After spending yesterday in the Mukuru Slums, today we were stereotypical tourists. We visited The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust which is a elephant orphanage, then made our way to a giraffe sanctuary and finished our trip with shopping at La Galleria.
Our first stop at the elephant orphanage was a pleasant surprise and some happy tears were shed. We were able to meet all of the orphaned elephants who had been found and rescued until they are big enough to be released back into the wild. After listening to all of their stories, we were so touched we decided to foster an 18 month old male elephant named Maktao. Maktao was found alone at 3 months of age by a community member with no other elephant herds in sight. After Maktao was saved they soon found out he was a perky, friendly elephant and loves to follow humans around. Being able to contribute to the cost of feeding and keeping these elephants healthy is a special and rewarding opportunity for all the CUAA nursing group.
Next we visited the giraffe sanctuary and got up close and personal with these beautiful creatures. We were able to feed the giraffes and enjoyed some wet slobbery kisses. While at the sanctuary we learned that there were multiple species of giraffes and also that a giraffe has the same number of vertebrae as a human! This experience was exciting and we all had a blast.
Last but not least we stopped at the shopping center which was full of locally made crafts, clothes, and jewelry. This is where we put our bartering skills to the test, some better than others. This trip gave us the opportunity to mingle with some of the locals and help support their personally run business's. We all left with good finds and great stories to bring home with us.
Just when we thought our adventures were over for the day, we experienced our first Kenyan traffic jam! It was unlike anything we have ever seen before, with all rules of the road aside. The road is paved with 3 lanes and it was turned into a 6 lane road with people going around on the shoulder and through the ditch to get where they were going. Bumper to bumper around here in an understatement while being mirror length away from cars, weaving in and out of traffic. Thankfully we have amazing and friendly drivers who are able to navigate the roads like pros in order to get us back to our hotel safely.
We finally made it back to the hotel and enjoyed a nice dinner by the fireplace prepared by the hotel staff. stories were exchanged, laughs were shared and memories were made. Our day was unforgettable and we continue to pray for thanks as we look forward to the next coming day.
Cierra & Gillian
Our first stop at the elephant orphanage was a pleasant surprise and some happy tears were shed. We were able to meet all of the orphaned elephants who had been found and rescued until they are big enough to be released back into the wild. After listening to all of their stories, we were so touched we decided to foster an 18 month old male elephant named Maktao. Maktao was found alone at 3 months of age by a community member with no other elephant herds in sight. After Maktao was saved they soon found out he was a perky, friendly elephant and loves to follow humans around. Being able to contribute to the cost of feeding and keeping these elephants healthy is a special and rewarding opportunity for all the CUAA nursing group.
Next we visited the giraffe sanctuary and got up close and personal with these beautiful creatures. We were able to feed the giraffes and enjoyed some wet slobbery kisses. While at the sanctuary we learned that there were multiple species of giraffes and also that a giraffe has the same number of vertebrae as a human! This experience was exciting and we all had a blast.
Last but not least we stopped at the shopping center which was full of locally made crafts, clothes, and jewelry. This is where we put our bartering skills to the test, some better than others. This trip gave us the opportunity to mingle with some of the locals and help support their personally run business's. We all left with good finds and great stories to bring home with us.
Just when we thought our adventures were over for the day, we experienced our first Kenyan traffic jam! It was unlike anything we have ever seen before, with all rules of the road aside. The road is paved with 3 lanes and it was turned into a 6 lane road with people going around on the shoulder and through the ditch to get where they were going. Bumper to bumper around here in an understatement while being mirror length away from cars, weaving in and out of traffic. Thankfully we have amazing and friendly drivers who are able to navigate the roads like pros in order to get us back to our hotel safely.
We finally made it back to the hotel and enjoyed a nice dinner by the fireplace prepared by the hotel staff. stories were exchanged, laughs were shared and memories were made. Our day was unforgettable and we continue to pray for thanks as we look forward to the next coming day.
Cierra & Gillian
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