Should Auld Acquaintance...

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: APOLOGIES FOR THE LATE UPDATE, I RECEIVED IT VIA EMAIL AND SCOTLAND HASN'T QUITE GOT MS WORD YET SO IT HAS TAKEN A FEW DAYS...... TOM

So we reach New Year’s Eve 2008, which finds me this year in Kijabe, Kenya.  I am staying with my friends the Howorths who have been in Kijabe for 11 years and in Africa for nearly 18.  Paul is a doctor and Pam is a nurse educator and they are here with AIM (Africa Inland Mission).  Paul heads up the Rural Health Ministry, which means he is responsible for all the Dispensaries that exist all over the country.  He visits to support the nurses that run the dispensaries and also to deal with medical situations that are beyond their training.  Pam is involved in training and teaching nurses but is also responsible for AIM work throughout the region.

I arrived here last Sunday after a good flight with Emirates.  We were delayed out of Karachi (nothing new there then!!) which only gave me about 50 minutes on the ground, but it did manage to change some sterling into dollars, to pay for my visa when I arrived.  To buy a bag full of chocolate for the boys, they can get it here but it is quite expensive, and also to purchase something to make Pam’s ‘Special Passion Fruit Juice’!!

The first few days have been spent lounging around, which I have really appreciated.  I hadn’t quite realised until this morning how very tired I was and it was a relief to wake up this morning and not feel tired! 

We did go into Nairobi yesterday, to take Alasdair and his friend Paul Go Karting.  I decided that I would hold the coats and be official photographer.  Paul H did join in, though he was called off the track twice, which he maintains was because of a fault with the vehicle, but I think it was more for ‘failing to make due progress’!

We also did a bit of shopping as we are off on Safari tomorrow!  We are heading off to Ambosali Game Reserve which is about 4 hours drive from here.  The Howorths will be camping out, I, however, have been upgraded to a Banda (a little cottage)!  As you will be aware, I don’t do canvas and although I spent three days in a tent in Cornwall in the summer I decided that I just couldn’t cope with tents in Africa!

Ambosali contains all the animals that you would want to see, save tigers and is in the shadow of Kilimanjaro, so hopefully I will soon have some iconic safari pictures to share with you.  We get back on Sunday and I still have another week here before returning to Karachi.  I may have to wait to up load my pictures for you as, believe it or not the internet connection is even worse here than it is in at home.

Well we are off to friends of the Howorths to see in the New Year, so all that remains for me to do, is to wish all my readers, Neya Sal Mubarak.  See you all in 2009...