Notes on Nairobi (5): swimming and fun fair

Day two in Nairobi was Saturday and very chilled out.

At 11 am, Richard and Catrin arrived at our hotel and we spent the next two and a half hours at the hotel’s outdoor swimming pool. It was a bit overcast but warm. Vee read a book while we three swam. Catrin loves the water and is very confident in it. She looked like a little champion in her swim suit, swim hat and goggles. She loved my trick of throwing her up into the air and catching her as she crashed back into the water.

The four of us finished the morning with a light lunch by the side of the pool. Before we left the hotel, we gave Catrin one of her presents from London: a Paddington bear. She declared “I love him. He’s so cure.”

At 1.45 pm, we were collected by Emily with the dogs Luna and Harley and the seven of us drove to a small shopping centre in a nearby district called Muthaiga. At this point. We split up. Vee went off with Richard and Emily to walk the dogs in the adjoining Karura Forest while I stayed at Mathaiga with Catrin.

Right next to the shopping centre was a large area of land with an extensive children’s amusement park and a cafe where we had a break for ice cream and cold water. It was now really hot and, being so near the equator, the sun does not go round but up and then down.

There were lots of things to do in the park but none of it was free, so we bought a ticket which enabled Catrin to go on almost everything and she certainly ensured that we had our money’s worth. Over the next two and a half hours, she went on various types of bouncy ‘castle’, various vehicles and a swinging roundabout, a climbing wall with harness, a large trampoline with harness, and even a quad bike with driver. She loved it all and did not want to leave.

Around 5 pm, we were all back together again and had an early lunch at the shopping centre. The venue was called the “Chinese Kitchen” which describes itself as “the best Chinese restaurant in town”. Richard and Emily confirmed that it was the better of the two they have tried so far.

I think Catrin enjoyed being with us because, when we were dropped back at the hotel, she cried. After all this fresh air and exercise, we will all sleep tonight.


 




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