Kenya Journal 🇰🇪 #1
Karen Blixen | Cultiva | Maasai Market
Whenever we travel, we always keep a detailed daily journal.
While looking through photos is a lovely way to reminisce, reading your own words allows you to revisit your mindset at that time in a way that pictures simply can’t. Photos capture moments, but journals capture the thoughts, emotions, and nuances that bring those moments to life. It’s like having a conversation with your past self, reconnecting with not just what you saw, but how you felt and the stories that unfolded along the way.
We’re currently in Kenya, here for a close friend's wedding, but we’ve turned it into a 2-week adventure to explore the country. We’ve just wrapped up our first day in Nairobi, and tomorrow morning, we’re up bright and early at 5 a.m. to head to the Maasai Mara for the next four nights!
On this trip, we’ve decided to share our travel journal with you, offering more detail than what you’ll find on our Instagram stories. Once we’re back home, we’ll publish our full guides on the website, but through this journal, you’ll get a more intimate look at what we’re up to along the way.
We’d love to know what you think! Just reply to this email—if you enjoy reading these updates, we’ll keep them coming. If not, we might take the hint and stick to Instagram stories and the blog! 😄
Day 1 in Nairobi
After grabbing a morning coffee from Java House (next to our hotel) the first thing we did was sort out a SIM card for the trip. EE’s data roaming rates were ridiculously expensive and having a local sim allows us to use Kenya’s MPesa phone banking service and means we don’t have to carry much cash with us because everywhere works on MPesa. It’s pretty impressive!
With our phones and wallets sorted, we called an Uber and headed to the Karen Blixen Museum, inspired by the fact we watched Out of Africa on the plane over (which we highly recommend, no spoliers but Alice was sobbing by the end). Our driver, Stephen, ended up being a gem. He offered to stay with us for the rest of the day for 3,000 KES—definitely worth it. If you’re in Nairobi and need a reliable driver, his number is 0722151453.
Karen Blixen Museum
The museum itself was a highlight, though getting tickets was a bit of a hassle. You’ll need to set up an E-Citizen account beforehand, which can be time-consuming. While we were dealing with that, a rather disgruntled German woman was giving the staff a hard time—there’s always one, isn’t there?
Our tour guide, Ester, was fantastic. She took us through the history of Karen Blixen, her house, and the coffee plantation with a lot of enthusiasm. After the tour, we took a breather at the museum's coffee shop. The area is beautifully scenic, surrounded by lush greenery—worth a stop just to soak in the views.
Cultiva, Farm-to-table restaurant
Next up was lunch at Cultiva which came highly reccomended by our friends whose wedding we are attending. The vibe was on point, and the food was incredible.
We indulged in a few drinks (Gin & Tonic and an Aperol Spritz) and feasted on:
Kingfish ceviche
White Fish Tiradito
Gyoza potstickers
Grilled mushroom skewer
Everything was top-notch, and we even grabbed a coffee tart to go. If you’re into farm-to-table dining, Cultiva is a must. They also offer farm tours, which we might have to check out if we get the chance when we get back from Maasai Mara.
Maasai Market
Post-lunch, we decided to head to the Maasai Market. Traffic was insane—be prepared for that if you’re heading there. The market itself isn’t massive, but it’s packed with crafts, paintings, and vendors who are very eager to make a sale.
We almost purchased some Maasai paintings but since we were very rushed (the market was essetnialluy closing) we decided we will be back next week to have a proper look before buying them.
Since we have an early start tomorrow mornign we headed back to the hotel for a quick workout and bed. We’ve got a 6 a.m. pickup for our Safari and hopefully you’ll be hearing all about how it goes soon :)