Back in Nairobi..but not for long.

Safely ensconced on the 1st floor of the Kenya Comfort Hotel after a long drive from the Mara Leisure Camp in the Masai Mara territory. The last week has been spectacular and really, photos would serve my words better but here goes. We drove to Lake Nakuru in the central part of Kenya to look primarily at pelicans, storks and flamingos but were also surprised with heards of zebras, loping giraffes, gazelles a leaping, rhinos sleeping, baboons a scratching and just about every kind of wild bird you could think of. We stayed in the Flamingo Hill Hotel and it was great, huge tents, nice pool, great staff and delicious meals. I've been struck a little by the traveling in between the towns and most of what I see, in fact, all of it is so polluted and poverty stricken that I feel a little guilty to be living it up 3km away or even less. I tell myself that I didn't cause it and I shouldn't feel guilty but I want to help and there's just so much of it: pollution being the main thing, I've never seen so much garbage just out, everywhere. You name it, I've seen it clogging streams, lining walking paths, flying in the breeze, swaying in the trees. It's all consuming and even in the National Parks there are plastic bottles on the roadside, bags in the lake etc. But, the people I've met have been so generous and eager to show me their world that I overlook the downsides when I can. My arm was in a perpetual waving motion the whole drive from Naro Moru to Lake Nakuru, just waving at all the kids I passed on the roadside. Bright and beaming faces just make me smile too.
After Lake Nakuru we went to Masai Mara and spent 3 nights at the Mara Leisure Camp. The reserve is huge and we had a local guide, Kenyua who has been great at driving the rocky, muddy and uneven roads here. We spotted every animal under the sun here. Cheetahs, leopards, and lions to be the main ones. We came upon a resting lion and his lioness after a heavy mating session and they looked very, what's the word, content, if you know what I mean ;)
I've been lucky to be with a great group of people, I'm the youngest by about 15-20 years but my mom has been great and I got to play my ukulele for our chefs and hostel employees in Naro Moru. James, the man who works for the re-forestation project at Mt. Kenya asked me to play Silver Dagger 6 times in a row for him because he liked it so much. Who would've thought an old folk/Joan Baez song I heard and loved would resonate all the way here. He was also nice enough to be my kazoo holder while I played it and sang Ring of Fire. That was a crowd favorite!
Well, tonight in Nairobi and tomorrow we fly to Mombasa and drive up the coast to Malindi for 2 nights. Supposed to be beautiful beaches there and also the navigational site of Vasco deGama from 1498. Oh, and it's also a huge sex tourism destination and my guide book says to be weary of looking at anyone for too long, oh, and women who wear blue jeans!
Updates in a few days if I can pry myself away from the great experience I'm having.