Hi from Nairobi

We're in the big city of Nairobi and enjoying the cosmopolitan feel of things. It's been a while since walking down a big, urban sidewalk.

Since last posting, we've spent time in Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania. It's a fiercely autonomous section of Tanzania, and its cultural influence is more rooted in the Middle East than the interior of Africa. It's 99% Muslim, and we were there for the big festival that marks the end of Ramadan-- Eid al Fitr. That was great: lots of good food and families dressed up and enjoying the cool night air.

Zanzibar is a totally unique place, blending Arab, Indian, and Swahili cultures. In fact, it's the birthplace of the Swahili language. Fascinating history to this island, and overall it's one of the highlights of our trip so far.

After spending 5 days there, we took an overnight ferry north to the neighboring island of Pemba, but we didn't get off the boat until it landed back on the mainland in Tanga. From there, it was back on buses (2 nice ones in a row-- unheard of thus far in our journeys) to Mombasa and then west to Nairobi. Mombasa was interesting but mostly charmless (except its Old Town area), and Nairobi is, thankfully, not living up to its big bad reputation for crime (nickname: Nairobbery). Maybe things here have improved recently... we're having a good time and are enjoying the lack of attention we get as westerners wandering the streets. Crowds are friendly, mostly uninterested in us, and even helpful when we need assistance, but there are still plenty of touts trying to sell us safari packages. And we bought one.

So tomorrow we head out on a 3-day safari trip to the famous Maasai Mara National Park. It would be sort of a tourist crime not to visit this place while in Kenya, and we're good, law-abiding tourists. Once we return from the safari we'll spend one more day in Nairobi and then fly to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Apparently, the only way to obtain an Ethiopian tourist visa right now is through the airport. Overlanders are having lots of trouble getting them from the Embassy, and no luck at all getting them at the borders. no idea why. so we'll fly to avoid the hassle (and overland through Northern Kenya is said to be really tough-- glad to miss it).

Leaving Mombasa for Nairobi marked the end of our Swahili Coast travels. No more Bahr al-Zanj (that's what the ancient Arab traders called this section of the Indian Ocean). From now on we'll stick to the interior regions. And it's been an amazing portion of our trip, traveling through island chains and fishing villages, sailing on dhows, strolling along plenty of empty beaches and swimming in vivid blue waters... truly unforgettable. For us, the highlight of that section was traveling with our good friends, Jason and Erica. 4 is a good number in which to travel. Together we endured some pretty wild transport adventures and saw some unparalleled beauty-- land and people-- and we'll never forget it. Personal highlights include: Maputo, 1 (and only 1) decent surf session in Tofu, Ilha de Mozambique, playing music with new friends in Quilemane, sailing through the Quirimbas Archipelago and the mainland fishing village of Pangane, a long and wild day of crossing the Moz/Tanzanian border, street food in Dar es Salaam, and wandering through Zanzibar's surreal maze of alleys in Stone Town.

So on to the next section of this voyage home: Nairobi north to Cairo, spending most of our time in Northern Ethiopia. From Cairo we'll hang a right.

We'll be home soon, but not too soon.