Could Tiny Tim have imagined tiptoeing in these pointy clunkers? Probably not. I arrived in Africa via the most unlikely route...in my mind anyway. My first 8+ hour flight brought me to halfway point -- land of tulips and wooden shoes -- Amsterdam. While there wasn't much to see outdoors on my 3-1/2 hour layover -- just thick, foggy and drizzly grayness -- the inside the airport was a delight to tourists. From Swiss watches to chocolates to assorted dried fishes in vacuum-sealed foil pouches to, yes, even tulip bulbs.
I met a couple of interesting travelers en route. On the first flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam I sat next to a Scottish chap who was the CFO for a professional Scottish football (soccer) team called the Hibernian (Hibs for short). http://www.hibs.co.uk/ His wife is American and lives in the states, and they only see each other a few times a year. He was in Atlanta interviewing with the Atlanta Falcons for a controller position, and also has talked with the San Francisco 49ers. If anyone has a job lead let me know.
The other traveler was a young Chinese-American woman I met on the flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi. I noticed her with her trekking poles and found out that she is traveling in Africa for five weeks (!!) to hike both Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro, the two highest points in Africa. My trip will last two weeks, and I know I'd be uncomfortable being alone for five weeks. Not to mention homesick! I will be within striking distance of Mount Kenya later this week so I'll plan to post some pics.
One note of trivia from my driver: The population of Kenya is around five million. Four million live in Nairobi.
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