Shabbat Shalom,

I know it has been a while and I wish I had some new and exciting adventures to tell you about, but things have slowed down here a bit.  As you can see from the pictures I posted, last weekend I took a trip to Lake Naivasha.  Along with a few other gringos and a Kenyan friend, we drove a couple hours from Nairobi to a campsite on the lake called Fisherman's Lodge.  The campgrounds were really beautiful and I felt like I was back in the Northwoods.  That afternoon, after a short bike ride, we took a boat to Crescent Island where we walked amongst wildebeests, zebras and giraffes, and actually had to run away from some buffalo.  During the boat ride back from the island, the hippos started to pop their heads up out of the water.  They like to come onto land at night, and the campsite was surrounded by an electric fence to keep them away.

My friend Steffi woke me up early the next morning because our tent was surrounded by birds and she was afraid to get out to use the bathroom.  I ignored her at first, but eventually got up to see these disgusting pterodactyls eating the bones leftover from someone's BBQ the night before.  We somehow managed to sustain a flat tire at some point during the night while the car was parked.  More about that later...

We spent the day at Hell's Gate National Park - a very popular tourist destination as much of the Lion King was filmed there.  We rented bikes at the entrance and rode through the park.  Unfortunately still no lion sightings, but there were plenty of warthogs (and more zebras and giraffes which aren't so thrilling anymore).  We also watched a committee of 20+ vultures (http://www.hintsandthings.co.uk/kennel/collectives.htm) getting nasty over lunch. 

We met some German business men who were working at IBM in Nairobi and joined them on a hike through the Gorge.  As you can see in the pictures below, I did a little rock climbing and there were some hot springs and waterfalls and hot spring waterfalls.  The Gorge was the highlight of the weekend.

The drive home was the lowlight of the weekend.  My Kenyan friend Dan had the punctured tire repaired, but for whatever reason he didn't change it with the spare.  We made it all of 5km before we were sitting on the side of the road.  Dan's jack didn't work properly, so we had to borrow one from a passerby.  To make a long story short, this was the first of 3 flat tires on the way home.  It had gotten very dark outside for the last one, and we were stuck roadside for an hour in a city called Banana where you don't want to be stuck.  We had to hire one taxi to take the tire in for repairs and another to drive us around while we waited (so we wouldn't get offed by some locals on the side of the road).  Whoever brings AAA here, or even tow trucks for that matter, will be a hero.  I'm normally very even-tempered and patient in these situations, but it was getting late on Sunday night, I was hungry, and none of us had showered in two days (at least five for the cab driver).  Luckily, the cabbie returned with the tire patched up, and I swear he changed it like he was on Jimmie Johnson's pit crew.  I can laugh about the whole thing now, but it wasn't funny at the time.

This weekend I tired to get out of my comfort zone a little bit and took a matatu into downtown Nairobi by my lonesome.  The City Centre gets a bad rap, and I hadn't really spent any time there, but thought I should take a day there before I leave.  I took a long walk, checked out some landmarks, and went to Uhuru Park overlooking the city.  It was a pleasant day to myself and I managed to resist the peddlers at every corner, offering safaris and such.  

Next weekend I am finally going to be climbing Mt. Kenya with a couple friends.  I have been training diligently at the gym so I should be able to keep up; however, I am nervous because temperatures get below freezing near the summit and I didn't bring my winter jacket.  

BTW some stomach issues I've been having inspired me to try and maintain a vegan diet for the past few days.  I am almost positive I have broken it on a few occasions, albeit unintentionally, but I have a newfound respect for Oprah, Ian Keiser, and anyone else who can eat this way and survive.  I'll let you know how long I make it - pretty sure it won't fly on Mt. Kenya.

Ok now, buh bye then.