I think I was aged 25 and watching Out of Africa for the very first time (and boy, have I watched it many, many times since) when I realised Africa and more particularly Kenya is my spirit's home and this was reinforced during our 2018 trip, so the thought over the last 4 years that I may never revisit was sometimes almost unbearable.
I fully acknowledge what I probably fell in love with was a) Robert Redford and b) the life the very rich lived pre WW1 in Kenya and although the extent of luxury we experienced wasn't quite on that scale, it was pretty special and we met some wonderful, gentle, softly spoken people. I am aware though that should we visit some of the poor areas in central Nairobi, for example, I might encounter a completely different side (as, sadly, happened in Cuba)
But we've made it "home" and I had to resist a strong urge to copy Pope John Paul II and kiss the tarmac. Well actually, I didn't get the opportunity as we disembarked via an air bridge and then went immediately down a staircase and onto a waiting bus. When this disgorged us at the terminal, we went into a large entry hall and were told to form into 4 lines and present our documents. Due to the complicated and ever changing entry requirements, Safari Consultants now have someone to greet us airside and help with the formalities and sure enough there was a young lady from Tradewinds holding a card up with our name on it. I'm not convinced she was of much use as she didn't seem to know which bits of paper were required but it was comforting to have her there as at the very least she could translate for us if necessary. Once our negative PCR and Vaccination Certificates plus a downloaded QR code we'd been allocated after completing an online Health and Surveillance Form had been given the nod of approval, we were allowed into the terminal where another person scanned the QR code on an ipad. Then through to Passport Control where the officer greeted us with "welcome back" which I thought was a lovely touch. He took our visas and then we needed to provide fingerprints but only one hand for me, whereas all of Ian's sausage fingers were required. Baggage reclaim was disappointingly slow as many non-priority bags came through first but eventually our one flimsy holdall appeared complete with blue Christmas string (Ian's idea for easy identification) and we were off out to find our transport. Whilst Ian was collecting the bag, I'd asked the Tradewinds lady if Jackson was waiting outside but no, she thought it was Eveline. Back in 2018 Jackson had been our airport/hotel transfer driver and I remember the look of delight and pride when he collected us at Wilson Airport 2 weeks later and Ian greeted him by name. I think he's much more than a driver and leads his own safaris out from Nairobi, but out of necessity he takes just driving jobs as well and we'd debated whether we'd see him again.
But when we got outside to the minibus and met Eveline, a chap came to stow the bags and sure enough it was Jackson. Ian pulled down his facemask and Jackson recognised him immediately (Ian has one of the faces people seem to remember = once seen, never forgotten!). So we had a nice chat on the drive to Tamarind Tree Hotel which this time is quite close to Wilson Airport and should give us another 30 mins sleep in the morning. There have been a few dual carriageway roads built since we were last here and another flyover is under construction which makes the journey far quicker.
The Tamarind Tree Hotel is very nice and far more appropriate for our brief 6 hour stay than the 3 bedroomed, 2 bathroom, lounge, diner, kitchen apartment we had before.