Because the airline my company uses to get to Africa usually routes through AMS, I decided to stopover in Amsterdam for a few days on my way back from Nairobi. It was a welcome change of pace. I was able to walk around at night without worrying for my safety. I took it pretty easy. I didn't go to any museums or historic sites. I basically just went from restaurant to bar to restaurant to bar.
Read MoreOn my last Friday in the office in Nairobi, after auditing two years worth of dusty financial records, my boss took me to the Giraffe Center, A facility that's been around for about 40 years and is working toward preserving the endangered Rothschild giraffe. The main attraction there is an elevated platform from which visitors can feed the giraffes. Giraffes amble out of the trees slowly in a way that I never noticed before. Giraffes move both legs on one side together instead of alternating. It looks almost like a puppet in the Lion King stageshow or something.
Read MoreLife in Nairobi during the week was not altogether that different from a normal week at home in the sense that most of my time was spent at the office. Save for the fact that going out after dark was discouraged, I did get a chance to see a bit of what Nairobi had to offer. My temporary apartment was on one of Nairobi's main thoroughfares, Ngong Road, and right next to a popular mall, The Junction. It was also across the street from the science campus of the University of Nairobi and the street right outside was the site of a major riot one of my last nights there. There was little I could find in the news about it, but it had something to do with a professor's death. Gunshots rang for most of that evening. It was quite alarming, but I spent some time on my 5th floor balcony watching the student protestors attack cars and clash with police. Both in the moment and in hindsight that was probably a terrible idea, but here I am.
Read MoreAfter a morning of exploring Stone Town and the Dharajani market, I hired a car to take me the roughly 45 minute drive to Nungwi beach at the northern end of the island. I'd become used to having to take cabs anywhere I needed to go and almost everyone I'd encountered so far spoke serviceable English, but this guy could barely communicate. I'm pretty sure the only word he really understood out of my mouth was "Nungwi." There are a lot of tour packages and guides that shuttle tourists to this beach with detailed itineraries, but I had no interest in that. I just wanted to check out the beach and relax for the afternoon. So my non-English speaking cabbie and I set off on increasingly unpaved roads to the north.
Read MoreI'm getting a bit of a late start on my Africa posts. A result combination of fatigue and being fairly busy. Better late than never. I'm going to save a post about the things I actually did in Nairobi for later because that actually isn't the first thing that comes chronologically in my notes or pictures. The entire first week in Nairobi I really didn't do anything besides go to the office and eat mediocre food at the mall near my apartment. The first picture I took on my camera was at the airport on my way to fly to Zanzibar.
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