Nairobi, Kenya 1.2921°S, 36.8219°E
Sarah and I found a small apartment in downtown Nairobi to rent for our last two weeks in Kenya. Its biggest selling point? Two bathrooms.
Sarah could not have been more excited.
Much of our time in Nairobi was spent preparing for our Mount Kilimanjaro climb, doing things like eating relatively healthy (no more Tusker beers!), trying to exercise daily and breaking in our new hiking boots. We also spent a lot of time double and triple checking our bags to make sure we had everything we needed for the climb.
Kale juicing…time to clean it up
In between healthy meals and long walks in our new boots we did get out to see some of Nairobi’s most popular attractions, including the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, the Giraffe Center and the National Museums of Kenya.
Had no idea this was a thing…
We also visited a bead making factory and had lunch at Nairobi’s most famous restaurant, Carnivore (which as the name suggests offers a wide variety of meats).
Learning about beads…
Before leaving Kenya, our safari driver Philip generously invited us out to his house on the outskirts of Nairobi to enjoy dinner with his wife and two young children. Philip’s wife Leah taught Sarah how to make a traditional Kenyan dinner, including ugali, beef stew, and sukuma wiki (kale, tomatoes, and onion). They also sent us back to our apartment with lots of fresh vegetables from their garden and the ingredients needed to make our own ugali – foods to help us get to the top of the mountain!
Picking vegetables with Philip and his family
Sarah working on her ugali skills
That’s not how mom makes it
After more than three weeks in Kenya, we spent our last night watching Netflix and heading to bed early so we’d be rested for our 8:00 a.m. flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport. We loved every minute of our time in Kenya, but were ready to start our eight-day hike!
Galito’s…our favorite place for dinners to go…
Sarah’s ingredients for her protein ball snacks for our hike….
The finished product!
Just one last Tusker before leaving Kenya…..
