Aimless Wanderer

The people who named Kilimanjaro didn't beat around the bush when it came to the meaning of the name. No symbolism here, just, 'The Big Thing.' How appropriate is that? The summit, Uhuru Peak, is 5896m, which is pretty darn high. Add in the fact that it stands alone and towers 5km over the surrounding countryside, and it's easy to see why it was called 'The Big Thing.' We started out trek after a few recovery days in Arusha and a shuttle transfer to Moshi. We met with our guide and assistant guide the night before to talk about gear and to finalize when we were being picked up. Liam and I had decided to do the Lemosho Route, which is the longest one. Ours was an 8 day trek, starting near the Londorossi Gate, on ... read more

The vacation part of my African adventure have been on a week now, and I'm loving it. Liam arrived a little after midnight on the 24th, and it was unreal getting to see him again. We spent several minutes at the airport just grinning at each other. We stayed in Mombasa for 3 days to help Liam get over jet lag and to see the sights. Our hotel was right down the road from the old Portuguese stronghold, Fort Jesus, so we walked down to check it out. It was built in 1593 by the Portuguese, and it its long history it has also been held by the Arabs and the British. The fort was turned into a museum and national monument soon after Kenyan independence, so now people can go and look around it. We ... read more

For not having any nests the last 2 weeks have really flown by. I've kept busy with computer work and other activities and now I can't believe that my time in Bureni is over. On the Tuesday and Wednesday of the last week of November Charles and I went up to the town of Watamu, about an hour north of us, to stay at the turtle center there and learn about the program they're running. The Watamu Turtle Watch, or Local Ocean Trust, has been operating for around 10 years, and they have a large information center, a house for volunteers, and a rehabilitation center for injured turtles. At the moment there are 4 turtles at the center, ranging in age from probably under 2 years to 5 years. Some of the injuries include damage from ... read more

I've been in Kenya now for almost 4 months, nad in Vipingo for 3 weeks, and there is something that happens a lot that continues to baffle me. It is the reaction of the children when they see me. Some are amusing, and other are a little on the annoying side. A time when it's amusing is when I'm standing or sitting somewhere, a child sees me, and they burst into tears. I think that they've never seen a white person before, and the sight of pale skin terrifies them. Another thing that happens a lot is I'll be walking somewhere, and a kid will see me and yell out 'how are you?' This seems to be a token phrase for Kenyan children. This situation is odd to me at times because I will be walking ... read more

Well, I found out where I will be spending the next three months. It's a place called Vipingo, and it's an hour north of Mombasa. It's a more conservation oriented place, versus more aimed at tourism. They have had 130 turtle nests since January, and there are 8 currently on the beach. I'll be living with a homestay family, which is exciting. I'll also have access to a computer and the internet so I can do research, which I will definitely be doing. I'm hopefully going to be looking into building a hatchery, giving presentations on the different types of marine life seen in the area, and making up forms to be able to record them. That will probably take up a lot of my time during the expo, and I may spend a few weeks ... read more