24 1 16 Arrow-root breakfast, St Francis church and feeding the Nile Crocodiles

Cecilia got up early to scrub and boil arrowroot. Which was an interesting African breakfast a bit like boiled potato but much more solid texture. We finished of with some cereal and toast. Then off to St Frances Anglican church. This was a new building just opened they still had the old church building in the compound which was tiny compared to the massive very traditional looking building they have built, it would hold several thousand people. The service had a good mixture of traditional and African hymns this service was in English but there was a youth service and a service in Swahili that morning as well as an  8 o'clock Common prayer book communion for the ex-pats.
We then went to the Karen Blixen coffee house to have Coffee and very good Kenyan beef burgers. Baroness Karen von Blixen- Finecke was the author of out of Africa she was on very good terms with her Kikuyu tenants and workers who the colonists called squatters even though they actual owned the land before it was enclosed and taken over by the ranches and her book is a very colourful picture of colonial life and she is well liked and remembered by the Kenyans.
We then went to the crocodile sanctuary where Sunday afternoon is when they are fed. We were taken around by a very knowledgeable young man who explained   all though was to know about Crocodiles and tortoises. The Nile crocodile is very well placed in it's ecological niche and a group of them can tackle anything within striking distance of their teeth. He also took us around the estate and explained a lot about the native plants and trees that were in the area.
Then home to a wonderful avocado salad and green smoothie which Cecilia had prepared.

 The crocodile has a fixed tongue and a very flexible palate to swallow large chunks whole.

The gaping mouth allows cooling from the mucus membranes they do not sweat.

 Mary holding a baby crocodile.

"can I have made into a handbag please"

 The crocodiles feed in groups holding and twisting the food betwen them to tear it into chunks

Mary holding a small Leopard tortoise you can tell how old they are by counting the ridges on the largest section on their shell.

Mimosa pudica or sensitive plant this plant actually collapses before your eyes when you stroke it 

folding it's leaves. It is used as a defence from herbivors and works by cells suddenly loosing turgor by a rapid outfall of water and salts through their cell membranes.