Today was our last day in Africa, and it was a long one.  

It started out with a very interesting tour.  This tour was called Nai Nami: Nairobi Storytelling Tour with Street Children.  It’s a tour conducted by five residents of Nairobi who have had very difficult lives as street kids.  They share their story of their former lives, and they don’t hold back. You’ll hear about their lives of poverty, crime, jail, and ultimately redemption.  These kids have been through a lot, but they decided to change their lives. On this tour, you’ll get to see part of Nairobi that a tourist wouldn’t normally see, as we walk through areas that would not be considered safe for tourists to visit unaccompanied.  

We took an Uber and were dropped off in front of Bata Shoes near the Hilton Hotel building on Watalii Street.  We were soon met by the tour crew, a bunch of young guys with unique names like Typhoon and Cheddar Cheese. Other folks joined the tour – a girl from the U.S., and two musicians from Canada.

As we walked through some rough parts of Nairobi, the guys sidled up to each of us and told us their stories.  

Typhoon, for example, had a pretty tough life on the street.

We passed by a bridge, and he said that for a few years, he lived under that bridge, committing crimes like pickpocketing in order to survive.  

Many of his friends died violent deaths on the streets.

He eventually ended up in jail, where he made the decision to turn his life around.

Now his desire is to mentor other street kids and show them that there’s a way out.  

During the walking tour, they took us to a craft market, where we got to see exactly where many of the souvenirs that we see in the shops come from and how they are made.

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then stopped for lunch at a very authentic street restaurant. 

 I took some nice portraits of each of the guys, and sent them all to them on a WhatsApp group, which they appreciated.

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Overall, it was a really enlightening tour, and I came to like and respect these guys a lot.  I’d definitely recommend the tour for other folks visiting Nairobi. (Here’s their Facebook Page)

Our flight didn’t leave until late at night.  Our street tour ended around 1:30, so we went gift shopping in Nairobi, then back to the hotel to repack our bags so that they could accommodate the huge amount of souvenirs that we bought.  We still had a lot of time to kill, so we went to a different mall, had lunch, shopped a bit more, and then relaxed in the lobby. We had to check out before our street tour, since check-out was at 11:00 a.m.  The hotel stored our bags for us. Traffic is unpredictable in Nairobi, so we played it safe with a 7:00 pickup (our flight leaves at 11:00). There was very little traffic and we arrived at the airport at 7:45 p.m. We boarded the plane after a 16-hour day, for a 15 ½ hour flight.  The flight was pretty full, but Mark and I kept our eyes open for rows with empty seats. Mark was super lucky again and managed to grab a row of three seats all to himself. I did too, I thought. But right after they served the meal, a guy asked if one of the seats in my row was available.  Dang. It would have been nice to stretch out across three seats, but it wouldn’t have really mattered. I can’t sleep on a plane, period.

After an interminable flight, we finally landed in New York, early in the morning.  We unpacked all of our souvenirs, put away all of our other stuff, and then I headed to New York Cat Hospital to pick up our cat, Mittens, who was boarding at the hospital (and getting medical treatment for her cancer) while we were away.

It was a great trip overall.  I never expected to ever visit Ethiopia in my lifetime, so this was amazing, especially Lalibela.  Travel has enriched my life like nothing else, and I can’t wait for our next trip, wherever it is.