Oh, the Naibrobi Rain!

It’s the rainy season in Kenya.

And with it, comes the coolest of breezes, delicate and misty on the skin.  The flowers are so HAPPY!

I admit it. With this being my first trip to Africa, all I could think of was “Hot, hot Africa hot!” and when I checked the 10 day forecast just prior to packing I was breathing a sigh of relief.  Temps in the 70s to 80s.  80% chance of rain – no HOT HOT HOT!

I am sure it is of great relief to the animals, too!

We started out our morning with a panoramic tour of Nairobi by bus.  Oh my word – check this out!

Click to Play:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bonnie K Hunter (@quiltville_bonnie) on Oct 18, 2019 at 8:37am PDT

Now this is at a roundabout, and people are behaving as they should, allowing others to zipper in – but man.  Sometimes it is too scary to watch!

There are quite a few roundabouts to help traffic flow, and in the center was usually something I wished I could capture by camera -  such as the circle of dancing children you see in the top photo above.

Rain drops on bus windows as we attempt to take photos.

Tomb of the late first president Kenyatta.

1891 - 1978

The Jomo Kenyatta Monument can be found in the KICC (Kenyatta International Conference Center) compound.

After peacefully dying in his sleep in 1978, he was  laid to rest in a Mausoleum next to Parliament buildings in Nairobi. [source]

This statue is in commemoration of the late founding father of Kenya, the very first president of the Republic of Kenya who as a freedom fighter led Kenya to independence and served as president from 1963 to 1978.

He was the country's first indigenous head of government and played a significant role in the transformation of Kenya from a colony of the British Empire into an independent republic.

As an American, I really didn’t know much about Kenya’s history.  But I do remember his death and a bit of what was televised in the news as I was in high school at the time. As students we were told to pay attention as we were witnessing history.  So this is all very fascinating to me to make this trip to Kenya, Nairobi especially and see this country for myself.

After driving past many universities, hospitals, and government buildings, we made a stop at a cultural arts center for a rest stop and a round of much shopping!

The rain had subsided for a bit -

Everything was fresh and cool!

shopping for handcrafts by local artisans!

The stall on the left was called Backstreets.  The art inside was made by children from the streets, the money used to improve their housing and education.

I adore the dancing ladies!

Hug a giraffe statue day!

I adore these ladies too!

(No, this won’t fit in the overhead bin. You can’t take it home!)

Beautiful wood carvings.

No haggling here!

(This made me feel better!)

Hi Jane!!

Everything is so exquisite!

Are you finding good things, girls??

Oh, the “beaded stuff” room!

This is where I fell down the rabbit hole.

I have a thing for things covered in tiny seed bead things.

And so do the Iowa girls!

Perfect souvenirs for daughters and granddaughters.

So much color!

Fabrics woven with color -

Beautiful prints!

(much petting happened!)

I loved this!

I see patchwork elements -

Like equilateral triangles for eyelashes.

(And  more seed beads!)

Hakuna Matata!

My favorite Agapanthus grow abundantly here!

The new camera and I are getting along fine!

beaded whimsical giraffe.  So fun!

Buying ALL the things!

It’s here that things seem to become a little bit stuck -

As in “stuck in the mud!”

You can’t see it – but in front of this line of very muddy traffic is a vehicle that has gotten itself completely stuck.  And there is no going around.  And so – we thought we could just back up the bus and find another way and -

The mud is so deep – now WE are stuck!

Land Rovers to the Rescue!

It took some time to offload 37 people 8 at a time and take them to safety, but spirits were high.  We shared our purchases. We told stories, we sang songs. (In the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight….) and Rover full by Rover full we boarded a second bus and headed off to lunch.

And while we MISSED the elephant feeding at the Elephant Orphanage due to the mud adventure, some of us got an even closer look at elephants than we anticipated!

My view through the widow -

Baggy saggy wrinkly and all!

Melinda got a better view!

We have extra time on Friday before flying home, so we will hit up the Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Sanctuary then – so no one is really missing anything, and we had a huge adventure and a chance to really get to know one another while “Operation Mud Rescue” was in full swing.

After a delicious lunch!

And don’t you love the shirts?

The show a patchwork elephant at the end of a line of “regular” elephants – the slogan? “It’s okay to be a little different!” and they are in support of autism!  

I instantly had to order one for myself on Amazon.  Click HERE and choose your color! It’s a great reminder of our “different” way to see the baby elephants and all of the memories we made while supporting autism advocacy!

And that wasn’t the end of our day.  But I will stop here because our luggage has to be outside of our hotel room doors by 6:30am as we head off toward our next destination – Sweetwaters Serena Camp! Our safari adventures await – and we are well trained now that we’ve dealt with mud.

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Make what you love, love what you make! Vintage 1960s quilt with awesome fabrics!

Have a wonderful – uh…what day is it again?? (Saturday Here!)