Sunday, July 8, 2012

Nairobi Revisited

7/5-6

We arrived in Nairobi the third and last time, this time staying in the Red Court, which was near to both the Kenyatta international airport and the Wilson Airport, where we just arrived, walked off the tarmac.
Our last night in Nairobi would be celebrated at the restaurant Carnivore, which was near to Wilson Airport, and not far from the National Park of Nairobi. We were expecting a sampling of various game, the only exotic meats we were offered, and probably better that way, was ostrich meat, crocodile and water buffalo testicles (tasted like liver), in addition to the usual chicken, beef, turkey and pork and beef sausages.

The next day, our flight was leaving only at 10 pm. I had an appointment at the Institute for Primate Research, which was located in the outskirts of Nairobi, in a section called Karen. We coordinated this visit with a tour at the Karen Blixen Museum, where Luz and the boys joined me.  My appointment with the Director was at 10 am, and I was instructed to leave my hotel a half an hour earlier by taxi. The trip took me through a Muslim district of Nairobi, past Wilson airport and the National Park, whose parking lot was filled with school buses, and along Lukata road which was being renovated by the Chinese, who were involved in most infrastructure projects. We passed International Schools, farms, the Country Club, the latter already located in Karen. It took me one-and-a half hours, but in polite and understanding Kenyan manner, the Director was still gracious to see me. The Center's main focus was infectious diseases and reproductive health, two important areas of health in Africa.  The Director was not aware of epilepsy being as widespread in the baboon population. One research supervisor observed seizures in vervet monkeys that were infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the cause of Chagas Disease in humans. Apparently, the trypanosomes migrate to the brain in more sever cases. Baboons have a natural immunity against these parasite.


 Karen Blixen Museum

This area was named after Karen Blixen, who was the protagonist of the Oscar-winning movie, "Out of Africa", which was based upon her autobiography. She was represented by Meryl Streep, her husband by Karl Maria Brandtauer, and Austrian actor, and her lover by Robert Redford. She belonged to the Danish aristocracy and came to Africa when she married a "half-cousin" from Sweden.  Her husband turned out to be philanderer, she remained childless, but contracted syphilis from him. She eventually divorced her husband and eventually her long-time English lover moved in with her. Before that she had used lanterns of different colors to let him know when she could come and when she was ready. The red lantern was definitely, "no-go".  She helped run the cattle farm, the coffee plantations, but along with her marriage, these enterprises eventually dissolved. But at one time, her property included 6000 acres, including this section that was named after her. Aside from her museum, which provided a fascinating view of the late colonial period, most of the homes belonged to ministers and other well-to-do citizens of Nairobi. she was know as a hunter (she wore two hats not to develop sun stroke and brain injury), she educated her servants and their children, but most importantly, she wrote books, which one year won her a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature. She retired and died in Denmark.

Close by, there were a number of excellent restaurants, one with Asian fusion cuisine called Talisman. After eating there, around the corner, on Dagoretti Road, was the "Souk", an store selling upscale ethnic designer clothing, some of which was made by Hamm, a designer whose belt was worn by the Catheryn, the new Duchess of Cambridge.  We had a taxi driver for this whole tour, hired for 5000 Kenyan Schillings for 6 hours ("half a day", about $60).

 Talisman Restaurant


The Souk

Well, that will be the end of this trip.  I would like to acknowledge my son Daniel, who helped me post this blog and with his photography. Also I would like to thank Robert Nagy and Kriszta Lauer for their encouragement to write this blog. It was a challenge to post blogs in a timely fashion without internet access.




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