Driven Crazy

We have rented a car to keep us moving while awaiting the arrival of ours from Japan. First non-embassy trek: the local market less than a mile away. A very easy trip, if you don't consider the crazy matatus zipping down the street; front-tire-swallowing potholes; curved, hilly, bi-directional roads that are - I swear - less than 2 lanes wide; and the occasional bicyclist or cart driver pulling impossibly wide heavy loads given their mode of transport. While driving is not stress-free, it's better than walking along the same road.

Additionally deterred from braving Nairobi traffic to see "animal stuff" by the fact that our GPS is still somewhere in the mail and we are not sure we could get both there and back, we headed the closest direction out of town and went to Hell's Gate National Park. After navigating a too-narrow, truck-clogged, matatu-ridden drive clinging to the edge of the Rift Valley wall, driving in and around the park was cake. The biggest challenge was this steep grade, rocky hill where we were met by shepherds sheep and goats, and an oncoming safari vehicle. Andrew handled it like a pro and I actually enjoyed it, except for worrying that our rental car tires would pop.