We reached Nairobi by 11.30, where I did an hour’s guard before joining the mass scramble to organise and spend our last Kenyan money before we leave tomorrow morning. Met Nikki at the Heritage Shop from where we did the stores shopping, two hefty lads carting our massive box to the truck. Set off again with Nikki for last minute bits and pieces.
Bob and Karen have exciting plans, including buying jewellery for an African fashion show back home, selling masks, and other deals and wheels, so they're giving their credit card a real workout. I'm quietly envious of their talents, their money, their “landing on their feet”, their knowledge of where they’re going, their enthusiasm, their having each other, their excitement. I'm feeling lonely and lacking in direction, knowing that in five weeks I have to start making decisions again, about my future!
Mad scramble onto the truck in the middle of a main road red light traffic jam and general craziness as we packed souvenirs and lockers. In the midst of this I somehow managed to deliver Nikki’s birthday present and arrange a meal at Trattoria followed by a trip to the cinema to see the "Jewel of the Nile".
WE caught a bus into town from the Grosvenor Hotel, boogying in the back seat and then pushing and shoving to get out in the middle of an intersection. I was almost at the door when people started pushing their way on; I envisioned getting separated from the others, but they hauled me out. Delicious small Italian meal before the "Jewel of the Nile". We had front row circle seats for this romp through hammed up Africa, with ghetto-blasting camel riders, long-haired weirdos, power-crazed Arabs, medieval torturers, funny one-liners, love, romance, primitive dancing, macho heroes – everything dreams are made of and my life is not.
But then I think back over this last year and realise it’s been amazing and damned exciting! Sunsets, deserts, temples, game parks, passion in mud huts, 49ft yachts, feluccas, the wonders of Egypt, Hindu sacrifices in Kathmandu, Kashmiri houseboats, the passions of Turkey, black market deals, Jerusalem, Istanbul, golf with Eric Sykes, three days with a circus, stepping back in time in the Fez medina, spectacular gorges, more deserts, a border war, primitive people, music and singing, wild animals, corruption, jungle, bridge building, theft, the disconnect from home, beaches, terror, loneliness, joy. Wow! Only thing missing now is the romance. I wonder if I will ever be happy or will always want more than I have. Where are the Indiana Joneses and the likes of the real world? I don’t think I could cope with the emotional stress of having to choose between romance or adventure and finding both unsatisfactory on their own.
Add comment
Comments