Monday, December 13, 2010

Flat Stanley Goes to Kenya (2): Visiting Mt. Kenya

When Mr. Guy and Mr. Andrew invited Flat Stanley on the Kenya safari, they said he would see some beautiful countryside, and the safari began with a visit to Mt. Kenya. The Kikuyu, Meru, and Akamba communities think of Mt. Kenya as the home of the gods, and it is easy to see why. It is the highest mountain in Kenya, and a great attraction for serious mountain climbers. Our guide, a member of the Akamba community (the Kenyans say "community" instead of "tribe'), is an employee of the Kenya Wildlife Service and he works as a rescuer for climbers who get caught high up on the mountain and need help coming back down.

Our drive took us from the Naro Moru Route up (shown above) to the second "level" of the mountain. We hiked up for a distance from the second level, and here is a photo of Mr. Guy and Mr. Andrew and Stanley as we began our hike. It was from this vantage point that we were able to take photos of the splendid views from the mountain (one of which is shown below).

Flat Stanley really liked the walk up the mountain and he kept talking about how his friends would enjoy the hike as well. There were lots of trees and wildflowers to see, and many bushes and dead trees to jump over as Stanley climbed up ahead of Mr. Andrew and Mr. Guy and the guide and Mr. Charles (their driver and good friend).

But even if they can't be with him, Stanley sends good wishes to his friends in Colorado and to Brian Hopkins and Julian Lafferty in Santa Cruz, CA. He wishes they were with him on this safari so they could all have a good time together.

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