JWG (jwg) wrote,
JWG
jwg

Preparation for our trip to Kenya next year

I'm starting to read about Kenya in preparation for our Contra Dance safari next year.

One thing I'm reading is a book by Rick Ridgeway: The Shadow of Kilimanjaro: On Foot Across East Africa is a story of his trek over the mountain and to the coast - a 500 Km walk with guides and guards with rifles. Included are tales of other treks where people got eaten by hippos, hyenas, and lions or in some cases partially eaten and lived to tell the tale. We'll be nearby some of his path (NOT on foot) such as in Amboseli National park which is right near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

I have another book from the library about culture and history: Nine Faces of Kenya by Elspeth Huxley (including such things as finding homo erectus skeletons and prior such things. For some reason she doesn't describe contra dance as one of the things done in Kenya.

At some time in the future we will need to get some immunizations and take anti-malaria medicine before, during, and after the trip.

Of course, I had to look up the railroad situation. Kenya Railways has trains from Nairobi to Mombasa and Nairobi to Kisumu. Both are overnight trips. First class cabins with 2 bunks in a cabin only cost about $60 a person. I don't think we'll even seriously consider doing it, although it is intriguing to think of seeing the Indian Ocean. Also I read that there have been derailments and worse because of deteriorating infrastructure, but there seems to be some improvement on that front these days. The warning is to take mosquito repellant, bottled water, and toilet paper. They do have a dining car. They certainly have a very nice logo.
Subscribe

  • Giraffes like varied company

    In downtown Gloucester today we saw these guys having tea: And 2 years ago these were doing the same in Tanzania

  • two earlier election vignettes

    I remember my first election - voting for JFK for president. It was in Stormville, NY. I've never missed voting since then. When I registered, I had…

  • Tanzania reprise

    It's now three months since we returned from Tanzania. It was a most wonderful trip - even better than I'd expected. There were 22 of us on this…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal

    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

  • 1 comment