Catching Up + Little Known Facts About Eastern Africa

Time to play some catch-up...while everyone on EST is quietly sleeping (possibly snoring) in their beds.  

When I last left off, I had summed up our Monday so, now I'll give you the lowdown on Tuesday.  Which literally started (for me) with an odd banging against one of the windows of my room.  It turned out to be this little guy (or girl - it was hard to tell)...

I've failed to identify what kind of bird it was but, it was unlike any I'd seen before...a brilliant metallic green color.  I felt it worthy of sharing for that reason and the fact that it was literally throwing itself against my window.

Moving on...our photographer and his assistant arrived Monday night so, we met them for breakfast yesterday morning to talk through our plan for the week.  We needed to drive to the airport where the helicopter was located so we could meet with the pilot and plot out the course for capturing the aerial shot(s) needed. It was a 4 hour drive to a small city called Nanyuki.  Which happens to be quite close to the equator (tourist picture of me at the equator to follow...stay tuned) - for those of you who are unfamiliar with the geography of Kenya, here's a map to help you out. 

The airstrip is a popular launching point for folks going on safari - AKA Barney's Nanyuki Airstrip.  As I type, some groups are about to head to Mt. Kenya which is a short trip from here (yes, I'll include a pic, I promise).  Anyway, here's a pic of the helicopter the team will be using to catch the aerial shot needed.  

Once we mapped out the plan for the aerial shoot for Wednesday, we had a pleasant dinner at the restaurant overlooking the airstrip before heading to our hotel for a Tusker (or two) before retiring for the night.  

Before I end my Tuesday segment, I wanted to dig a bit into the details of the trip to Nanyuki from Nairobi.  For one, our producer is ridiculously knowledgeable of the area, so, we were very lucky to have her narrate some of the history to us along the way.  

Anyway, here are some of the things I noted during our drive - in no particular order:

• There are speed bumps on the highway.  Yes.  Speed bumps.
• The highway has two lanes (total) and, if you think people in Atlanta drive like mad, you should have been with us yesterday.  Although Derek and Mary Kate say India is 10x worse and I believe them.  Thankfully, our driver (a very sweet man named George) is masterful at the art of passing, dodging, navigating, etc.
• Also, people are not afraid to cross said highway on foot in any place/way/fashion they'd like.  And, there are crosswalks in some spots (typically close to the speed bumps)
• Livestock can often be seen either 1) wandering/grazing freely close to the highway OR b) grazing close to said highway with one leg secured via rope to something that must have been anchored in the ground but was not visible to the naked eye.
• There is a LOT of red clay in this area (and perhaps all of Africa?) which made me think of good old Georgia.
• Many of the businesses in the small towns we passed along the way are literally right off the highway. We also passed several outdoor markets. I captured some video as we drove.  Not very "smooth" but it does more than a still picture.  Turn the volume down - the wind is a bit loud. 
• Lots of people travel locally by motorcycle/dirt bike and, in some cases, there were up to 3 people on board/bike (I happened to learn this morning that the word for these bikes is "boda boda").

Further, along much of the route (this story deserves more than a bullet point) runs what is known as the "Lunatic Express" or locally as the "Iron Snake".  It was called this for several reasons but, most notably because of numbers of men who lost their lives to any number of diseases OR to the man-eating lions that pulled the workers constructing the railroad out of their carriages in the night and killed them.  If you'd like to read more, here you go. 

Another little nugget of knowledge...the railway is not in use currently, but China plans to change that. A new standard gauge track will be constructed from Kenya’s coast on the Indian Ocean to its western border with Uganda. President Uhuru Kenyatta has struck a £3.2  billion deal with Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart.

So, that sums up Tuesday...as you probably guess, Wednesday to follow shortly.