Lost in Limuru

Yea,literally...

I mean a stay here is the perfect get away.So good you forget that the rest of the world exists.

Limuru does not sound like the typical travel destination, right? At least for me it never did.

I've always pictured this highland part of the Nairobi as cold and moody. But now am glad to report, I have had a change of mind.

Two weeks back, I had to go up to Limuru, for a photo shoot at a client's premises. I handle their social media, so I had to pop in for a few professional shots.

Well, let's just say,it wasn't what I expected.

The weather was not as bad as I had pictured it to be.It actually shined throughout the day.

And the sun was God sent. The simmering sun rays through the trees gave me  beautiful shots of the garden and the entire premises. I just had to write about it...

The garden

I am tempted to call it Eden, but then i never saw it.It comes close in my imagination.

 @ACKstjulians has quite the sanctuary. It starts just out of the administration block ,on the back lawn and extends beyond.

 Foresty with well-spaced trees, flower beds, and walk through pavements are favorites here.

The pavements make wonderful aisles for garden weddings.

 Dining area

 Board room

 

Whether you want to sit on the garden seats fitted on specific areas of the garden or have your meals right there in the open air, they will make it happen!



The well manicured back lawn stretches into the 2 km field beyond. This well mowed field  is perfect for team building  and garden weddings. If you like to jog too, this is your ultimate Olympic stadium.


The Cottages

I loved the cottages!

They have unique architecture. They have the modern round stone-walled ones and the wooden cabins. The wooden cabins are vintage, built in a long straight line. They were constructed in the1970's when the place was a Convent for Christian missionaries from England.

 Visiting Caucasian folks still prefer them when they come around. I loved how spacious and well put together they were.

They have single and double cabins,all self-contained.

Their architecture reminds me of the motels we see in American movies.


The modern cottages are isolated.Each built a distance away from the main building..lost in the garden of trees.





They have their own verandah and a rocking chair to sooth you to sleep. You can sit here and watch the garden as you read a book or something. Or better yet..sleep like me.



The Artifacts

I am not sure whether this is the right word to describe the art themed walls. Great pieces of  drawings and paintings are plastered on the walls of the entire center, including the rooms. They give the place such a homely, warm sense of relaxation.




Relaxation spots

Apart from the garden, and rocking chairs, you can relax indoors. I found a wonderful spot in the lounge with a curved glassed window overlooking the garden. The window has a soft pad just beneath it, nice place to sit and just chill!


They have a vintage piano. If you are a music lover,you will have all this to yourself!




Then there's the library. It looks more like a cozy living room.Comfy couches, a stock of  century-old books on the shelves that tell of  St.Julian's revolutionary missionary history.There's even a fireplace to keep you warm, Limuru  can be chilly.




Or you can relax in the front garden on the wooden benches. Some really nice metal and wooden artifacts to keep you company there.



Or better yet connect with your creator at the chapel.It's a small hundred seater centuries church. I am told, the locals hold overnight prayers here occasionally.Its a nice spot to meditate during the day.

Well, there's plenty to see here, such an eye opener. Really looking forward to seeing more of this place very soon, I really want to get lost in Limuru.

Now i love flowers!!

So now i am obsessed with flowers.More like possessed actually...

It feels weird.I think because i have never been a flower person. I've always thought these beatiful parts of nature looked prettier, alive in the garden,than in a vase ,rotting away in my house . Lets just say, I would pick chocolates and jewelery over flowers any day.

Now all of a sudden i can't get enough of them. Everywhere i go i see red,pink,white and multicolored blossoms.And they look adorable!

This growing up thing is full of surprises.And i honestly cant wait to see what 2016 has for me.

So I found these beauties in Limuru @ACKstjulians .Lovely aint they? :-)

#TembeaKenya  #whyiloveKenya   #Nature   #flowers

Fort Jesus-Mombasa

I took these on my last week in Mombasa.
Had been in the coastal city for 3 years yet for some reason never found time visit the fort.The place is actually more interesting that i imagined. This fort holds a lot of ancient culture, incredible details about the first world war and the dreadful slave trade.

There's a lot to say about this place...but i'd rather not get into it.So i'll just leave the pics here. In this collection is the within and outside views from Fort Jesus.

Day out on Ololosokuan Nature trail

Ooops! I forgot to ask what the name means!

But if i was to take a wild guess,i'd say a dry savanna,rocky terrain with a splendid view of Ngong hills and the Kajiado plains-but that does not even begin to describe this place!

I came here by chance,practically dragged by my travel junkie +grace njeri .Love this girl,she brings out my fun side.

Together, we are  rediscovering Nairobi, after years away from the big city. Getting our adrenaline pumping going on hikes,mad rides, trips and any low budget travel adventures we can get our hands on.But that's a story for another day.

We got to Ololosokuan at the Savanna Sunset resort around 10 a.m. Dusty place this is,my sinuses could not keep up at first.

We started with a walk down a rocky slope.The trail was bushy with twigs hanging overhead shielding us from the smoldering sun that was already creeping in. The thorny shrubs on either side of the trail were unforgiving. Painfully tearing  against our skins as we walked past .For tall folks like Grace, it was a game of bendings!

Down the slope we went ,until we came across some gorry looking caves. Selfie time it was and a lot of  goofing around until our guide said we have to get to the top via the cliff face.Imagine that!

Believe me its harder than it sounds.

 We practically had to crawl in between upward-facing  rock tunnels and pull ourselves between cliff faces.But it was worth the pain when we got to the top.

The first sight up there is the beautiful Kajiado plains. The valley marks the onset of the Great Rift valley.The valley is a large stretch of savanna grassland ,scrubs and scattered Maasai settlements.The houses look tiny from up there. Up ahead was a range of hills,Ngong hills perhaps,again i forgot to find out. One of them had wind mills on top characteristic of Ngong hills,so i think that's about right.

It was fun trying out poses on top of the one of the hanging cliff faces. Headstands, one-leg Maasai poses and some i can not even come up with a name for.I found out pulling that bolt pose is not as easy as it looks.

When the selfies were done we headed down the cliff to the valley bottom.It was a treacherous journey down there  all scrubby scrubby with the vegetation getting thicker with every step. We took selfies along the trail,unknowingly separating ourselves from the rest of the group.

Finally we reached the plains.The group was nowhere to be seen and for a moment i panicked.Luckily one of the guides was waiting for us.

 It was fun walking through the savanna grassland and through a dry river bed.We walked upstream on a rocky surface on the river bed into a valley.

At the end of this trail was a cave with a pool of muddy water at its mouth ;wonderful spot for more photos.Also a great chilling spot if you want  to hide from the rest of the world. Someone said the place reminded him of the Mau Mau caves in Kirinyaga,central Kenya. There is a web of caves and tunnels there where the freedom fighters hid from the colonists.

We took a break at the caves replenishing our energies for the 60 ft climb back to the top of the valley.It wasn't easy. But the guides were good. they helped us along ,showing where to step,hold and when to pull up. After what seemed like forever,we all made it to the top.

We took a dusty trail back to the Sunset resort where we started.A buffet was in waiting! Our hosts had prepared a local delicacy  Nyama choma ,ugali , muthokoi and vegetables .Si we ate!

After the meal we explored the resort before heading back to the city.

The Sunset Resort is a nice place.If you are into nature ,wild dining and bush catering,you will love it here. They have big 4 bed tents and single bed ones-all self contained.

Bummer! i din't take photos of the resort ;was too tired i guess. But will do so on my next visit.Then you will see how marvelous this place is!

Why i cant ever be a football fan.

Big up to me for sitting through last nights  #Worldcupfinal :))))) I mean i was wide eyed  throughout  the 2 hour ordeal with the help of some crazy  fanatics and a best friend in a glass,it was fun.But that was it.Its a beautiful sport but i have no intention of being a football fan anytime soon and here is why.....

Cry babies 

Its painful to see a man cry,now imagine watching  men wail .

I mean this world cup has been amazing both positively and negatively.Its funny how men don't get it when a woman gets emotional empathizing with a character in a Novela but its okay for them to wail over a ball that refused to go into a net ..If only people  were this passionate about salvation as they are about  football. *throws popcorn into mouth*

Tension!

The ass clenching and teeth grinding during the games was too much for me.

Did you watch #Brazil's massacre by #Germany? I watched half ,then ran away when the goals kept coming.Even in bed i was praying that the Jesus statue hovering over Brazil ,comes to the rescue and turn the game in favor of the samba boys somehow.
Sadly i woke up the next day to humiliating headlines and pages of wailing Brazilians,it was crazy. Arrrrrgh! I am better off sticking to my Novelas and Athletics where for the former, the end is predictable (the dramatic twists and hunks is what matters) and the latter Kenyans always win :)

No samba in the land of samba

Drama aside,this world cup was booooooring! or was it just me.Right from the opening ceremony when JLO and Pitbull  doused our expectations with a performance as skimpy as their own  outfits.One of the reasons why i dint tune in again to any other game until the finals.The last game was exhausting too,until Germany scored at least.First impressions are important man!

And where were the football legends...Pele,Ronaldo senior and the exciting Ronaldihno-where did these guys go again?

Oh well that's enough whining for today.I have the next five years to get over the trauma of this one.And off-course ill be watching the next World cup in Russia-hopefully they will not be engulfed in World war 3.

Buffalo springs National park-Isiolo

Sites of Sagalla

A recent trip to Taita Taveta county reminded me why i should change my judge-at-first-sight attitude.I dint like the small community nestled in the Sagalla hills at first, until a friend took us for a stroll  through  thorned  bushes, down to dry river bed on the edge of the hills.

 Out of nowhere..behold one of the most breathtaking scenery's i have ever seen (considering  i hate heights.) I have  never gone mountain climbing because  1) i detest the cold temperatures and 2) i hate walking- so this was the closest i came to touching the  heavens! :)

The dry river bed slopes to the edge of the cliff creating space for sitting and lying down while taking in the magical  beauty of part of the hills and the low lands below.From here, houses in the lowlands look tiny-reduced to mere white dots,only the green vegetation and meandering roads are visible.