolled-up clothing, he quickly realized that despite their deceptive weight, I had indeed brought an unfathomable amount of clothing…in his opinion (I was proud of the restraint I practiced, thanks to Nicole and Jaci and Laura).
On Sunday afternoon (I arrived Saturday night), we had a nice lunch with Phil’s dad and stepmother, Henry and Nicki. They are incredibly welcoming and very friendly. Later in the afternoon we relaxed with Ivan (Phil’s twin), Ivan’s wife Lyn, Lyn’s sister Laura, and Laura’s six-month-old son, Alistair. It was also great fun and nice to hang out with them again.
Sunday night Phil cooked us a delicious dinner and I continued to find nooks and crannies for all of my things. Monday saw us go on our first adventure. We gassed up the Land Cruiser and headed out of Nairobi for a four-hour drive to Lewa Downs, a 65,000-acre conservation area. Lewa has several houses and lodges on it, our family first met Phil when he was the manager and head guide of Wilderness Trails. We stopped on the way at a beautiful airstrip for lunch. They served us delicious sandwiches while we sat on a green lawn enjoying the sunshine. There were old, white men who looked like were straight out of the movies with there white hair, safari shorts, and safari shirts. They had their lunch, grabbed their briefcases and hopped into their little planes to fly off to their farms. I felt like I was in a movie as we barreled down the highway with African music playing past small villages, mango trees and pineapple fields.
We arrived at Lewa and everyone flocked to Phil. It’s been six years since he worked there, but his popularity hasn’t faded one bit. Lewa looked much as I remembered it and unfortunately, its beauty is indescribable. On our walk to our room, we passed monkeys and a herd of impala; we could see giraffe eating just outside our window; the food was phenomenal and the hosts were lovely. On our second day we went for a drive with Simon, a new guide at Lewa. Management wanted Phil’s opinion as to whether or not he was ready to “go it alone” with wagani (clients). So we had a great drive and saw many sites I remembered from eight and half years ago – it brought back wonderful memories and really made me miss my family. I asked Simon tons of questions, learned a lot, and Phil gave his stamp of approval.
On Tuesday evening we took a car and drove to what Phil says is one of the best views in Africa. It was stunning! The sunset wasn’t the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen (due to the clouds) but it was a nice way to end the day. On Wednesday we got up early, had a breakfast with the family (and the monkeys who stole bananas from the buffet), and went on our way. The ride home was soooo interesting. We had an anthropology lesson about the people of Africa and more specifically the tribes in Kenya. It led into general Kenyan history and the drive went by quickly.
We’ll continue to visit friends for the next few days and have driving lessons until Monday. Phil heads off on safari and I attempt to get settled all these thousands of miles from home. I’m looking forward to reaching out to contacts and seeking work again. I just hope it’s successful, I know it will take time, but I’m ready to get the ball rolling.
Please email or comment on the blog and let me know about life. Have a great weekend! ~EKY V.
