Back in Kenya...

The market in Alexandria.

This is on our way back into Cairo from Alexandria (about 3 1/2 hours north on the Mediterrean). From here, you can see how near the pyramids the city of Cairo is. It was strange to drive through traffic with the pyramids looming in the background!

The Mediterrean Sea - we had about an hour and a half to relax at the beach in Alexandria after a long drive and several historical site visits. It was very comfortable - mid-80's with a great breeze. We were surprised, though, at the trash on the beach. There were no trash cans and the beach was full of candy wrappers and coke cans - it was pretty nasty. Directly across the Mediterrean from Alexandria is Greece - that's where we really wanted to go but couldn't manage that trip in just a day.

We arrived back in Kenya around 5 a.m. on Wednesday and pretty much slept the rest of the day after flying through the night. On Thursday, we went to Nairobi to the elephant orphanage. I saw this place featured about a year ago on a Saturday morning Jack Hanna wildlife show and have wanted to visit ever since. It was wonderful! They currently have 21 orphaned elephants ranging from 1 month to 2 years and one baby black rhino. All but one baby elephant were orphaned by poaching which apparently is on the rise due to the reopening of the ivory trade. They raise these elephants, teach them how to be "wild" and begin reintroduing them to wild herds in the national game park when they're around 3 years old. Here you can see Lauren petting one that's around 3 months old.

The baby black rhino. He was pretty naughty... wouldn't stay with his keeper and ended up trampling a few of us when he made an escape attempt. He's around 3 months old as well.

Feeding time... imagine our surprise to learn that human soy-based infant formula is the closest to elephant milk and what they feed to the babies. As the guide said, "it's hard to milk a wild elephant."

The Roman Theatre in Alexandria (just discovered 10 years ago when a man tore down his house and began digging a foundation for a new one). Alexandria was much nicer than Cairo... cleaner and less Arabic. It was heavily influenced by Greek and Roman culture and became the capitol of the country when Alexander the Great invaded. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the catacombs we visited (that was quite an experience - a huge mausoleum carved into solid limestone inside a mountain... a little creepy but fascinating). When the Greeks and Romans entered Egypt, the cultures began to mix. Greeks and Romans began to be mummified and worshipped some of the pharonic gods but also kept many of their own traditional symbols, gods, and beliefs. The catacombs were a crazy mix of Greek, Roman, and Pharonic history.

Today part of the group went to Nairobi to the Masai Market. Some of stayed at home and organized supplies for tomorrow - Mississippi Day! We'll have about 30 volunteers and close to 300 kids for a giant "field day" with kite flying, bubbles, jump rope, tatoos, face painting, fingernail/toe nail painting, and more. It's topped off with a huge meal with meat (a rarity for these kids) and then we distribute the shoes and coats that we fundraised for before leaving the US. It should be a great day. The rest of the team arrived while I was in Egypt and are enjoying Kenya along with us. Sunday, I'll visit a Kikuyu (tribal) church with my good friend Anastasia. Monday, we head to the IDP camp for build houses and deliver food. It should be a very special few days for us.