Arrival
We made it safely. Computer situation not quite sorted out yet, so this will be short and photo-less... it should be better organized in the future.
Kenya so far is amazing. We got in late at night to Nairobi airport and drove to ICIPE to have a midnight dinner and go to our rooms. The rooms provided a last burst of luxury - I had a BATH - and the next morning we had a big breakfast before driving the 4-5 hours from Nairobi to Mpala. The drive was fantastic - we were all in one van and saw the succession both of urban -> rural and dry -> even drier. The sights alongside the road were fascinating, from the teeming slums of Nairobi to bustling tourist traps to crowds of uniformed schoolchildren (almost all the schools here are boarding schools, a holdover from the british colonial days), to more pastoral scenes. (Though I would imagine that most of those who still live a traditional pastoral lifestyle don't live so close to the highway!) The colours were gorgeous - denser sunlight here because we're right next to the equator, it makes everything pop out in dazzling intensity.
We've already seen elephants, giraffes, baboons, vervet monkeys, impalas, dik-diks, lizards, african squirrels, innumerable birds and insects, strange plants, a tawny eagle, fever trees, acacias of many varieties, and lots of domesticated animals - everywhere along the road there would be scrawny cattle or goats tethered to stakes or fences, grazing where they could.
Mpala is lovely. The weather is amazing (dry! so it's not too hot at all), and we are living IN THE WILD. Our campsite is a 10 minute drive from the center, and we live in canvas tents. There are bucket showers and dim kerosene lanterns - when the sun sets at 7 or so, that's it! Put on your headlamps! We can tell from the dung that elephants wander through our camping area just a few meters from our tents, but we haven't seen any - they usually come through at night, and we've been warned to poke our heads out and look, but absolutely NOT to leave the tents.
I've actually been sick all day with diahhrea, vomiting, etc, and have been lying in bed in one of the bandas up at the center, but I feel okay now and I think I'm going to rejoin the group for our field expedition this afternoon. At least I've gotten it all over with, right?
Very excited, though severely dehydrated,
Jenn
Kenya so far is amazing. We got in late at night to Nairobi airport and drove to ICIPE to have a midnight dinner and go to our rooms. The rooms provided a last burst of luxury - I had a BATH - and the next morning we had a big breakfast before driving the 4-5 hours from Nairobi to Mpala. The drive was fantastic - we were all in one van and saw the succession both of urban -> rural and dry -> even drier. The sights alongside the road were fascinating, from the teeming slums of Nairobi to bustling tourist traps to crowds of uniformed schoolchildren (almost all the schools here are boarding schools, a holdover from the british colonial days), to more pastoral scenes. (Though I would imagine that most of those who still live a traditional pastoral lifestyle don't live so close to the highway!) The colours were gorgeous - denser sunlight here because we're right next to the equator, it makes everything pop out in dazzling intensity.
We've already seen elephants, giraffes, baboons, vervet monkeys, impalas, dik-diks, lizards, african squirrels, innumerable birds and insects, strange plants, a tawny eagle, fever trees, acacias of many varieties, and lots of domesticated animals - everywhere along the road there would be scrawny cattle or goats tethered to stakes or fences, grazing where they could.
Mpala is lovely. The weather is amazing (dry! so it's not too hot at all), and we are living IN THE WILD. Our campsite is a 10 minute drive from the center, and we live in canvas tents. There are bucket showers and dim kerosene lanterns - when the sun sets at 7 or so, that's it! Put on your headlamps! We can tell from the dung that elephants wander through our camping area just a few meters from our tents, but we haven't seen any - they usually come through at night, and we've been warned to poke our heads out and look, but absolutely NOT to leave the tents.
I've actually been sick all day with diahhrea, vomiting, etc, and have been lying in bed in one of the bandas up at the center, but I feel okay now and I think I'm going to rejoin the group for our field expedition this afternoon. At least I've gotten it all over with, right?
Very excited, though severely dehydrated,
Jenn
posted by Jenn at
2:25 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home