Arrivals

Somewhere over the North Sea . . .
This was my first time flying with Turkish Airlines and I'm very impressed. Friendly people, tasty food beautifully presented, and individual consoles with your choice of at least 100 movie offerings. The 777 is packed, and seating is tight, but no more than on most other airlines.

Sleep never comes easily to me when I'm flying. Six hours into the 9-hour New York to Istanbul leg, and I've had a few 20-minute power naps. I see a few of my fellow sardines playing games or watching movies on their individual entertainment consoles, but most appear to be sound asleep. The final leg - Istanbul to Nairobi - speeds by with the help of "We Bought a Zoo" and "Ratatouille."

We arrive in Nairobi at 2:45 AM, and those of us needing visas patiently wait to pay our $50 and have our pictures taken and fingerprints scanned. I find my bags - once again thankful for airport luggage carts - and assure the customs officer that my intentions are honorable and that I have no contraband and nothing of real value to declare. Then out to face the mob of drivers - "where do you want to go? I can take you." "You need a taxi?" "You want to go on safari?" Each is disappointed to hear that I do not want to make safari plans, and already have arranged for a ride.

Once at the guest house I unpack, make a few calls, organize my belongings, and sleep soundly from 10 to noon. Showering is . . . an experience. There seem to be 3 temperature options - scalding, cold, and frigid. The trick is to dart under the showerhead during each 15 second transition phase.

Lunch is huge. They've remembered that I like simple country food, and give me the football player's mega platter.

I had hoped to email and write some blog posts this afternoon, but the guest house's Internet is down, so I'll have to go the the Nakumatt, a 24-hour megastore with nearly all the goods and services you'll ever need. It's a short walk (15 minutes or so) and this is a safe neighborhood.

It's 3:30 by the time I've made my phone calls, and compiled my Nakumatt list (ATM, Internet, bus ticket to Mombasa, crackers, lotion, books for the long bus rides to come), and . . here comes the rain . . . heavy rain. . . hours of rain.

I'm happy for Kenya. The rains have been minimal or absent the past few years in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, leading to widespread loss of livestock, food shortages with staggering price increases, starvation, and death. Although lots of rain now is good for Kenya, a chronically inefficient food distribution system all but guarantees there will be shortages again come December.