Anyone who thinks that romantic stories set in Nairobi are implausible simply has not spent enough time in the city’s parks. The thought occurred to me this weekend as I ambled through the Nairobi Arboretum, a cultivated forest of trees from all over the world that is also one of the city’s most popular date spots. Due to its proximity to the University of Nairobi it’s common to glimpse young couples among the trees.
Unlike heavily manicured parks in Europe and North America, most of Nairobi’s parks have an unvarnished feel about them – towering trees that bloom only when the season calls for it, with various species of monkey, squirrels and the occasional small antelope moving through the brush relatively undisturbed. There’s something elemental about watching love take shape under these rich canopies.
