Setting out on Safari

These posts are actual entries from my travel journal, so sometimes the thoughts may seem disconnected, but I hope you find it entertaining.

Day 1 - Dec. 17, 2011

I am in Istanbul having just finished an "Effe" dark beer. It was alright, but nothing to write home about, though I guess I just did. LOL

 Here we are, heading to Africa. As a huge Tarzan fan, I’ve always wanted to visit Africa, but I confess this is one trip I never thought I’d actually take. The cost is prohibitive, and you could take four cheaper trips to locations almost as exotic. But Kathryn’s grandmother left her some money when she passed away, and this is what we’ve decided to spend some of it on.

There are cheaper ways to go on Safari, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown fonder of comforts, and sleeping in your car or in a common room with bunk beds and a dozen snoring college students doesn’t have the same appeal it once had.

 Preparation started months out with interviews of friends who’d recently been on Safari, reviewing itineraries, etc. Their trip sounded so fantastic, we booked with the same company – Enchanting Africa. Then there were inoculations against Yellow Fever, diphtheria, Hepatitis, and a host of other ailments, all of which had to be timed correctly, so as to be effective. We also began a cycle of Malaria medication which must start two weeks before you go, and continue four weeks after you return. The funny thing about this is the medication won’t actually prevent malaria, it will just make it less severe, and you must still get yourself to the hospital if you should show signs of fever.

The flight to Nairobi is 6 hours from Istanbul. Puts us there around 11pm our time, 2am Nairobi time. We’ll be met at the airport and transferred to our hotel, and tomorrow we have a car and driver assigned to take us around the city.

I’ve been reading "In Africa: Hunting Adventures in the Big Game Country" by John T. McCutcheon, who actually meets up with Teddy Roosevelt while on Safari. It's a true story, more like this guy's diary, and is utterly fascinating and has me terribly excited for our adventure.

One odd item – in the bathroom at the airport there were literally 5 guys all brushing their teeth. I mentioned this to Kathryn and she said it was the same on the ladies side. Weird…

The flight to Nairobi was long but at least there were no screaming children. (I have been plagued on the past half dozen trips to always have one very upset child seated in one of the three rows next to me, so to see if it is really that frequent or my imagination I decided to record it.)

Getting our Visa took approximately 5 minutes per son, so on a plane load of 500 people with only 3 clerks – well you do the math.

Also, as our guide told us later, they delayed the baggage for some unspecified reason so it was after 4am by the time we left the airport.

Evelyn and Peter were on hand to pick us up and take us to the hotel. Peter also served as our driver the next day – well, later that same day actually.