I left my house at 5:30 AM on May 18, dropped my friend Al off in Albuquerque, and on May 20, early in the afternoon local time, my mother and I were in Nairobi. The food on Emirates airline was very good, as was the choice of entertainment on the screen on the seat back in front of me.

People had warned my mother that we really should have gotten our Kenyan visas before leaving, but we got our passports less than a week before leaving. Fortunately, the Kenyan customs official took our $50 each and gave us our visas within a few minutes.

Click on thumbnails for full-size pictures.

The next thing we discovered was that our luggage was lost (either Delta's or Emirates' fault). After an hour or so of dealing with that, we found that our guide from Vintage Africa (the African company hired by General Tours—we thought General was running our trip) was waiting patiently. His name was Agoi (rhymes better with Joey than with Joy). He rushed us across the traffic jam called Nairobi to the Giraffe Centre, where you can feed a tame giraffe.

We ate at the Carnivore (interesting service but I didn't find the food very exciting) and spent the night at the Stanley Hotel, which had a metal detector in the lobby, and you could get out of having your bags carried if you only had carry-ons. I'd rate most of the places we stayed the same: small rooms, as comfortable as a Motel 6 but better decorated, no heat or air conditioning (but in "winter", when we were there, you don't need them), no TV, Internet access available for a fee, good but not outstanding buffets with English and Indian food, attentive or even over-attentive service (but several places failed to give us at least one wake-up call that had been arranged). They're impressive because they provide First World accommodations in the literal wilderness. And it's pleasant, after riding on dirt roads, to be welcomed with a hot towel and a little glass of juice (which you can drink as you fill out the form).

The next morning, after our only leisurely breakfast, we drove to Amboseli National Park. On the way we saw two Gerenuks, which Agoi said were unusual; they usually like drier habitats. They may have moved because of a recent drought.