Sun 2 Nov
In the morning we watched the first ever Nairobi marathon, we saw the lead runners go through with about 5km to go. They were mostly nationals; the Kenyan international runners would have been in New York. Traffic seriously disrupted, churchgoers had to change their plans.

In afternoon we went to Nairobi National Park - Safari Walk. It was very informative and we were treated to leopard, cheetah, zebra, ostrich and various buck but disappointingly the pens for rhino and lion were empty.

Mon 3 Nov
Rose had various errands around Nairobi so I took the chance to copy photos to CD and find out the public transport options. I bought a map and two books; one on Africa's great explorers, the other Thesiger's "Kenya Days", describing the north of Kenya, I started reading immediately.

Tue 4 Nov
Rose dropped me at Matatu street. I let one "matatu" (minibus taxi) go so that I could sit in the front seat of the next. Despite the reputation and scary reports about Nairobi mini-buses I had a remarkable journey; the driver was very safe and the vehicle felt reliable too. Complete windscreen, seatbelt that worked, no crazy overtaking, no silly speeds. We faffed about at first with fuel and tyre pressures but overall the journey probably took 3hrs, past Mt Kenya and the Equator. In Nanyuki I caught another matatu took me on to Isiolo.

At Isiolo I was met inevitably by Somalian hustlers wanting to be my guide, find me a hotel, internet, supermarket, pub and most crucially a lorry ride for the morning. I was pretty confident I could do most myself but never sure so I appointed the hotel manager as my sole transport man. All hustlers should go through him and only he would come and wake me when there was a lorry.

I checked my email and bought a can of beer. Back at the hotel I noticed a sign saying "no prostitutes or alcoholics in the rooms". I was in the annex away from the lights, people and Ramadan. I sat on the step under the stars.