It was not the restful night we had hoped for. So far this trip we have been lucky and not had one mosquito in our tent - until last night. We had left the side vents open by mistake when we put the tent up and that's probably where they came in. Along with the dogs barking (they do it here too!), it was a fitful sleep to say the least.
Yesterday we met Thomas (German) travelling solo in his Toyota Land Cruiser. He started 9 months ago in his native Koln home, going down West Africa and eventually winding his way back through the Middle East like us. Together with Chiho and Christoph, the five of us will journey up through the Lake Turkana region, crossing into the Omo valley in Ethiopia. Everyone says it is better to travel in convoy, safety in numbers - for bandits and breakdowns.
Since you cannot get an exit stamp for your passport or Carnet de Passage at the border crossing in Illeret/Omorate, we have to do so at Customs in Nairobi first. Once we arrive in Addis Ababa, we will have to get our entry stamp for Ethiopia.
At 8:30am sharp, our pre-arranged taxi arrived and the 5 of us squeezed into his car and off we went to the Immigration and Customs building in the city centre. We had heard from previous travellers that, depending on the mood of the officers, sometimes they will refuse to issue you a stamp and where "girls must flirt and guys must beg." Fortunately we didn't have to resort to any of that. It seems they are used to a lot of Overlanders doing the same route and the whole procedure was extremely efficient and painless.
The taxi driver, whom we had hired on an hourly rate, then drove us to the nearby 4x4 Parts Store so we could buy some new bushes. After the bumpy roads from yesterday, ours looked like shredded cheese.
We were back at Jungle Junction before noon where we spent the afternoon relaxing and preparing Foxy for the next leg of the trip, probably the most difficult one to come.
A nice purple bruise is forming on my leg; it's in the exact shape of Malawi. Having never broken a bone in my life, I realize how dependent we are on our able bodies. I'm trying not to let this leg of mine get the better of me, but the pain and discomfort and lack of mobility is causing my patience to thin.
But it's nothing a good hearty meal at the Nairobi Café - with free wireless connection - couldn't fix.
Start: -
End: -
Distance Traveled: -
Road Conditions: Nairobi traffic is the hazard, not the potholes. Our taxi almost ran over a cyclist who darted out in front of us, it was very very close.
Temperature: cool, breezy, cloudy.
ps. Happy Birthday Alli!
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