Green City In the Sun
We can buy most of our fruits and vegetables and a few other groceries at some local shops (maduka) near RVA, but a couple times a month we need to travel the hour long trip to the “green city in the sun.” Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya and considered the most economically empowered city in East Africa. It’s amazing how much the city has changed and grown since we were here almost 20 years ago. The skyline has changed dramatically, there are numerous malls with some rivaling those in the US, traffic is much much worse, and you now have a choice of American fast food – KFC, Burger King, Dominos, Pizza Hut and even Cold Stone Creamery – though many in my family prefer Habesha, a great Ethiopian restaurant.
Nairobi is about 30 kilometers from RVA. If we rent a car or hire a driver the cost is about $60 there and back. Believe it or not, if we can get a ride into town with a fellow staff member, we can then take Uber around town and even all the way back to Kijabe! You can also take a boda boda (motorcycle ride), but that requires putting on a dirty helmet and weaving in and out of crazy traffic!
The city is at a lower elevation than RVA which means it’s usually a few degrees warmer. However at a mile high it tends to be much cooler than most other larger African cities (between 50-80 degrees F).
Because it’s Africa, we don’t expect a “quick trip” to town, especially if we are needing to do several errands or to conduct any business, i.e. with government services, etc. Plan for the whole day or at least several hours!