I woke up at 5:30 on Wednesday morning to walk Basil. At 5:45 I called Joerg to wake him up. Naddel is coming today! We packed a picnic and left for the first time around 6:00. True to form we forgot something and had to go back. I wonder what the guards at the front gate think of us. Naddel was coming on a Lufthansa cargo flight from Germany, but not until 11:00am. Rather than sitting in traffic for 2 hours to get to the airport at that time, we had decided to leave much earlier and drive through Nairobi National Park, which has a gate very close to the airport.
Surprising enough, you can drive into downtown Nairobi, narrowly miss multiple car accidents, choke on dust and exhaust, navigate one rotary after another, and then take a left hand turn and find yourself in the pristine wilderness of Nairobi National Park. And on an early Wednesday morning you have it almost all to yourself.
We drove down to an overlook with buffalo grazing below. In the distance there were also zebra, hartabeast, ostrich, and the Nairobi skyline. We got out of the car a little later to hike closer to an eagle and its prey (another smaller bird). We didn't go far because Joerg was worried about lions, and I was already finding ticks on my feet.
Next we stopped at a picnic area to eat breakfast, but first I had to chase the zebras. I just wanted to run with them. They didn't let me get very close. When I stopped they gave me a look that said "what the hell?" and I felt kind of bad. I wanted them to like me. But Joerg assured me that they hadn't liked me to begin with so there was really nothing to lose.
We drove on, hoping in vain to see a lion or an elusive black rhino. Mostly we just stopped to see birds, but there were other animals as well. The grass was tall enough after the rains to hide many of them. I was staring out my window when I heard Joerg squeal "Lion! Lion! Look, right there!". And sure enough, there she was. Holy shit. Only yards from our car. She came slowly to the side of the road, mouth open, calmly surveying the grass in front of her. She seemed to ignore us completely. Joerg took pictures while I tried to catch my breath. She was so amazing. She sauntered into the road, stopped to pose for a few shots, and then crossed to the other side. I had the camera at that point, so I could see her from an even closer perspective. A car came towards us but the lioness was in the tall grass at the side and they didn't see her. We didn't stop them. We watched her as she slowly disappeared into the tall grass. My heart was still thumping in my chest.
We finished out the morning with a few more bird sightings, and even a rhino way out in the bushes. I climbed on top of the car to get a better look. I was not about to chase after him, although Joerg said he would take more pictures if I did. On our little detour to the airport and in only a few hours we had seen so much amazing wildlife. But now it was time to get down to the business of the day and go find Naddel!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Naddel Vom Theelshof
(this should be after Nairobi National Park, I'm not sure why it is here)
We drove into the airport to pick up Naddel, knowing we had to go to the cargo terminal. After trying to interpret directions from at least 3 people, all of which included vague hand gestures and words like 'there' or 'that way', we turned down a road in the most likely direction. Finally we found the terminal. At the gate we were asked to get out of the car so they could search us. Hmm. I had no idea it would be this secure. I hadn't even brought my ID. After being frisked by a woman who was clearly not very excited about her job, I played dumb when they asked me for my ID. As Joerg waved his UN passport and said I was with him, I jumped back in the car.
We drove into the airport to pick up Naddel, knowing we had to go to the cargo terminal. After trying to interpret directions from at least 3 people, all of which included vague hand gestures and words like 'there' or 'that way', we turned down a road in the most likely direction. Finally we found the terminal. At the gate we were asked to get out of the car so they could search us. Hmm. I had no idea it would be this secure. I hadn't even brought my ID. After being frisked by a woman who was clearly not very excited about her job, I played dumb when they asked me for my ID. As Joerg waved his UN passport and said I was with him, I jumped back in the car.
After we parked we went back to the gate and signed in. Nothing was said about visitors passes. We walked toward the main office, and a man who was just standing outside came up to us smiling and asked if he could help. Joerg was so excited he just yelped "I'm here to get my dog! Where is she?". The man gave us a look indicating that he understood completely, and proceeded to run us to about 5 different locations all over the terminal. Joerg greeted everyone with a huge smile and "I want my dog! Where is she?", but no progress was made. Soon we understood a) our guide had no idea what he was doing, and b) he was going to want money. He took us upstairs to talk to a Lufthansa representative who was very helpful, and just as we were coming back down the stairs she called us back up. At this point we were running. When we got back to her desk she called out the man who had been "helping us" and told him that he should tell us up front what he was going to charge before we continued. It turns out he wanted a minimum of $100. This seemed absurd. How hard could it be to pick up your dog? We said sorry, but no thanks and went down to figure things out.
In the main office, where we would have gone if no one had intercepted us, we were told that the plane had not yet arrived. We had seen it land. We pestered them a little more and suddenly it was there, but the dog was not ready yet. They were still waiting for her to be processed and for the paperwork to be sent up. They estimated that would take at least an hour. Someone told us we could get coffee somewhere (again vague hand gestures). The next person we talked to about a place to sit and eat just laughed and shook his head. We walked down to the end of the terminal to see if we could spot her somewhere. A man on a forklift stopped us and asked us for our visitor badges. Huh? We don't have those. This was not good news, and resulted in us being half-heartedly searched again. Once more I didn't have any ID, so I hid behind Joerg as he flashed his UN passport. We decided at that point that I would be his wife from now on if anyone asked, and that we needed to get some visitor passes.
Back at the main gate they told us they were out of passes. They gave me a funny look when I explained that we were being searched and interrogated for not having them, and finally one guard walked across the parking lot to the other gate to get some. We waited around for the paperwork, and eventually it came. We went upstairs to speak to a customs official, and after Joerg flirted a little with the receptionist we were allowed into his office. He looked over the paperwork as if he knew what it all was, asked a few questions, and then told Joerg he would tax his dog as if she were worth $1000. Fine, whatever, please can we go now. As we were trying to decipher various suggestions on where to go next and who to pay what, a nice gentleman who Joerg had been joking with offered to help us free of charge. He led us out of the terminal, through another gate, and into another parking/building area where the vet office was. As we approached the building we heard pitiful howling coming from within. That's her!
Inside her crate and behind metal bars sat Naddel. When she saw Joerg running towards her the whole box shook and more heart-wrenching yowls came forth. I sat with her and tried to calm her down through the bars while he went to get his health certificate stamped. She was biting and scratching at the bars with all her might. My heart broke a little. He had to go back to get other papers signed so I said I would stay with her. After about a minute I couldn't take it anymore and crawled in the kennel with her so I could let her out of the crate. That wasn't good enough, she wanted Joerg, she wanted out! A woman came into the holding area and asked me if everything was ok. I explained what I was doing and asked her if I could walk Naddel around. "Of course" she said, "she probably has to relieve herself". Indeed she did. It had been a long trip.
Naddel and I walked around the holding area, got a big drink of water, and waited for Joerg to get back. I suspected she was hungry when she started eating grass and rocks. Eventually I called Joerg and he said he would be half an hour. One hour later he was back. Naddel exploded into a writhing frenzy of licks, squeaks, and wiggles. She clearly remembered him. So, was everything all set? Hah. There was another office he had to go to, and it would not even be open for another half hour. Ugh. I saw his stack of paperwork and receipts, and it looked like he had been stamped, taxed, and charged by at least 6 different offices.We sat in the doorway and Naddel fell asleep on his fleece. When he had to leave again she cried but then went back to bed.
All in all it took about 5 hourse to get Naddel out of the airport. I held her on my lap the whole way home, and she struggled to stay awake. Joerg struggled to keep his eyes on the road. We hit the evening traffic, so many of the street vendors had a chance to meet Naddel through the window. They were very intrigued by a person holding a dog, and such a funny looking one! One of the guys said she reminded him of a goat.
Naddel (aka susse maus, kleine madchen, leibsein, feine hund) has been here for almost one week now. It took her a few days not to cry when Joerg left the house, but either Cassandra, the maid, or I was always there to watch her (the maid has been hired full time to watch the dog). She is unbelievably cute, very well behaved (except when Joerg is teaching her how to bite my leg and chew on my skirt), and one of the warmest and cutest cuddlers ever. Joerg let me sleep with her all night on Monday! Definitely adorable. And she can do no wrong. She has huge soft ears, a long nose (which Joerg "loves every millimeter of"), and long gangly legs. She points at birds and bugs. She eats purina puppy food, jerky, carrots, oats, beef bones, beef heart, tripe (which is rumen by the way...who knew?), chocolate, cheese, sausage, and anything else Joerg thinks she might like. So spoiled. So worthy though. I am going to miss her a lot.
(for pictures go to http://www.picasaweb.google.com/julia.littell)
Waiting for Naddel
It was back to work on Monday, only I didn't have any work to do. Time was dragging on and we were all looking forward to the arrival of Naddel, Joerg's new German Shorthair Pointer. I had completed a chunk of my project and was awaiting further instructions. I have been working on samples that were collected a few years ago. After we made a plan, we realized that the samples I needed were never actually obtained. Post election violence a few years ago had suspended the project so only 30 of my 80 calves had blood samples taken at 6 and 11 weeks of age. Grrr. I was disappointed but there wasn't much we could do about it. So I am looking at those 30 calves now as the next step.
We went running as usual, and as I completed the hill I saw a little girl running down the road, crying her eyes out. People were looking at her wondering if they should do something, and I wasn't sure she would understand me if I talked to her. I followed her towards Judy, my running team captain, who thankfully stopped to help her. It turns out she was lost. Her family had moved the day before and she couldn't remember how to get home. She was only 5 years old! She had walked about a mile from school trying to find her way. The poor thing. Judy calmed her down, took her hand, and walked her back to school where her siblings were still in class.
I spent a lot of time with Basil, my dirty dalmation friend. One morning we found a small heard of loose goats by the cow barn. I tried to grab him but he saw them too and ran off towards them. Crap! He is going to kill a goat. But he just wanted to chase them, and even that was short lived when his energy burst ran out and his hip dysplasia kicked in. Whew. That afternoon I laid in the sun with Basil in the backyard, but it made no difference to my pasty whiteness. When I went inside, Basil wanted to follow me. He is supposed to stay outside all the time. But I was lonely and any dog who begs to be let up on the couch by wagging his paws in the air has been there before. So I moved over. I didn't think he would tell. And plus, it was pouring rain.
It rained so hard that night that Nancy called me to drive her car over to her office building and pick her up. Sure I said! I finally get to try driving on the wrong side of the road (on the right side of the car). I got it, found the lights and the windshield wipers, and headed off down the deserted speedbump-riddled ILRI road. This isn't so bad I thought to myself. Then I realized I was still on the right side of the road. Ha! And turning was really weird. I imagined other cars coming towards me and tried to figure out who would have the right of way. Luckily they were just imaginary. I made it back without damaging anything.
Joerg was very excited for his new puppy. We tried to keep busy but all anyone could think about was Naddel. We spent numerous shopping trips buying her food, toys, and commissioning a bed from a roadside carpenter. I made banana bread from the bananas grown just outside the door and Joerg taught me how to drink various liquors. Some were much better than others. Joerg found out which cafes he could bring Naddel to and made plans to stay home with her for the rest of his life.
We went running as usual, and as I completed the hill I saw a little girl running down the road, crying her eyes out. People were looking at her wondering if they should do something, and I wasn't sure she would understand me if I talked to her. I followed her towards Judy, my running team captain, who thankfully stopped to help her. It turns out she was lost. Her family had moved the day before and she couldn't remember how to get home. She was only 5 years old! She had walked about a mile from school trying to find her way. The poor thing. Judy calmed her down, took her hand, and walked her back to school where her siblings were still in class.
I spent a lot of time with Basil, my dirty dalmation friend. One morning we found a small heard of loose goats by the cow barn. I tried to grab him but he saw them too and ran off towards them. Crap! He is going to kill a goat. But he just wanted to chase them, and even that was short lived when his energy burst ran out and his hip dysplasia kicked in. Whew. That afternoon I laid in the sun with Basil in the backyard, but it made no difference to my pasty whiteness. When I went inside, Basil wanted to follow me. He is supposed to stay outside all the time. But I was lonely and any dog who begs to be let up on the couch by wagging his paws in the air has been there before. So I moved over. I didn't think he would tell. And plus, it was pouring rain.
It rained so hard that night that Nancy called me to drive her car over to her office building and pick her up. Sure I said! I finally get to try driving on the wrong side of the road (on the right side of the car). I got it, found the lights and the windshield wipers, and headed off down the deserted speedbump-riddled ILRI road. This isn't so bad I thought to myself. Then I realized I was still on the right side of the road. Ha! And turning was really weird. I imagined other cars coming towards me and tried to figure out who would have the right of way. Luckily they were just imaginary. I made it back without damaging anything.
Joerg was very excited for his new puppy. We tried to keep busy but all anyone could think about was Naddel. We spent numerous shopping trips buying her food, toys, and commissioning a bed from a roadside carpenter. I made banana bread from the bananas grown just outside the door and Joerg taught me how to drink various liquors. Some were much better than others. Joerg found out which cafes he could bring Naddel to and made plans to stay home with her for the rest of his life.
Friday, July 3, 2009
The Aberdares Part II
"Julia, good morning", came a singsong voice in a German accent from across the campsite. "Want to make me a tea?". It was 5:30 am, still dark, and I was freezing. We decided to sleep for 10 more minutes. "Julia, did you brush your teeth last night?". "No". "Me either, I have a bad conscience". We decided to sleep a little longer. By 6:00 am I was too cold to lay down any longer, so I dressed and ran some laps outside. Everything was covered in a thick frost. We decided to wait to eat and just go for an early drive to see wildlife. The car wouldn't start at first because of the cold, but soon we were on our way with the heat blasting.
We started in silence as the sun illuminated the frosty landscape. Reedbuck, waterbuck, and bushbuck grazed in the fields. My pictures do a better job of describing it. Then we made our way down into the Salient where we saw monkeys, buffalo, an elephant, and warthogs. Mt. Kenya startled me as it poked up through clouds and morning haze to obliterate the distant landscape. Those pictures do not do it justice.
As we continued on, we listened to Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon. We decided to take a shortcut home over a mountain range where Joerg had got stuck last time he tried it. We made a wrong turn, found a beautiful lookout of Mt. Kenya, and then saw something really special, even for the Aberdares. A lioness was crossing the road. She moved fast, we didn't get a picture, but there was no doubt about it. They are rare in that park because they are actually baited and killed there. Lions were introduced a while ago, presumably to increase diversity and tourist appeal, but they started killing all the bongos who were not used to lions. This poor species is now nearing extinction, so the Kenyan Wildlife Service sanctioned depopulation of the lions. But some of them are clever and don't fall for the traps, so there are still a few left in the park. And we saw one!
The Aberdares are a favorite spot for the British Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth was actually staying in the park when she assumed the thrown. We turned towards Prince Edward's camp and hung on for dear life as the car climbed up and down washed out red dirt roads, over streams, and through mud pits. We saw a giant forest hog and another elephant, who alerted us to its presence with a shrill trumpet just feet away from the car before it crashed deeper into the bamboo. Moss covered trees filtered the sunlight and I expected to see a leopard lounging around every turn, but there were no more cats that day.
We stopped for breakfast around 11 at a beautiful fishing spot. We only had one spoon so Joerg went fishing while I enjoyed my cereal and bananas. I made fun of him for locking the car again and he said he hoped Andy and I came back to Kenya one day and left our car unlocked and got everything stolen. Teehee. The trout there were small and didn't bite so after hiking around for a while we got back in the car.
Back at the campsite I finally took off my 4 layers and ants tormented us as we packed up the tents. We stopped to fish at two more waterfalls on the way out of the park (no success), and cursed the altitude as we gasped for air hiking back to the car. We had been driving for most of the day but it was exciting and somewhat physically demanding so we were exhausted. Once down the mountain and out of the park, we took the advice of a policeman on the street and took the back road home. The tarmac turned to dirt in about 10 minutes and tired and hungry Joerg grumbled about the lack of road signs in Kenya. But why do you need signs when there are policemen at every junction to give you more bad directions? We kept on, avoiding potholes as much as possible. Joerg asked me what kind of Thai food I could cook, and when I started telling him he yelled at me to stop because it was making him too hungry and he was starting to drool.
We finally made it back to the main road, and paused for some roast maize on the entrance ramp. Not exactly the same as sweet corn, but it boosted our blood sugar and made us less grumpy. Joerg then admitted that the back road had actually saved us time, just like the policeman said it would. Our grand dinner plans turned into grilled cheese and cereal and Basil only got a short walk before I fell into bed. I was wiped out but it had been completely amazing.
We started in silence as the sun illuminated the frosty landscape. Reedbuck, waterbuck, and bushbuck grazed in the fields. My pictures do a better job of describing it. Then we made our way down into the Salient where we saw monkeys, buffalo, an elephant, and warthogs. Mt. Kenya startled me as it poked up through clouds and morning haze to obliterate the distant landscape. Those pictures do not do it justice.
As we continued on, we listened to Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon. We decided to take a shortcut home over a mountain range where Joerg had got stuck last time he tried it. We made a wrong turn, found a beautiful lookout of Mt. Kenya, and then saw something really special, even for the Aberdares. A lioness was crossing the road. She moved fast, we didn't get a picture, but there was no doubt about it. They are rare in that park because they are actually baited and killed there. Lions were introduced a while ago, presumably to increase diversity and tourist appeal, but they started killing all the bongos who were not used to lions. This poor species is now nearing extinction, so the Kenyan Wildlife Service sanctioned depopulation of the lions. But some of them are clever and don't fall for the traps, so there are still a few left in the park. And we saw one!
The Aberdares are a favorite spot for the British Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth was actually staying in the park when she assumed the thrown. We turned towards Prince Edward's camp and hung on for dear life as the car climbed up and down washed out red dirt roads, over streams, and through mud pits. We saw a giant forest hog and another elephant, who alerted us to its presence with a shrill trumpet just feet away from the car before it crashed deeper into the bamboo. Moss covered trees filtered the sunlight and I expected to see a leopard lounging around every turn, but there were no more cats that day.
We stopped for breakfast around 11 at a beautiful fishing spot. We only had one spoon so Joerg went fishing while I enjoyed my cereal and bananas. I made fun of him for locking the car again and he said he hoped Andy and I came back to Kenya one day and left our car unlocked and got everything stolen. Teehee. The trout there were small and didn't bite so after hiking around for a while we got back in the car.
Back at the campsite I finally took off my 4 layers and ants tormented us as we packed up the tents. We stopped to fish at two more waterfalls on the way out of the park (no success), and cursed the altitude as we gasped for air hiking back to the car. We had been driving for most of the day but it was exciting and somewhat physically demanding so we were exhausted. Once down the mountain and out of the park, we took the advice of a policeman on the street and took the back road home. The tarmac turned to dirt in about 10 minutes and tired and hungry Joerg grumbled about the lack of road signs in Kenya. But why do you need signs when there are policemen at every junction to give you more bad directions? We kept on, avoiding potholes as much as possible. Joerg asked me what kind of Thai food I could cook, and when I started telling him he yelled at me to stop because it was making him too hungry and he was starting to drool.
We finally made it back to the main road, and paused for some roast maize on the entrance ramp. Not exactly the same as sweet corn, but it boosted our blood sugar and made us less grumpy. Joerg then admitted that the back road had actually saved us time, just like the policeman said it would. Our grand dinner plans turned into grilled cheese and cereal and Basil only got a short walk before I fell into bed. I was wiped out but it had been completely amazing.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The Aberdares Part I
Are you more of a visual learner? Pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/julia.littell/TheAberdares
The rest of last week went quickly, now that I have a friend to cook and laugh with and a surrogate dog and cat. I also had some interesting reptile encounters. There was the CUTEST baby gecko in the bath tub one night (only about an inch long) that I squealed over for a while. Just ask Andy, he was on the phone. And then on the way back from the lab, Cassandra saw a squashed chameleon in the road. It was perfectly formed, even its curly tongue was sticking out. It was just flat. And dead.
Cassandra, Joerg, and I went out for Ethiopian food on Friday. It was part of this foreigner social club thing, so there were a lot of other people there that we didn't know. We sat on little stools with cushions around small tables that were actually drums with animal skins over them. We saw other people being served meals in huge flat baskets, so when it came time to order we asked for whatever the other table was eating. While we were waiting for our food a smiling young man and woman came out to dance for us. He wore a white silk robe and pants with a green belt, and she had a long cotton dress that she tucked under at her waste to free her feet. The main movement in Ethiopian dancing is in the shoulders. Jerky movements that verge on vibrations at times. It was really impressive and fun to watch.
Then our food came. Goat, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, beans, cabbage, greens, sauces, and spices all served on a huge piece of thin spongy bread. Unfortunately Cassandra mistook a really hot pepper for a green bean and ruined her night. We went to a club after dinner (crazy!) but the room they normally go in was reserved for a party, so after Joerg watched soccer on TV for a while and Cassandra and I watched some ladies dancing, we left and went home. We had to get ready to go camping the next day!
In the morning Cassandra informed us that she had strained her back from breathing weird after eating the hot pepper (?) and she would not be able to come with us. But she was nice enough to still let me use her tent. We loaded the car with camping gear, and went to see a dying bird Joerg had found and moved that morning. It was in the bush where he had left it, but when he went to take a close up picture of it, it flew away. "Duuuuh?" was the hilarious sound that came out of his mouth (which he later denied). Apparently "dying" was actually just stunned after it had ran into a window, but he took credit for saving its life.
Then we were off! Counting crows serenading us down the road. Until Joerg realized that he forgot his cell phone. We went back, got it, and were off again! The drive Northwest to the Aberdares was exciting for me. Joerg let me use his fancy camera to take pictures the whole weekend. Right outside of Nairobi is beautiful countryside with sheep everywhere, donkeys grazing on the side of the road, men selling sheep skins (I really wanted one but wasn't sure about customs), vertically stacked fruit stands, and a suddenly striking view of the rift valley down below. Perhaps this location is famous for other reasons, but we vet students know of it because of the infamous Rift Valley Fever. This pesky phlebovirus virus was one of the thousands drilled into our head during block IV. It causes a considerable amount of anguish here in the rift valley, but we American vets are concerned about it because it is carried by the same kinds of mosquitoes we have in the US of A.
As we climbed in altitude, the clouds rolled in and we were driving through greener and greener pastures now sprinkled with tall pine trees. It felt like medieval Europe, not Africa. The entire park is enclosed with a huge electric fence to keep the elephants from terrorizing the locals and to keep the locals from grazing their cattle in the park. Once through the fence we drove up and up and up, into a bamboo forest, listening to Bob Dylan. Joerg had me on the lookout for wild cats to take pictures of (which he said he could sell), but we didn't see any. Then there was another gate where we had to pay to get into the park. Joerg has a yearly pass but they still tried to charge him to get in. He was used to this happening but we worked it out and $75 (for me) and one fishing license later we were in the park.
We drove alone down a dirt road out of the bamboo and into the moorlands. Rolling hills of low bushes and distant forests representing every shade of green you can imagine. We parked the car and eagle-eye Joerg spotted an elephant almost immediately. He has been there many times but he got really excited because this was the first time he had seen a lone elephant in the moorlands with no bamboo to hide in. It was pretty sweet.
Joerg got his fly fishing rod set up with a "Mrs. Simpson" (for those of you who care), and we headed down towards the waterfalls. We didn't get far before we found a stream that just had to be fished in for a while. I took lots of pictures while he cursed the trees in the way, and just as I stopped paying attention, he got one! Hey hey look! A big trout! Oh no! It got away. With Mrs. Simpson. I took a picture of him standing there, stunned and grinning. We slowly made our way to the falls, fishing, taking pictures, Joerg fell in the mud, I tripped over elephant poo. And there they were. A huge gorge with falls on either side. I'll let you just look at the pictures.
We found Reedbuck Campsite #1, with 3 Americans on it, but #2 was just down the road (and it was nicer!). Everyone had warned me about the weather up there (we were over 3000 meters) and as we set up our tents the sun started to dip, bringing the temperature with it. I put on my PJ pants, tucked them into my wool socks, donned my regular pants, two shirts, a fleece, a raincoat, and a blanket and went to sit by the stove and make tea. After tea we boiled gnocchi and opened the canned tomato sauce with an army can opener. Joerg insisted on moving the opened cans into the fire pit so they wouldn't spill, and promptly spilled one of them.
As we sat eating, reedbuck and bushbuck came from all directions to investigate our tents and the spilled tomato sauce. I wanted to take pictures, but Joerg said I should just enjoy them and not worry about pictures and scaring them with a flash. I think he was right. One female came very close, tasting my shoes at one point, but wouldn't let any of the others near us. She just chased them away. The stars came out, we drank some warm beer (I wished it was hot), and talked and laughed about deep philosophical questions and burping and farting until the late hour of 8:00pm. You landsea-ers will appreciate that I showed Joerg how to garberate the gnocchi and then how to clean his bowl with beer. He liked the first one, but the warm tomato-y beer was too much. I actually quite liked it.
When it was too cold to sit there any more, we went to bed. Joerg instructed me that if I heard a lion or an elephant outside the tent, I was not to come out of it under any circumstances. I noticed his tent was much closer to the car (which he had insisted on locking), and that he had the key. But I was too happy to be scared. I crawled into my heavy sleeping bag with my wool blanket, and only got warm when I curled up and zipped my head under. I fell asleep to the sound of Joerg snoring in the distance and reedbuck walking around and licking my tent.
The rest of last week went quickly, now that I have a friend to cook and laugh with and a surrogate dog and cat. I also had some interesting reptile encounters. There was the CUTEST baby gecko in the bath tub one night (only about an inch long) that I squealed over for a while. Just ask Andy, he was on the phone. And then on the way back from the lab, Cassandra saw a squashed chameleon in the road. It was perfectly formed, even its curly tongue was sticking out. It was just flat. And dead.
Cassandra, Joerg, and I went out for Ethiopian food on Friday. It was part of this foreigner social club thing, so there were a lot of other people there that we didn't know. We sat on little stools with cushions around small tables that were actually drums with animal skins over them. We saw other people being served meals in huge flat baskets, so when it came time to order we asked for whatever the other table was eating. While we were waiting for our food a smiling young man and woman came out to dance for us. He wore a white silk robe and pants with a green belt, and she had a long cotton dress that she tucked under at her waste to free her feet. The main movement in Ethiopian dancing is in the shoulders. Jerky movements that verge on vibrations at times. It was really impressive and fun to watch.
Then our food came. Goat, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, beans, cabbage, greens, sauces, and spices all served on a huge piece of thin spongy bread. Unfortunately Cassandra mistook a really hot pepper for a green bean and ruined her night. We went to a club after dinner (crazy!) but the room they normally go in was reserved for a party, so after Joerg watched soccer on TV for a while and Cassandra and I watched some ladies dancing, we left and went home. We had to get ready to go camping the next day!
In the morning Cassandra informed us that she had strained her back from breathing weird after eating the hot pepper (?) and she would not be able to come with us. But she was nice enough to still let me use her tent. We loaded the car with camping gear, and went to see a dying bird Joerg had found and moved that morning. It was in the bush where he had left it, but when he went to take a close up picture of it, it flew away. "Duuuuh?" was the hilarious sound that came out of his mouth (which he later denied). Apparently "dying" was actually just stunned after it had ran into a window, but he took credit for saving its life.
Then we were off! Counting crows serenading us down the road. Until Joerg realized that he forgot his cell phone. We went back, got it, and were off again! The drive Northwest to the Aberdares was exciting for me. Joerg let me use his fancy camera to take pictures the whole weekend. Right outside of Nairobi is beautiful countryside with sheep everywhere, donkeys grazing on the side of the road, men selling sheep skins (I really wanted one but wasn't sure about customs), vertically stacked fruit stands, and a suddenly striking view of the rift valley down below. Perhaps this location is famous for other reasons, but we vet students know of it because of the infamous Rift Valley Fever. This pesky phlebovirus virus was one of the thousands drilled into our head during block IV. It causes a considerable amount of anguish here in the rift valley, but we American vets are concerned about it because it is carried by the same kinds of mosquitoes we have in the US of A.
As we climbed in altitude, the clouds rolled in and we were driving through greener and greener pastures now sprinkled with tall pine trees. It felt like medieval Europe, not Africa. The entire park is enclosed with a huge electric fence to keep the elephants from terrorizing the locals and to keep the locals from grazing their cattle in the park. Once through the fence we drove up and up and up, into a bamboo forest, listening to Bob Dylan. Joerg had me on the lookout for wild cats to take pictures of (which he said he could sell), but we didn't see any. Then there was another gate where we had to pay to get into the park. Joerg has a yearly pass but they still tried to charge him to get in. He was used to this happening but we worked it out and $75 (for me) and one fishing license later we were in the park.
We drove alone down a dirt road out of the bamboo and into the moorlands. Rolling hills of low bushes and distant forests representing every shade of green you can imagine. We parked the car and eagle-eye Joerg spotted an elephant almost immediately. He has been there many times but he got really excited because this was the first time he had seen a lone elephant in the moorlands with no bamboo to hide in. It was pretty sweet.
Joerg got his fly fishing rod set up with a "Mrs. Simpson" (for those of you who care), and we headed down towards the waterfalls. We didn't get far before we found a stream that just had to be fished in for a while. I took lots of pictures while he cursed the trees in the way, and just as I stopped paying attention, he got one! Hey hey look! A big trout! Oh no! It got away. With Mrs. Simpson. I took a picture of him standing there, stunned and grinning. We slowly made our way to the falls, fishing, taking pictures, Joerg fell in the mud, I tripped over elephant poo. And there they were. A huge gorge with falls on either side. I'll let you just look at the pictures.
We found Reedbuck Campsite #1, with 3 Americans on it, but #2 was just down the road (and it was nicer!). Everyone had warned me about the weather up there (we were over 3000 meters) and as we set up our tents the sun started to dip, bringing the temperature with it. I put on my PJ pants, tucked them into my wool socks, donned my regular pants, two shirts, a fleece, a raincoat, and a blanket and went to sit by the stove and make tea. After tea we boiled gnocchi and opened the canned tomato sauce with an army can opener. Joerg insisted on moving the opened cans into the fire pit so they wouldn't spill, and promptly spilled one of them.
As we sat eating, reedbuck and bushbuck came from all directions to investigate our tents and the spilled tomato sauce. I wanted to take pictures, but Joerg said I should just enjoy them and not worry about pictures and scaring them with a flash. I think he was right. One female came very close, tasting my shoes at one point, but wouldn't let any of the others near us. She just chased them away. The stars came out, we drank some warm beer (I wished it was hot), and talked and laughed about deep philosophical questions and burping and farting until the late hour of 8:00pm. You landsea-ers will appreciate that I showed Joerg how to garberate the gnocchi and then how to clean his bowl with beer. He liked the first one, but the warm tomato-y beer was too much. I actually quite liked it.
When it was too cold to sit there any more, we went to bed. Joerg instructed me that if I heard a lion or an elephant outside the tent, I was not to come out of it under any circumstances. I noticed his tent was much closer to the car (which he had insisted on locking), and that he had the key. But I was too happy to be scared. I crawled into my heavy sleeping bag with my wool blanket, and only got warm when I curled up and zipped my head under. I fell asleep to the sound of Joerg snoring in the distance and reedbuck walking around and licking my tent.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Mongoose Blessing
Ok, continuing on...
On Sunday we learned that the power was going to be out again while they repaired the exploded generator, but Cassandra, Nancy and I are all horsey people so Nancy took us to a horse show she had somehow heard about! I stupidly forgot my camera but after we drove through the weird deserted fairground roads with buildings of every color and shape, past the practicing polo teams, the horses and the riders pretty much looked exactly how they might in one of my old home videos. Despite the picture of a black man riding a horse in the flier, it was just a bunch of little blond white girls on cute ponies riding around and jumping over stuff. The white Kenyans there were a weird bunch. I assumed at first that they were all foreigners, but Nancy explained that they mostly had lived in Kenya since colonial times. It was like a new species...or culture at least. They were all blond and sun dried and spoke with a really old British accent that most modern Brits make fun of. They seemed to keep to themselves and from what I gathered, most of the riders had been coached by their moms. They were not the best looking or cleanest riders I have ever seen, but they were brave! One little girl who couldn't have been over the age of 4 placed 3rd in a 2.5 foot jumping class after her horse crashed through the third jump. They were both fine and it was pretty impressive considering the pony was doing it completely by himself. Other horses refused all over the place but these little kids kept flapping, kicking, and yelling until they got over all the jumps.
After the horse show, I went to Derek and Kashia's house for tea and also to learn how to take care of Basil the dalmation and the cat with no name while they are on vacation. The cat might have a name, but it was not included in the half our instructional tour of how to open all the doors and windows, how not to flood the bathroom while showering, and why I shouldn't use their semi-manual washing machine. Various neighbors were over as well with 8 or so kids all under age 6, all with South American fathers and/or Scandinavian mothers. I didn't have much to contribute to the conversation, but the cake was good.
The beginning of week 6 was noteworthy because I completed as much work in 2.5 days as I had in the first 2.5 weeks. Finally things are going smoothly and I have learned to be very efficient. I am looking forward to my meeting tomorrow with Phil to discuss what I will do next. We have also had a lot of seminars recently from visiting scientists who are in the area for various conferences. It is exciting to sit in on these really cutting edge high level presentations that have been published in the best scientific journals. Plus there is always tea and cookies.
I have also been making progress with my running. I have been a loyal member every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and I am now one of the faster members of our group. I even beat a few of the guys up the hill today! Recently the local government was persuaded by ILRI, after two years of negotiations, to move a nearby garbage dump (the one that was attracting all the Maribau storks). So, the storks are gone, the dump has been removed one truckload at a time, and most of the trash has been redistributed all along the road. This makes for a variety of sights and smells to entertain us on our runs, including 2 dead dogs (perhaps unrelated to the garbage transport), but not to be topped by the garbage fires at 20 foot intervals all the way home on Wednesday. Nothing like the smell and heat of burning rotten plastic to make you want to breathe deeply and run really hard. But it was nice to see people making an effort to clean up.
JJ got home yesterday night, bringing with him German cherries, chocolate, cheese, wine, sausage, fashion magazines, and every possible cosmetic product for dogs. He is preparing for the arrival of his 6 month old German Shorthair puppy Naddel in one week. We are all very excited. He packed everything in an old green suitcase of his parents which he then gave to the maid. He was not here when she was leaving to go home this afternoon, so she asked me to write a note giving her permission to carry it off ILRI property.
JJ's arrival also brought the ability to unlock and open the sliding glass door into the back yard. A day I have been dreaming about for weeks. As we sat eating cherries and drinking wine last night, I looked over and saw a skunk monkey coming towards us (I use this term for purely descriptive purposes, not to be confused with the urban dictionary's definition of a person who can shave his butt and walk backwards and no one would know the difference)! Ok, it was a white tailed mongoose but it was really cool and came about 2 feet from me. I even got some pictures (coming soon). It sniffed around, unimpressed with fresh cherries recently flown in from Germany, and then sauntered off. I'm taking the appearance of the white tailed mongoose as a sign that things will get more exciting in the weeks to come.
On Sunday we learned that the power was going to be out again while they repaired the exploded generator, but Cassandra, Nancy and I are all horsey people so Nancy took us to a horse show she had somehow heard about! I stupidly forgot my camera but after we drove through the weird deserted fairground roads with buildings of every color and shape, past the practicing polo teams, the horses and the riders pretty much looked exactly how they might in one of my old home videos. Despite the picture of a black man riding a horse in the flier, it was just a bunch of little blond white girls on cute ponies riding around and jumping over stuff. The white Kenyans there were a weird bunch. I assumed at first that they were all foreigners, but Nancy explained that they mostly had lived in Kenya since colonial times. It was like a new species...or culture at least. They were all blond and sun dried and spoke with a really old British accent that most modern Brits make fun of. They seemed to keep to themselves and from what I gathered, most of the riders had been coached by their moms. They were not the best looking or cleanest riders I have ever seen, but they were brave! One little girl who couldn't have been over the age of 4 placed 3rd in a 2.5 foot jumping class after her horse crashed through the third jump. They were both fine and it was pretty impressive considering the pony was doing it completely by himself. Other horses refused all over the place but these little kids kept flapping, kicking, and yelling until they got over all the jumps.
After the horse show, I went to Derek and Kashia's house for tea and also to learn how to take care of Basil the dalmation and the cat with no name while they are on vacation. The cat might have a name, but it was not included in the half our instructional tour of how to open all the doors and windows, how not to flood the bathroom while showering, and why I shouldn't use their semi-manual washing machine. Various neighbors were over as well with 8 or so kids all under age 6, all with South American fathers and/or Scandinavian mothers. I didn't have much to contribute to the conversation, but the cake was good.
The beginning of week 6 was noteworthy because I completed as much work in 2.5 days as I had in the first 2.5 weeks. Finally things are going smoothly and I have learned to be very efficient. I am looking forward to my meeting tomorrow with Phil to discuss what I will do next. We have also had a lot of seminars recently from visiting scientists who are in the area for various conferences. It is exciting to sit in on these really cutting edge high level presentations that have been published in the best scientific journals. Plus there is always tea and cookies.
I have also been making progress with my running. I have been a loyal member every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and I am now one of the faster members of our group. I even beat a few of the guys up the hill today! Recently the local government was persuaded by ILRI, after two years of negotiations, to move a nearby garbage dump (the one that was attracting all the Maribau storks). So, the storks are gone, the dump has been removed one truckload at a time, and most of the trash has been redistributed all along the road. This makes for a variety of sights and smells to entertain us on our runs, including 2 dead dogs (perhaps unrelated to the garbage transport), but not to be topped by the garbage fires at 20 foot intervals all the way home on Wednesday. Nothing like the smell and heat of burning rotten plastic to make you want to breathe deeply and run really hard. But it was nice to see people making an effort to clean up.
JJ got home yesterday night, bringing with him German cherries, chocolate, cheese, wine, sausage, fashion magazines, and every possible cosmetic product for dogs. He is preparing for the arrival of his 6 month old German Shorthair puppy Naddel in one week. We are all very excited. He packed everything in an old green suitcase of his parents which he then gave to the maid. He was not here when she was leaving to go home this afternoon, so she asked me to write a note giving her permission to carry it off ILRI property.
JJ's arrival also brought the ability to unlock and open the sliding glass door into the back yard. A day I have been dreaming about for weeks. As we sat eating cherries and drinking wine last night, I looked over and saw a skunk monkey coming towards us (I use this term for purely descriptive purposes, not to be confused with the urban dictionary's definition of a person who can shave his butt and walk backwards and no one would know the difference)! Ok, it was a white tailed mongoose but it was really cool and came about 2 feet from me. I even got some pictures (coming soon). It sniffed around, unimpressed with fresh cherries recently flown in from Germany, and then sauntered off. I'm taking the appearance of the white tailed mongoose as a sign that things will get more exciting in the weeks to come.
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