Before We Say Farewell...
October 29, 2010 By: Barbara King
No catchy title to the blog post for today. My pals, Creative and Clever, took a sabbatical!
Last night we ate dinner in the courtyard of Mt. Kenya Safari Club. As I was dressing for dinner (as in clean clothes in shades of gray, khaki, olive-general camouflage colors), I realized my style might be described as "hip bag lady." I've seen some homeless women who wear layer upon layer of clothes, both I would venture for warmth and ease of transport. I knew we'd be dining "al fresco" and the temperature would be a bit chilly, breezy, brisk, cool, fresh, nippy---okay, forget the flowery words, I'll go with cold. (That's my word choice and I'm sticking with it.). First, I put on my long johns, followed by 3 tee shirts, pants, 2 pair of socks, shoes, fleece jacket and a wool leopard print scarf (the scarf put the "hip" description in front of bag lady). Michael taught me many adventures ago that it is better to dress in layers than to sit and shiver. Last night, while it may sound extreme, I was layered "just right." Oh, I forgot to add I wore 3 necklaces and a pair of earrings. I had two reasons for the accessories: 1) If I shed layers, I'd still look stylish; and 2) I'd win at Strip Poker, should the opportunity arise!
Today Fairmont offered a plethora of activities (I just love trendy words like plethora, myriad, bespoke, and replete---and, yes, I'm guilty of using them). Michael and I signed up for a game drive to a new safari camp, Solio, home of a rhino conservation area. As we drove to the camp and drove and drove and drove, a comment Jane Pinto, Micato's founder, once made about a road in Tanzania came to mind, "I know we're heading to Heaven because I've just been on the road to Hell." The ride was long, uninteresting and very bumpy. The driver was unusually quiet and when he spoke, none of the 5 passengers (Michael, me, Muriel Wilson, Virtuoso's Director of Meetings and Events, Mike McCown, Virtuoso's VP of Finance and Accounting, and the intrepid, wise and helpful Phoebe Weinberg, Greatways Travel) could decipher his dialect. Maybe if he had shared more, we could have gotten used to his speech pattern.
Stay with me because I am about to digress: Why has Micato Safaris been voted #1 Tour Operator in Travel + Leisure's Readers poll 7 times? The reasons are so many I couldn't possibly list them all here and still be ready for dinner 3 hours from now! I'll focus now on just a few items that sets Micato apart from the wannabe's:
• Infrastructure (I should add that to my list of trendy words): Micato is a well-organized team that has thought ahead of every contingency, every guest question, every vehicle maintenance issue (which is rare for Micato), how to bypass the tangled web of passengers arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International ?Airport, the clever and practical gifts the Pinto family gives clients, the activity bags for the small plane rides, AND the highly trained, educated and knowledgeable Safari Directors. Had we had a Safari Director with us, we'd have learned the difference between black rhino and white rhino (go ahead, Google it!), we'd learn about the customs of the local people, their history, their culture, and even hear a few corny jokes (like saying the Impala in Kenya is not a Chevrolet). Even though I've experienced safaris with and without a Safari Director, using Micato and their Safari Directors makes for a totally seamless experience.
• Family: Micato is a family-owned business founded by Jane and Felix Pinto, Nairobi, Kenya and Dennis, Joy and Anna Pinto in the US. I believe I can safely claim that every Micato guest who has met and dined with the Pintos, whether at Lavington, Jane and Felix's home, or at some delicious restuarant in the increasingly cosmopolitan areas in Nairobi, may have arrived as guests but leave feeling like a member of the family. And the staff at Micato becomes family, too. Many of the staff have been a part of the Micato team/family for double digit years.
• Philanthropy and Environmental Contributions: Micato Safaris and the Pinto family created AmericaShare, www.americashare.org , "a non profit organization dedicated to helping populations in Nairobi, Kenya who have been affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Through our education, community outreach and economic empowerment programmes, we seek to provide disadvantaged children and women with access to basic services in order to facilitate sustainable change." (a quote from their website). In fact, tomorrow Michael and I will go to see our two "adopted" children, Jane and Salim, who we haven't seen for 5 years. We're very excited and plan to video them sharing a message, which I will post if I don't jiggle toe Fip Video too much! They've met our children, Lauren and Josh. Now we have photos of our adorable grandsons, Tristan and Jacob, to share with our Kenyan kids! In September, 2010, Micato won 2 prestigious Conde Nast Traveler World Saver Awards.
Now back to today's activities: we finally reached Solio, a new camp which opened in August, 2010, after driving that long, bumpy road and a game drive during which we saw impalas, rhinos (both black and white---you did Google it, didn't you?), zebra, jackals, buffalo, and giraffes (okay, another pop quiz: we saw reticulated giraffes. Question: how many species of giraffes are in Kenya and what are they? Come on, I just gave you one of the answers...Google it and come back to the blog, please). We saw some important guests of Solio, 2 darling, orphaned baby warthogs, who followed one of the staff like a well trained puppy. The accommodations at this 6 suite camp are stunning and, hopefully, they will add plunge pools or a community pool for their guests. The vehicles and drivers for this activity were from a company contracted by Fairmont at the last minute, due to some unforseen changes, and is not a company Fairmont usually uses---which is a good thing because there were several glitches in the journey and I want to be sure you know this was NOT a Fairmont created activity.
Tonight is our Farewell Dinner (inside, thank God, so I'll dispense with the layers and stick with the jewelry including the necklace created by a renowned bead artist who happens to be my sister, NanC Meinhardt, www.nancmeinhardt.com ), and early tomorrow we fly to Nairobi to go to Harambee House, to our "kids" Jane and Salim. I know tomorrow I will be very emotionally charged and won't be able to blog immediately. Plus, tomorrow night we fly back home, stopping long enough to switch suitcases and fly to Kauai to see our daughter, Lauren, and Jon and our oh so huggable grandson, Jacob, and to also attend Classic Vacations Partners Event. Because we'll be experiencing a 12 hour time change between Kenya and Kauai, I can't promise when I will blog again---soon, though, very soon! If you're reading this on www.luxuryta.com, you may continue to read my musings at www.greatgetaways.travel/blog or on www.travelingking.net. (that is, unless luxuryta.com wants me to stick around??? ).
I can honestly tell you Michael and I've enjoyed the cameraderie, the activities, the experiences, and the orchestration of the Virtuoso Chairman's Safari. A world of thanks to Micato Safaris, Fairmont Hotels, Magical Kenya, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Crystal Cruises!
In Swahili, Asante sana (thank you very much), safari njema (have a good trip), and fika salama (arrive safely)!
