Wild sunsets between skyscrapers and markets: an express walk through Nairobi

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When I traveled to Kenya and landed in Nairobi a few years ago, I never imagined myself writing about what to see, where to go, what to see and what is best to

.

My knowledge is not intense enough to create a practical guide to what to see and do in the Kenyan capital, but what I can confirm is that Nairobi and its surroundings form a whole that complements each other, attracts you, impresses you

.

Surely, it was these incredible qualities that made the protagonist of my first novel,

(The Sphere of Books), get on a plane and decide to start her unexpected and amazing new life in Kenya.

Nairobi, for most tourists,

.

It almost always acts as a bridge to reach the long-awaited wild reserves where we can see and experience the authentic sensations we seek in those lands.

It is not, therefore, an easy city to get to know.

In fact, it could be the great unknown, since there is almost never time to inquire about its great virtues and its surprising customs.

The name of the capital and largest city of the Republic of Kenya comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyorovy, which means

, although it is also popularly known as the Green City in the Sun. Founded by the British in 1899 as a simple railway depot, today it is the most important financial center of the African continent.

Hotel Villa Rose Kempinsky.

Nairobi lacks a metro or suburban, so transportation is in buses decorated with brightly colored drawings called

, or in trucks that serve as these.

For tourists,

, since rides don't amount to more than three or four dollars.

The contrast of poverty with the skyscrapers of the financial area, knowing that, a few kilometers away, wild giraffes or zebras graze, give the city a very strong intrinsic meaning.

My advice, before getting there and to start the trip, it is not cheap, but it will make our retina store better memories.

If we only spend one night, it is essential to go to sleep in a hotel or residence where we can rest and

.

It will give us the necessary strength to fight the day without having to visit large restaurants, much more expensive, although I have to say that they are also beautiful.

meeting with the maasai

Worthy of mention is, of course, the walk through the financial area, whose skyscrapers are like an unexpected contradiction.

As you walk through its colorful streets and parks (where, by the way, you always have to be careful due to a certain lack of security), you can also see some of the best hotels in the city, such as the five-star Villa Rose Kempinsky

where The protagonist of my novel lives one of the most key stories.

Fabulously decorated, its food and, above all, its cocktails are wonderful, its service being one of the most professional in the city.

Another essential is

.

Its markets are also worth visiting, as they speak of the food customs of this country, work in the fields, the development of agriculture and the precariousness of the well-being of its inhabitants.

The same happens with

, where it is possible to admire the strength of the colors of the Kenyan fabrics and the precious craftsmanship in their striking beads.

Karen Blixen's house.SHUTTERSTOCK

Serve this as an introduction before entering any of the five famous wildlife reserves in Kenya.

The closest is, logically, the

, at the very gates of the city and famous for being there a large number of black rhinos, being an exceptional place in the world for being the only one near a big city where they can be seen. find a variety of wild animals.

Essential and exciting is also the

In it there are nine tents in the middle of nature where you can live and hear the roar of the jungle and just a few meters from the big city.

Although, for me, the most wonderful and the most exceptional is the most famous of Kenya's reserves: the

in Narok County.

Considered worldwide as the jewel of the observation of wild animals, since 1977 the hunting of any existing animal in these reserves has been prohibited.

There, in the Masai Mara, you can see, if you are lucky,

: the lion, the buffalo, the leopard, the elephant and the rhinoceros.

And it is there that you can also observe one of the greatest known spectacles of wildlife: the wildebeest migration.

The moment is almost apocalyptic and, if you stay in a

afterward , you will be able to experience authentic life as it is in its purest form in Africa, although with the consequent modern sophistications.

Of course, there are many other reserves, but my queen from Nairobi lived there a love story as incredible as it was passionate.

PLACES YOU CANNOT MISS

• The house of Karem Blixen, the Danish writer whose life was transferred to the film

  Out of Africa.

• The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage.

• Giraffe Centre, a nature reserve protecting vulnerable giraffes, just 20 kilometers from Nairobi.

• The National Museum, which brings together the four pillars of Kenya's heritage: nature, culture, history and contemporary art.

• The National Market, a reflection of the growth and life of that city.

  There is almost never time, but the products are very basic and the people are very nice.

• The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where they rescue and release orphaned baby elephants.

  It is the most successful facility in the world for this mission.

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