Spoilt By Dianna and Derek in Nairobi, Kenya

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As happens with all good plans and ideas - our plan to take the night bus from Sipi to Nairobi was knocked on the head as the bus was fully booked, even though we had been told there would be plenty of space. We piece-mealed our way to the border and were  surprised to have our farewell out of Uganda just as pleasant as our welcome with another jolly official at the immigration office.

Better still, we walked across the border into Kenya to find another  nice, relaxed official there too. As the entry process continued the official got more and more chatty, but instead of exchanging pleasantries, the conversation turned to cancer (sparked by the professional information written on my entry card). He was particularly interested in prostate cancer and asked about symptoms and getting checked etc. I skirted around the issue a little, but there was no way of avoiding, of course, the easiest way to check for prostate cancer (apart from blood tests) - an enlarged prostate! It was probably our most entertaining border conversation yet!

Dianna and Derek's Lovely House

Being almost dark at this point we planned to look for a place to stay, but curious, we asked the official if there were buses to Nairobi at this time. He made a call, and yes there was a night bus; better yet, his friend would greet us. 500m down the road, sure enough, his friend did greet us and directed us to the right ticket office. Nice!
With an hour before the bus would leave at 8pm, there was just enough time for some quick, and surprisingly delicious, chicken and chips. The thankfully uneventful bus journey was supposed to plonk us at Nairobi 's main bus station early in the morning in the dark. Extremely reluctant to arrive at the notoriously treacherous and shady bus station, plus at such a dodgy time of day, we opted to get off the bus early and land ourselves in the relative safety of the suburbs - close to Westlands where Martin's friend Dianna Kopansky and her family lived. Once the sun came up we took a taxi to her house and landed on them in full swing of breakfast and readying for work and school. Normalcy. It was great! * Mush

With Dianna Kopansky

Back in High School, myself, and great friends Sacha and Colin worked at a Collegiate Sports Store in our local mall.  The owner Ozzie, was married to Nancy, whose sister Dianna, did some work at the store at times, even though she didn't live in the area.  We got to know Dianna, and it turned out that we both went to Queen's University, although Dianna started a year after me.  We had some great times at university, but we had not seen each other since.  Good old Facebook got us back in touch, and I found out she was in Nairobi, and has been for about 11 years.  She moved to Nairobi to work with the United Nations, and while there met her now husband Derek.  Even without seeing each other in so long, she welcomed us to her house with open arms, and we thoroughly enjoyed catching up with her, and meeting her family.  It was a great time staying with them, as we got along exceptionally well with Derek, and the kids were a treat to be around.

Rose, Michelle and Jane, with Ethan and Tessa

So, what did we do in Nairobi, not much really - just relaxed and did some chores.  We had the help of Jane, their lovely housekeeper, who took care of us well.  We organized our immediate future by getting a drive into town by their driver Peter, who took us to the train station to buy our tickets to Mombasa, then took us to the hostels to organize a safari to the Maasai Mara.  I tell you though, heading in to downtown Nairobi is an experience, and not for the best reasons.  I have to say that I think the traffic in Nairobi is about the worst in all of Africa - nobody obeys any rules, and you have to just drive aggressive and shove your nose ahead of others.  Put that together with the absolute worst roads of any big city we have seen in Africa, and it's a recipe for disaster, if not exceptionally long travel times.  I mean, we drove down roads with car swallowing potholes, filled with water probably because the hole was so deep it hit the underground water table!!!  And add to this the knowledge that Nairobi is nicknamed 'Nai-Robbery' by the locals, it made for an uncomfortable experience.  Lock the doors and close all the windows tight as there are people everywhere.  Our driver even told us that if you hit a person on the road (even though you travel so slowly), there will be a mob around your car and they will rob you blind.  People even jump in front of the car on purpose!!  No wonder most of the expats stay out in the suburbs!!

Derek with Tessa, Dianna with Ethan, Mush with Elephants

We did have a lot of fun around the house, especially with the kids.  They had a trampoline out back, and I exhausted myself jumping around with them.  Turns out I was the first to complete a front flip on their tramp!!   One other very cool experience in the back yard, was feeding the local bird of prey (Kite) flying around in the vicinity.  They call him George, and we would throw pieces of meat up in the air and watch the incredible agility he had, changing direction and swooping in to catch the meat in mid air!!  WOW!!

Dinner parties, fantastic food, Smirnoff Ice's, watching sports with Derek, movies with Dianna and the kids, shopping at really nice grocery stores with items we haven't seen in many months, and being well taken care of by everyone.  We have fond memories of our time with 'family' in Nairobi!!!   *Stub