Downtown Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago Tim was able to go with 12 other teachers for an early Saturday morning photo shoot of the city centre. The goal was to take some creative pictures while seeing the sights.

The first stop at 6:00 am was the All Saints Cathedral where we climbed / crawled up circular stairs and ladders, pass these church bells, to the top of the church steeple. We saw the sun rise over the city of Nairobi and through this stained glass window.

The Uhuru Park is a large green area with a pond which, until recently, was not a safe place to go. Now it is kept extremely clean and is enjoyed by thousands of people every day.

We were able to get to the helicopter landing pad on top of the Convention Centre Downtown to get a "bird's eye view" of the city.
Some of the other sights that we got to see were the Parliament Buildings, the Supreme Court Building, the site where the United States Embassy was bombed by terrorist in 1998, the Stanley Hotel, and the train station. The city of Nairobi was built as a stop on the train route from Mombasa (the coast) to Uganda.

Birthday Gift

When we returned from Canada at Christmas, Max commented that our house was not as "cosy" as those in Canada. I think part of that is the tile floors everywhere. Since then I have been looking for a rug for the living room to help "warm it up".......
On my birthday Tim and I spent the day exploring some shops that I have been wanting to visit. We went to a welding duka and ordered a table for the deck and to a woodworking duka to order some frames for photos. But we also went to a carpet factory and ordered a rug!
This is a sample of our rug. It will go beautifully with our Maasai red walls and our orange tile floor -- how's that for colour?

We were very pleased to then be able to meet Florence and Morris who will wash the wool and dye it.

Tomorrow we will visit the factory again to see how Catherine is coming along with our rug. She thinks it will take about 10 days for her to complete the rug.

Paradise Lost

Friday was a National Holiday (Labour Day) and a day off school. We took advantage of some free time and went to a local site called Paradise Lost. Just 10 minutes from our home is a large picnic area and caves for exploring.
The caves were formed by a river and are located behind a waterfall. Because the rains are still sporadic, the waterfall is just a trickle. But the scenery of roots growing on the outside of rocks and vines hanging from the cliff makes it a beautiful spot anyway.We spent a wonderful few hours together and had a picnic by the lake. The boys even rode a camel and played with an ostrich. It was the perfect day trip.

Tea Farm

Tea is one of Kenya’s largest exports worldwide. And Kenyan tea is THE BEST in the world! Every Monday, in Mombasa, the world’s largest “tea auction” takes place. Tasters from all over the world come to purchase Kenyan tea leaves which are found in “blends” of tea. Kenya Teas are famous for their distinct taste and flavour. The high quality tea is dark, blackish in colour, and has a very strong aroma. A small scoop is enough to make a pot of tea!
We traveled to a tea farm last week to sample tea, walk in the fields, and learn about tea production. We sipped iced tea on the lawn and also had a delicious meal with our friends the Weeks (Stephanie is the Elementary School Principal).

The tea farm we visited is called Kiambethu (which means dancing forest). It is about 30 minutes north of our home. Tea grows best at higher elevations and Kiambethu is at 2100m above sea level. We were surprised to learn that tea is grown from seed.

Tea fields are a beautiful tapestry of greens. The newest and softest leaves on top are brighter green than the older leaves near the bottom. Kenyan tea leaves are famous for their brightness, attractive color, brisk flavour, and the texture of fragrant leaves.All of the harvesting of tea is done meticulously by hand. The top 2 tea leaves are picked every 7 - 14 days. The “pekoe” is the smallest, softest bud of the tea leaf and makes the best leaves for a rich flavour. As a result Kenya tea has won international acclaim for its consistent high quality and excellent delightful aroma.There are 57 tea factories in Kenya. Unfortunately this is a hard year for producers. Falling tea prices and drought are making it a hard business. Because of the manual labour required, tea farms employ many Kenyans. But without rain, there is very little growth and, therefore, no work for Kenyans.