Today we were unable to schedule a visit at a hospital that we wanted to go to - Kenyatta Hospital, a public hospital in Nairobi. So, we decided to spend the day sightseeing in Nairobi.
First, we visited the Nairobi National Museum. It has numerous exhibits, including ones which document the history of Kenya, from ancient times, to colonial times, to the modern day. It also has numerous displays dedicated to the animals of Kenya, artifacts from across kenya, and fossils of ancient humans and hominids. They also had an art gallery for purchasing art, and an exhibit dedicated to the birds of Africa.
There was also a live snake exhibit, which contained many venomous snakes and lizards. I am quite afraid of snakes, and a few did startle me, but I found seeing them up close to be very interesting. I had a mamba poking at the glass as I looked at it, it seemed curious about me.
After the Nairobi museum, we grabbed a quick lunch at Quickmart, a local supermarket here, they had a place to get food, much like Whole Foods. Following lunch, we went to the Safari Walk, a showcase for the animals living in Kenya and the national park on the outskirts of Nairobi. It was like a zoo, except more open, some animals like the baboons free roam.
We saw ostriches, hyenas, buffalo, leopards, monkeys, hippos, rhinos, and of course, lions! Two big ones to be precise, a male and female. We got so close to them from behind the glass, and a fence around their exhibit, it was very exhilarating.
We took so many great photos I can’t possibly display them all, sadly. We ended the day with dinner with one of our trip organizers, Patrick Mwai, a public health worker in Kenya, and our driver, Eugene. Although we wanted to have more local Kenyan food, they wanted American food, so we obliged. It was a very fun day, and we were ready to return to the hospitals for the next day.