The traditional "this is my room" photo
... and the "this is the view out my window" snap...I finally know where I am when I wake up yet I will be leaving in a few weeks...
Good to be Back
1 day ago
Sunday, July 26, 2009
In my room...
The traditional "this is my room" photo... and the "this is the view out my window" snap...I finally know where I am when I wake up yet I will be leaving in a few weeks...
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Mombasa
Mombasa has the regions only natural deep sea ports.
The famous Mombasa tusks (don't worry, they are fake, those would be awfully large elephants!)
Street-side sellers. Bought some yummy casava chips seasoned with chili and fresh lime.
Nakumatt is the local Target/Walmart like shopping center chain throughout Kenya. I am very happy to see a locally owned chain, unlike other countries which have either the American Walmart or the French Carrefour. I took this shot, because I enjoyed the minimalistic advertizing. Nakumatt = Variety. Enough said :)
Took this one for Dad. Masses of electric and telephone wires are not unusual in African cities.
Mombasa apartment living.
You can't just take pictures of the pretty stuff... this stuff is just as common.
Local adverts.
This is the "new" name of the main drag in Mombasa.
African ingenuity.
Fort Jesus is so named because the layout of the fort is literally in the shape of Jesus.
Portuguese soldiers made these wall paintings no doubt while Fort Jesus was under seige (for nearly 3 years). Not surprisingly the focus of their wall painting was ships at sea and men with puffy pants (Portuguese) fighting with Arabs.Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tiger Woods
Matatus are minivans that are used like buses and are the primary form of public transportation. They drive fast and crazy, are crammed full of people and are usually named (as are some tuk tuks, buses, and taxis). On a recent road trip I wrote down the names of all the matatus we passed... just for fun... it's a great Africa road trip game :) These are the names I wrote down:- Dear Mama
- Magic Storm
- Pirates
- NICE
- Mum Special
- Sound Design
- Twisted
- Redeemer
- Missed Call
- Hot Dollar "In God We Trust"
- Glory to God
- Good Hope
- LandLine
- X-large XXL
- Promise II
- Gods Will
- God is Real
- Reliable
- More Fire
- Papa Nasty
Also, along the way I saw a giant advert that said "Tuskers makes us equal". Tuskers is the local beer and it is an interesting statement considering the tribalism that plagues Kenya... the idea that somehow alcohol could solve issues of real and perceived inequality... sad.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Weekend with Maneaters
Many years ago I was a fan of the movie Ghost and the Darkness a true story about two maneating lions that killed more than 150 people in Tsavo, Kenya in 1898 during the construction of the Uganda-Mombasa Railway.
Lt. Colonel Patterson (played by Val Kilmer and probably a good part of the reason I was attracted to the film at the time) eventually hunted and killed the lions and wrote a book which 100 years later was turned into a movie. He made rugs out of those lions but after his death the rugs were turned back into lions and are now housed in the Chicago field museum where I have visited them several times. The other part of the attraction to the movie was my fascination with Africa coupled with animal behavior. Now, more than 15 years later, I find myself in Tsavo... hunting maneaters. These are my photos.
Camping on lake Jupe in the southern part of Tsavo near the border with Tanzania. So near that my phone lost charge by bouncing back and forth, "Welcome to Tanzania", "Welcome to Kenya", "Welcome to Tanzania"...
This was the bull elephant that hung out near our campsite. This is the view from my tent.
Why did the elephants cross the road?
Hitchin' a ride.
Tsavo landscapes.
At the watering hole.
The animals in Tsavo were very lazy, we saw countless giraffes and a whole herd of elephants lying down. Lying down is rare for animals of this size as their hearts can't handle too much down time....besides, weren't they worried about the maneaters?
The famous Kingfisher.
Click on this one to see up close. It is gorgeous.
Usually what I look forward to most about camping is falling asleep to the sounds of crickets and waking to the sounds of birds. In Tsavo, these were the creatures I fell asleep to sounds of, and woke up to at 2am and 3am and 4am and 5am. Totally worth it though, it is a rare thing to be sung to by a choir of belching, bleating hippos!
The stealthy hippo.
Crocs!
The circle of life.
One car brokedown, and this was the local (not so local really, it took 5 hours for them to arrive) AAA that came to either fix or tow. 5 hours later they fixed it but we ended up leaving one car and half the group behind.
There were countless other animals, but honestly, I got tired of editing my photos so I will leave it at this... the only thing though...
after all that... no maneaters.
Next time.
Lt. Colonel Patterson (played by Val Kilmer and probably a good part of the reason I was attracted to the film at the time) eventually hunted and killed the lions and wrote a book which 100 years later was turned into a movie. He made rugs out of those lions but after his death the rugs were turned back into lions and are now housed in the Chicago field museum where I have visited them several times. The other part of the attraction to the movie was my fascination with Africa coupled with animal behavior. Now, more than 15 years later, I find myself in Tsavo... hunting maneaters. These are my photos.
Camping on lake Jupe in the southern part of Tsavo near the border with Tanzania. So near that my phone lost charge by bouncing back and forth, "Welcome to Tanzania", "Welcome to Kenya", "Welcome to Tanzania"...
This was the bull elephant that hung out near our campsite. This is the view from my tent.
Why did the elephants cross the road?
Hitchin' a ride.
Tsavo landscapes.
At the watering hole.
The animals in Tsavo were very lazy, we saw countless giraffes and a whole herd of elephants lying down. Lying down is rare for animals of this size as their hearts can't handle too much down time....besides, weren't they worried about the maneaters?
The famous Kingfisher.
Click on this one to see up close. It is gorgeous.
Usually what I look forward to most about camping is falling asleep to the sounds of crickets and waking to the sounds of birds. In Tsavo, these were the creatures I fell asleep to sounds of, and woke up to at 2am and 3am and 4am and 5am. Totally worth it though, it is a rare thing to be sung to by a choir of belching, bleating hippos!
The stealthy hippo.
Crocs!
The circle of life.
One car brokedown, and this was the local (not so local really, it took 5 hours for them to arrive) AAA that came to either fix or tow. 5 hours later they fixed it but we ended up leaving one car and half the group behind.There were countless other animals, but honestly, I got tired of editing my photos so I will leave it at this... the only thing though...
after all that... no maneaters.
Next time.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Karibu Kenya
Between the grogginess of jetlag, the high altitude (mile high), and that funny deja vu feeling of living long-term in a hotel room again, I find myself waking, not knowing what country I am in. My head runs through possible options, Switzerland or perhaps somewhere else in Europe (no the bed it too big), India (no, I smell no spices and I am not sweating), Indonesia (no, I hear no call to prayer and my hotel room costs too much for too little). Until my mind finally settles on the idea that I am back in Africa.
It has been 8 years since I have been in Africa and I have finally returned. I wondered what I would recognize about it, having loved it so much but been away for so long. Oddly enough it was the smell that I recognized the most. The combined smell of burning garbage and wood being pre-burned to be sold for cooking charcoal. I've lived many other places where garbage is burned on the streets and I am learning that each place's burning garbage has a particular smell. So in some odd way, we are what we throw out, our garbage identifies us, just ask an archaeologist...
Nairobi is a sprawling city high up in the hills, though it has been only a few days I find myself feeling a bit isolated going from hotel to (outrageously expensive taxi) to office back to taxi then to hotel. I've been out once or twice other than this but don't feel like I am really getting a feel for the city yet, not to mention I have been warned severely about security issues (robbery, theft, carjacking) so I haven't made strong efforts to get out yet until I get a better lay of the land. However, these are the words I would use to describe Nairobi thus far: power cuts, water cuts, traffic, cheerful people, slowness, traffic, inefficiency (what is efficiency anyhow?), traffic, smiling people, chilly, mosquito free, gridlock traffic, thin air, and oh, did I mention the traffic?
It is odd and like riding a bicycle as some told me it might be but I do remember how to speak/understand Swahili better than I thought. Though I am not speaking it, I really enjoy knowing what people are saying about me :) I think I will do a little more study before I really get out there and speak it again.
So, having not been out much yet, this is all you get. A photo from my hotel room window. It will get more interesting. I have some trips to the field planned already so there will be more to come :)
It has been 8 years since I have been in Africa and I have finally returned. I wondered what I would recognize about it, having loved it so much but been away for so long. Oddly enough it was the smell that I recognized the most. The combined smell of burning garbage and wood being pre-burned to be sold for cooking charcoal. I've lived many other places where garbage is burned on the streets and I am learning that each place's burning garbage has a particular smell. So in some odd way, we are what we throw out, our garbage identifies us, just ask an archaeologist...
Nairobi is a sprawling city high up in the hills, though it has been only a few days I find myself feeling a bit isolated going from hotel to (outrageously expensive taxi) to office back to taxi then to hotel. I've been out once or twice other than this but don't feel like I am really getting a feel for the city yet, not to mention I have been warned severely about security issues (robbery, theft, carjacking) so I haven't made strong efforts to get out yet until I get a better lay of the land. However, these are the words I would use to describe Nairobi thus far: power cuts, water cuts, traffic, cheerful people, slowness, traffic, inefficiency (what is efficiency anyhow?), traffic, smiling people, chilly, mosquito free, gridlock traffic, thin air, and oh, did I mention the traffic?
It is odd and like riding a bicycle as some told me it might be but I do remember how to speak/understand Swahili better than I thought. Though I am not speaking it, I really enjoy knowing what people are saying about me :) I think I will do a little more study before I really get out there and speak it again.
So, having not been out much yet, this is all you get. A photo from my hotel room window. It will get more interesting. I have some trips to the field planned already so there will be more to come :)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Stopover in Amsterdam
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
View from my hotel window
Dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant (apparently the Dutch aren't known for their own cuisine but rather for importing from around the world). Took a picture of the water because it was imported from Italy and I figured it was going to cost us, might as well get more mileage out of the water :)
Evening view of Amsterdam, notice the bicycles, if you are not careful walking the streets of AMS you may get run over by one of these... in Amsterdam bicycles rule the road (and the sidewalk).
And the best part of Amsterdam... reuniting with friends.
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