Kenya Day Three to Five

Day 3

More Giraffes

Well, if you can believe it, we get to wake up every morning and repeat the morning ritual. Sit in a gorgeous sun room, drink incredible Kenyan coffee, savor delicious Kenyan fruits, take in the picturesque savanna yard, eat a made to order breakfast, and , oh yeah, feed giraffes the whole time…It does not get old and Maddi is still crawling out of her skin…Her connection to these animals is uncanny. They are sublime creatures and I must admit, I am totally addicted to feeding them and touching them. Truly a marvelous creature. The boys, even though they like the Giraffes, really like the warthogs.

Elephant Orphanage

After breakfast, we made a failed attempt to post the blog at the Internet café (small room with about 6 machines and no coffee…), but they were out of power. So, we went to the Elephant Orphanage. It is in the Nairobi National park and is in a very beautiful setting. The elephants are incredibly cute. They have all of the youngest ones out at first. They were all under 1 years old and were probably no more than three to three and a half feet tall. They wear blankets to protect them from the sun and are all hand fed. In fact, their psyche is so fragile, that they have to be cared for and even slept with 24 hours per day for the first year. They played soccer and allowed us to pet them. Maddi loved them. The boys played in the dirt…go figure, red African dirt over elephants. But hey, they have been feeding Giraffes for hours on end. We planned on coming back at 5:00 for an adoption. You can pay $50 to adopt one and then come back and feed it and have some private time with “your” elephant. But….

Lunch

Ate another amazing lunch…

Jet lag Catches up

Went back to the room at 1:00, laid down with the kids and woke up 6 hours later at 7:00. What a bummer…We felt that we lost out but we just were so exhausted. We ate a small dinner, played some games with the kids, gave them some Benadryl at 10:00 and slept until 7:00 the next morning.

Day 4

Even More Giraffes…

Shopping in the Morning (local grocery stores, shops, checking out the countryside), arriving back at the Manor with Lynn, one of the very large & famous giraffes from “Tall Blondes”, blocking the road. She was in no hurry to move, so we had to back up the vehicle and (off road it) to go around her….

Lunch with Rudy, then waving to the giraffes and off to….

Shopping in the Afternoon….local artisians/craft shops & Streetwise (an organization set up for street children to create art, sell it, and this pays for their education). I (Julie) got to meet Ishmil (the first boy to be taken off the streets and graduate out of this program). He now helps to sell the other children’s art and works with the kids. I saw an amazing documentary on this earlier this year, so it was amazing to meet him in person!!!

A Traditional Kenyan Dinner (we have fallen in love with the staff and people in this country), not to mention the beauty that surrounds you every day!!!

Day 5

If you can believe it, more Giraffes (You know, Maddi is not getting tired of this)

Kazuri Beads (a business that employs about 380 single mothers her in Kenya). They make the most beautiful hand crafted/painted ceramic beads & pottery.

The Coolest Play date ever (three children from Kenya that live behind the Manor). A boy who is 9 y.o (Emmet & he had a blast!), and his two sisters who are 7 and 5 y.o. The girls colored with Maddi and had a lot of fun wearing her helmet and pulling around her walker.

More Giraffes at the Giraffe Center

Some relaxation and some Rain

Kids out by Seven here…which is 9:00 am your time…we are DOOMED next week…

We found out that tomorrow, after breakfasting with Maddi’s favorite creatures on earth……Rudy & Marianne (our fabulous hosts) have set up a surprise trip to a hot spring in the Rift Valley and our play dates from today (three beautiful, Kenyan children are coming with us for the day)!!! We are planning on picnicking….swimming…relaxing…taking in the country side and maybe going to a traditional African village (I am unsure which clan, but will find out tomorrow).