We're home.

So - I know we kind of petered out at the end there, but with traveling, unpacking, jet-lagging, and getting back to work, its hard to do a conclusion justice.

That being said, I wanted to thank you all for following along. We were both really encouraged by the many comments and e-mails about the blog.

We'll try to put up a real followup soon, but in the meantime, I hope your appetite for Africa news is satisfied by this picture. This is Miley, an incredibly domesticated Cheetah. She was friendly, playful, and even affectionate - as this picture was taken she was purring. It was like playing with a spotted golden retiever puppy that can run 75mph and is actually a cat...

Miley is the Nairobi Safari Walk's own Cheetah. She is about 6 years old, and lives in a pretty nice Cheetah run - very long so she can run a little, but our experience showed us that she's more interested in playing with cat toys. BIG cat toys. We were able to meet her because our guide knew the keeper and was keen for a couple shillings on this side. It was worth the $0.90 'bribe' / 'offering' to meet such a cool animal.

Our picture is pretty weak because we had left the camera in our bag - we only had the crappy camera on my 3 year old Treo. Here is a link to a much better picture of our new friend - same cat, same zoo, just a different couple in the picture :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gnuhaus/2152189129/

Best to you all, and thank you for your support!

Andy

Did that really just happen?

We arrived in Nairobi after an uneventful flight on Thursday evening. Fred picked us up, made us dinner, then drove us back to the airport to pick up Louise. On the way back to Fred's house, I fell asleep in the car. I don't sleep in cars. That road was really bumpy. I was tired.

Anyhoo, yesterday was uneventful. We ran errands with Fred and Louise until it was time to drop us at the train station, and then we bid them farewell. The train for Mombasa left promptly at 7 (surprisingly), we ate dinner, and then retired to our cabin for the night. We watched the scenery for awhile, pushed up the screen on our window, and went to sleep.

And this is where the fun begins. Andy was sleeping soundly on the top bunk. I was not sleeping on the bottom bunk, convinced that the train was going to derail and we were all going to die at any moment. And then I hear a noise and see our Mac being lifted. At first I thought Andy was bored and had decided to play on it. And then I realized that actually there was an arm in our window. I jumped over, stuck my arm out the window, and grabbed onto the pants pocket of our thief as he was trying to get onto the top of the train. I had to let go, so I yelled for Andy, who ran into the hallway screaming "Thief," trying to find someone in charge. It took him awhile. They eventually stopped the train, but it was way too late. We spent the next seven hours in a groggy state of half sleep while we waited to get into Mombasa. And then as we were pulling into the city, the train stopped. Off the rails. 20 minutes from the station. Some lovely people offered us a ride to the station so we could make a statement. And there we sat, in the Kenyan police station, giving our statements to people who have never even heard of Apple.

When we finished, the police were kind enough to call a taxi. It took us to Nyali Beach Resort - the place we were told that we were staying. Not so much. Nyali Beach Hotel was 1 km away. Refusing to pay for another taxi, we told the proprietor that we were going to walk. With all of our luggage. And it's only noon.

But then things improved. The proprietor was nice and recommended that we ride with a resident expat that happened to walk by. Three dollars saved. The bellman at the hotel brought us wet, cool cloths. Then he brought us tropical juice. After we checked in, he took us to our room, where we proceeded to take long, warm showers at full water pressure. Lunch was delicious, the beach fabulous, and the pool really warm. Andy even went kite surfing. Ah. We have arrived in our tropical paradise.

And we're flying back to Nairobi.

Wrapping up in Kampala

Not too much to report today. We ran errands around town, visited the tailor for a fitting, and met an American woman who works for the Archbishop. She was lovely, and we hope that our paths cross again.

We were absolutely thrilled to meet up with both Sarah and Emmanuel after a week apart, and we went to an Italian restaurant to celebrate our last real night together. The food was the best that we've had in over three weeks. Sarah thought it was the best food she's had since moving to Uganda six months ago. Most of the meal was spent in laughter, and our plates were clean in a matter of minutes. We are seriously going to miss these people.