My time in Mombasa was wonderful and very relaxing. I completed all of my papers so I am officially a college graduate now :). It feels so good!
The last day we were in Mombasa we saw camels on the beach. They wanted ten dollars to ride for thirty minutes. Hilary and TaVonna took them up on it and cruised down the beach. Julie and I are on an extreme budget and we didn't want to pay that much. When Hil and T'Von got back I talked the guy into letting us ride ten minutes for two dollars. It was so cool to ride a camel down the beach next to the Indian Ocean.
On Sunday night we arrived in Nairobi and checked into the youth hostel. They wanted us to pay 800 shillings a night, but we told them we have been living here for seven weeks now and we wanted resident price. After a little back and forth the man agreed to 500 shillings per night. It's so funny to me that you can negotiate a hotel price. That would never happen in the states.
Today we went to the Sheldrick Center to see orphaned baby elephants. They were adorable! They don't know how to use their trunks yet so their supervisors have to help them. They played with eachother and rolled around in the mud. It was so exciting to see an elephant that close and I was able to pet them :).
After we saw the elephants we went to the Giraffe Center. I almost cried when I saw that first giraffe. I just couldn't believe I was seeing one that close up. We fed them and kissed them! I put a pellet of food in my mouth and Laura the giraffe just came in for it. I have a great picture of her kissing me. They had artwork done by children for sale at the Center. These kids from all over Kenya have created different pictures to help save the endangered animals and the environment. You could buy any picture on the wall for ten dollars. I saw a picture of a rhino that I just had to have. On the back it tells you who created it and where they live. My picture was done by a six year old little girl in Mombasa. She is extremely talented. I'm going to frame it when I get home and put it in my future classroom.
I leave for Safari on Wednesday and I am SO excited. We met with out guide today. His name is Simon. They have hot airballon rides on the Masai Mara for $450 but Simon says he can get us a booking for $150. I really hope we can do it because it would be beyond indredible.
Hopefully I can update my blog one or two more times before I fly home. I'll be on Safari for four days and then I'll be biking in Hell's Gate. It may be a solid week before I get to the internet again.
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman
3 comments:
Wow... so cool! Hopefully a giraffe's mouth is as clean as a dog's mouth! Love your title (even though I don't like that song!) ~~I saw Bridget kissing the giraffe~~ (sung to the tune of "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus." ;)
I am so excited that you are going on a safari. I would love to do that some day! Love, Auntie Kare
Your future kiddos are going to be so lucky to have such a cultured teacher! I'm trying to picture a giraffe kissing you without being totally grossed out ... not working. Hope your balloon ride is awesome and that safari is super fantastic!
I'm so impressed with your bargain shopping - getting your 10 minute camel ride and the resident rate on your hotel!! Good for you!!
Unfortunately, I'll bet a giraffe's mouth is about as clean as a dog's mouth (you know the bit about a dog's mouth being cleaner than a human falls under the "urban legend" category)! But, I'm still looking forward to seeing that picture!
I'm sure going on safari will be unbelievable. Oh, almost forgot - congrats on officially being a college graduate!!!
I'm getting anxious to see you soon! Lots of love!!!
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