Kenya




Nairobi is a rather modern city, with shopping centers, fast food, and heavy traffic.  In Kenya I had to get by without Amanda, who had gone back to resume her classes.




You can probably guess Kenya's most popular politician.  There was much excitement over Obama's inauguration.  I left Kenya on January 20 (pleased to have sat out the last six weeks of Bush's misrule) and saw the end of Obama's speech at the airport in Ethiopia before catching my flight to the U.S.




My first stop for fly-catching was pineapple-growing town of Thika.   The hotel grounds bordered this and one other waterfall.





After that, from Nairobi I went up the Rift Valley - an impressive landmark where the landscape has split apart.   I collected flies from within the rift valley (from a hot and dusty little place) and from cool and misty mountain towns on each side.





While waiting for the fly traps in the rift valley town, I visited Lake Bogoria.  On the way there I passed a few ostriches.  This one is walking in front of a tall termite mound.





At the lake - gazelle and warthogs pass single file in opposite directions.





Zebra!





Due to anatomical challenges, this warthog seemed obliged to kneel in order to graze.





One of my favorite animals was the pint-sized dik-dik (like a chihuahua-sized antelope), which nearly always come in pairs.





A stately impala by the water's edge.






A "superb starling", which hopped around right at my feet to grab muffin crumbs.





Lake Bogoria is best-known for its flamingos, which favor the area around its thermal geysers.





Geyser-and-flamingo shots were easy to come by.  It was one of the most remarkable places I've ever been.





A huge flamingo flock feeds in the steamy shallows, along with a lone stork..





Thomson Falls, near my hotel in Nyahururu, where I got another large sample of flies.