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June 24, 2005
After breakfast we were going to explore a little but having guards in front of our hotel checking the undercarriages of vehicles for bombs was a little worrisome so I took a picture of the casino and we returned to our room. We did go to the business center in the hotel so we could send e-mails home announcing our safe arrival.
We met for an orientation meeting and then set out on a short walking tour of Nairobi. We were shown the statue commemorating the Kenyon soldiers that fought with the British during WWI and WWII. We also saw a giant round stone where every distance in Nairobi is measured.
We were told the significance of the Kenyon Flag and saw many of them flying around the grave of Kenyata.
There was a tree with weaverbird nests hanging. We were told that these birds build them only on the west side of the tree.
We saw the national auditorium where every August a dance competition of children is held.
We also stopped at a souvenir store and were told about the three qualities of woodcarvings: art, craft and souvenir quality. Here I found a package of wood carved animal ornaments and 3 necklaces.
We went across the street to buy water for the next couple of days.
Our afternoon was filled with adventure. We headed out of Nairobi to the region of Karen. Along the way we encountered several interesting sights. We saw a car that said Rocky Driving School "Instant Breaks". It was comical as the poor student tried to maneuver the horrendous traffic.
We learned that unemployment is very high and that people just start up little businesses along the roadside to make a few bucks. There were plant nurseries; people selling geese, turkeys and ducks; furniture sales, etc.
One interesting business we saw was that of a mortuary. A huge blue bus was pulling out that had the word "hearse" stenciled on the back. In the parking lot were men busily making wooden coffins and people selling flowers.
We also passed many local markets selling everything open-air from fruit to clothing.
We finally arrived at our destination the Kazuri Bead and Pottery Factory. Kazuri produces handmade, hand-painted ceramic jewelry in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa. Each bead that goes to make up a necklace or bracelet is shaped by hand, without the aid of moulds or forms, by one of the 90 local women employed by Kazuri. The beads are then polished and kiln fired, painted and fired again before being strung.
Lady Susan Wood founded Kazuri in 1975. Observing that many women in the villages around Nairobi were nearly destitute, she and two Kikuyu women organized a ceramic workshop and taught jewelry making to the poor - the instruction continues to this day.www.kazuri.com
We saw all phases of the jewelry making process. Women were taking clay from near Mt. Kenya and pressing it into molds. Others were making the holes through the clay. We saw the kilns where the clay was then baked. The beads are then sanded and painted and then baked again. The end product was stunning with mostly necklaces of different lengths, shapes and colors. I found one right away that I fell in love with. The beads were orange and white in a giraffe pattern and then there was a clay giraffe on the central pendant. ($15.00) Phebe found a lot to buy.
From here we went to the giraffe center. www.giraffecentre.org The purpose is to educate school children about African wildlife. Phebe and I had both wondered what animal we would see first. She thought a warthog and I thought a giraffe. We were both right as we were immediately excited to see both here. We were given giraffe pellets and climbed up on a platform where four giraffes (2 adults and 2 juveniles) anxiously stuck out their long black tongues waiting for us to place a pellet on their tongues. You could pet and hug them.
We were also given a short lecture on Kenya's three varieties of giraffes. The place was started by an American for the reticulated variety because they had become near extinction. They were mostly found in west Kenya and farmers had been killing them because they were eating their crops. There are now approximately 300 of these animals on earth.
Our next stop was the Karen Blixen house. She was the author of "Out of Africa". There was a museum and we walked through dense foliage to see the coffee mill. The grounds were beautiful and filled with interesting plants and flowers.
Last on our agenda was dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant. www.tamarind.co.ke Their brochure boasts: "The Carnivore is Africa's greatest eating experience. Every type of meat imaginable including a selection of game is roasted over charcoal and carved at your table." The Carnivore is justifiably referred to as Africa's Greatest Eating Experience. Twice voted amongst the worlds 50 best restaurants by UK based Restaurant magazine Carnivore is described as amazing This open air meat specialty restaurant has strikingly different food service and atmosphere to any other restaurant in Kenya. The Carnivore since its inception has played host to over 2 million customers from across the globe including numerous celebrities. In fact the Carnivore visitors book read like a global whose who!
Whole joints of meat - legs of lamb and pork, haunches of exotic meat, rumps of beef, sirloins, racks of lamb, spare ribs, sausages, chicken wings, skewered kidneys, even crocodile, and other tasty morsels - are roasted on traditional Maasai swords over a huge, visually spectacular charcoal pit that dominates the entrance of the restaurant.
The Carnivore makes no show of the familiar restaurant traditions of passing out menus and waiting for people to order. Diners simply take their seats on the Zebra striped chairs and the movable feast begins. First comes the soup of the day then a sizzling cast-iron plate is placed in front of each guest along with a plate of home baked brown bread and butter. An army of carvers wearing striped aprons and straw hats then move from table to table carrying the Maasai swords laden with different prime meats deliberately carving unlimited amounts onto the sizzling, cast iron plates in front of each guest. Accompanying the meat feast is a wide selection of salads and vegetable side dishes, and also a variety of exotic sauces made from the Carnivores own recipes and stacked on to a double story-revolving tray in the center of the table. The feeding frenzy doesn't stop until defeat is declared by the over-fed guests who signal that enough is enough by lowering of a white paper flag perched atop the central tray. This was followed by dessert and coffee.
Our dinner selections besides chicken, beef and lamb included sausage, chicken livers, ostrich, crocodile, camel, chicken gizzards and pork ribs.
Phebe and I elected to split a Crocodile in the Sky, which was Vodka and passion fruit juice. Everyone else ordered a DAWA, which was prepared at the table. The famous Dawa cocktail was first introduced to Kenya at the Carnivore.
In Swahili, "Dawa" translates somewhere between medicine and magic potion. Under the African sun the "Dawa" is the drink chosen to rehydrate, refresh ones being and sharpen the taste buds.
The Dawa is Vodka poured on ice with limes in the glass. There was then a stick with honey on the end of it. The entire concoction was supposed to be stirred with the included stick.
It was quite a feast!
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