Next Stop - Nairobi, Kenya

6 September, 2011 We are now on the nice, air conditioned flight to Kenya. Yay! This particular flight is just over six hours. We figured that since leaving our home in Seattle, we've been traveling for over 24 hours and we still have a ways to go. We are a far, far way from Kansas, Dorothy! Thankfully, I've been able to catch some Zzz 's so I'm holding up pretty well. B is reading the guide book and studying up on Swahili words and phrases. We are really looking forward to immersing ourselves with the people and culture of Africa!

Istanbul

6 September, 2011 The humidity about knocked us over as we got off the plane in Turkey. Sunny. 80-ish degrees with what felt like 180 degrees of humidity! Not the type of weather this Pacific Northwest girl is used too. Little-to-no air conditioning inside the airport. After spending $10 on 2 cans of cold soda, we waited patiently for our next outbound flight. Despite being overheated, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the many varieties of humankind pass by. Oh, and Turkish Delight everywhere! 

Crossing Over

6 September, 2011 One minute I see that the plane icon is over Nova Scotia, the next minute it's over Europe. What that means is that I scored some much needed sleep on this long journey over! I do enjoy flight tracking on the individual seat monitors onboard. As I write, we are approximately an hour from landing in Istanbul -  just crossed over the Danube River, according to the monitor. Once we arrive in Turkey, we will have spanned our 10 time zones. Almost time to head south to Africa! We were immediately spoiled upon boarding the aircraft and treated to a glass of champagne and a piece of chocolate! Our friends on Turkish Airlines were delightful. I can't help writing "Turkish" and some form of the word "delight" in the same sentence! I wonder if they sell this confection at the Istanbul airport. We are soon to find out!

First Flight

5 September, 2011 Nothing like traveling the globe and today is the day to do it! Our first flight took us from Seattle to Chicago, easy-schmeezey as flights go. Beautiful scenery all the way across, especially over the Cascade Mountain Range in our own Washington State. We are currently relaxing in Turkish Airlines' comfortable VIP Lounge at ORD. Thank goodness for first-class frequent flyer tickets :)  Next flight is 10+ hours to Istanbul, Turkey and then on to Nairobi, Kenya and finally across the Kenya/Tanzania border to Kilimanjaro Airport. It's important to be mentally prepared for a journey of this sort. All in all we'll cross 10 time zones! Only 8 more time zones and 50 degrees of latitude to go! I hope to blog our entire travel experience. Stay tuned!