Bits and Bites

Nairobi is one of the largest cities in Africa. It is about the size of the city of Toronto. It is located about 80 miles south of the equator with an elevation of 5,500 feet above sea level.



The weather has been mostly sunny and warm during our time here. The light rainy season is pretty much gone as Kenya heads into the summer months. January and February are the hot summer months. Nevertheless because of the altitude it cools down nicely at night. Even when it is hot, there is not the humidity that we experience at home. Even in hot weather, you see Kenyans wearing long sleeve shirts, a sweater or jacket. You know it is really hot when you see Kenyans with short sleeves. You never see Kenyans wearing shorts. They believe shorts are just for boys. However Don does wear shorts when back at Heart Lodge.



Although Nairobi is a large city it doesn't have the infrastructure to handle the population growth that has taken place here and so the traffic can be very congested at most times. Wherever one goes in Kenya, one sees people walking. Another mode of transportation is the matatu. Matatu is taken from the Swahili word, matata which means problem. The matatu is a 14 passenger Toyoto Van. Each matatu has a driver and a conductor who handles the fee. The matatu drivers are independent drivers and are the most aggressive drivers that we have ever seen. It seems no laws apply to them. They will drive on boulevards, grass, walkways, over medians, etc. in an effort to obtain that edge in the traffic. We have seen as many as four matatus driving abreast for two lanes of highway. They will stop everywhere and anywhere to pick up or discharge a fare. We suspect that they also contribute to the traffic congestion.



We understand that there is a lot corruption in government in Kenya. The politicians also receive approximately 1 million Kenyan shillings each month for salary and expenses. That's about $13,333.00 US. This salary is tax free. There has been a lot of media attention about this while we have been here. A recent survey showed that over 90 % of Kenyans believe the politicians should be paying some tax on their salaries and allowances.



The unemployment rate is approximately 68% throughout Kenya. That is probably one of the reasons for the high crime rate since there is no government assistance if you are unemployed. There is a military presence everywhere in Nairobi. You see solders walking about carrying K47 weapons. One day as we were waiting for our driver to pick us up at the entrance to one of the malls, a small vehicle pulled up and four heavily armed soldiers jumped out and took their positions. A Wells Fargo bank truck then pulled up followed by another car carrying more solders. Some were carrying machine guns. This now seems to be the regular practice for bank pick ups and deliveries. It is not surprising to walk in a mall or on the street and see this army presence.



Not far from Heart Lodge are many embassy's and embassy residences. It seems every country that does business with Kenya and East Africa has an embassy here. We saw the old US embassy that was bombed by terrorists prior to 9/11. The new embassy is much larger and much better protected. It's like the USA is sending a message: if you attack us, we will come back even bigger. Most if not all of the embassy residences are beautiful buildings with manicured lawns and gardens. One day we drove past the Israeli embassy. We had to go through a road block where Kenyan solders checked the car before we passed.



The second largest UN compound in the world is located here in Nairobi, across the road from the US embassy.