Don't Mess with the Mossad

Catching up on blogs, after having been home two days.

Did we mention that our hotel in Nairobi, the Fairview Hotel, is across the street from the Israeli Embassy? That street is known as the safest street in Nairobi due to the heavy security for the embassy--armed guards, cameras, etc. I learned that the hard way when I decided to take a couple pictures of the barriers in the street, to show everyone back home how safe it was. I just took a couple of shots looking out the windshield of the van. As we were about to turn into the Fairview driveway, we were pulled over by a couple of Kenyan gentleman in uniform, who asked me for my camera and passport. When they learned that we were staying at the Fairview, they had us pull into the Fairview parking lot. I jumped out of the van and the first thing they said was, No problems, Madame, you just aren't allowed to take pictures in this area for security purposes. You just need to erase the pictures. However, as they were reassuring me that there was no problem, they were taking down all my passport information in a notebook! My first thought was great, they'll see that I've been to Russia and then I'll really be in trouble! I ended up showing them that I erased the pictures, and they handed me back my passport as I profusely apologized. I'm fairly certain that my name is now in a security database somewhere. I have visions of trying to get into Israel and being denied admittance. Not too smart.