Traveling across the globe gives perspective on both the immensity of our planet, and man's success at conquering the difficulties of traversing such distances. I left Gulfport at noon, a quick jump to Atlanta, on to Rome, and then to Nairobi. Each stop had a 2 hour planned wait, and each time the plane was an hour and a half leaving, so the transitions worked out fine. I was met at the airport by Angela, my escort for the trip. Angela, My Angel, is the head physician at my hospital in the small town of Keumbu. She took a three week leave to accompany on this trip.

All large cities are dangerous; by the very nature of bringing masses of people together, many must live in poverty and survive using desperate measures. The larger the city (and the poorer the host country), the more dangers there are in the wrong areas. As such, in a city such as Nairobi it's important to stay in a "safe" hotel, in my case, the Nairobi Intercontinental. Angela's cousin is the chief Consier at the hotel, another cousin is in charge of the outdoor bar, and a third manages the hotel parking. As such, we had excellent service. It's expensive to stay in these big city hotels, $400 a night, with the breakfast buffet at $20, but, you know, it's part of travel. Once I get to Keumbu living expense will be considerably cheaper.

In the morning we traveled to Mombasa, the resort city on Kenya's North Beach. The North Beach sits on a lagoon, very shallow waters out to a coral reef, where we took a glass bottom boat tour and enjoyed an afternoon of snorkeling. We also have enjoyed the other amenities of the beach town, including camel rides on the beach and fabulous meals. Later today we'll tour a national forest.

Tuesday we return to Nairobi to pick up the Purifier being sent from Nevada, arrange for its transport to Keumbu, and on to the hospital there to undertake the water project (and to consult on the patient care). I know the water will be very helpful. My medical expertise, on the other hand, might not be. They have a system that works, running the masses through the clinics, using the medications and techniques they're used to. I have a suitcase jammed with medical equipment and medication to donate, and those will be appreciated.