wpnomad
wpnomad Joined: July 2nd 2009
Logged in: January 7th 2010
Logged in: January 7th 2010
Travel Blog Posts
Hi everyone! I guess it’s been a while since I posted… I’ve been in the field the last several days where I got to chase a bunch of elephants (yay!), and also- just as fun, to take all my field assistants into the park, just as a thank you for all their hard work. These are the field assistants who collect data on elephant raids in the villages where they each live- one in particular is from a very remote village that is some distance from the park, but still gets elephant raids. Everyone was very happy for the chance to get to go into the park, but a couple of the guys just seemed down right inspired by it! The guy from the very remote village was so excited.. telling me that though he collects ... read more
Hi everyone, First I have to say, I have the best field assistant on Earth. I am just so happy to have such a trustworthy, hard working guy looking after things out here! I am back in the field and have a little portable modem with me this time, so I can access the internet (if briefly), which is very exciting and luxurious! I’ve spent the morning meeting with field assistants who are supervised by the superstar mentioned above, each of whom collects data on elephant raids in their own village.. it seems people are having even more problems this year, with both elephants and rainfall, which came very late and was EXTREMELY low.. when it should rain nearly everyday for weeks/months, it only rained a total of 5 days over the entire rainy season. For ... read more
Ahhh, this country. It feels like so many things have happened since I last posted, I don’t know where to start! Lots of ups and downs… I’ll start with what’s freshest in my mind at the moment, and which I will warn you is very sad- at least it was for me. On the way back from the field 2 days ago we stopped by a village where a field assistant I worked with last year lives (one fun piece of news- she named her daughter’s middle name after me!!! I am feeling very honored and excited about this). The man I’m working with this year had bought some chickens from her, so we stopped by to pick them up. While we were there, I spotted a little puppy splayed out in the dirt all by ... read more
Hi everyone! Just want to let those of you who worry know that I'm heading into the field tomorrow morning and am hoping to stay out there for at least a week, so it will be that long before I post again. I'm so excited to get back out there! I'll be staying at the camp where I stayed last year, and where they have evidentally left my tent all set up right next to the river, and still refer to it as "Sarah's place" :). This makes me feel quite special! :) Will be wonderful to be out in the great wide open, watching elephants and living simply... Nice to be back in Iringa too.. people just work so HARD here- they are aiming to repair parts of the main road that runs through town, ... read more
It was about a 10 and 1/2 hour bus ride from Arusha to get to Dar es Salaam- I got in last night around 7pm. First thing is always to find a taxi to take me from the bus stand to a hotel. There is always a throng of waving taxi drivers waiting to catch you as you get off the bus, and I usually just choose the first one I see, so that the harrassement will stop asap! So after I did this, I did my usual negotiating for price- where we both acted incredulous at the other's absurdly high/low offer, as the case may be, until we finally agreed on a price. I got the feeling that he wasn't really sure where the hotel was, which turned out to be the case because as ... read more
Hi everyone! Quick update- I'm in Arusha, which is the northern most town of any size in Tanzania- I've managed to make contact with the people I need to in order to get permission to carry elephant poop out of the country (quite the political process)... so that is very good news and a huge load off my shoulders... I wasn't totally sure how that would go until I got here. So I'm off to Dar es Salaam tomorrow morning.. a long bus ride, but I'm expecting a hot shower at the end, so it will be worth it! Then if I can muster the enthusiasm for another long bus ride the next day, I'll be in Iringa by Friday- I can't WAIT to be there, and especially to get into the bush, and into the ... read more
Hmm, I feel some pressure to make this remotely interesting.. but all I really have to say at the moment is that I've made it safely to Nairobi, and now I'm ready to get out of here! Not that there's anything wrong with the city- I have all the best spots for good Indian food and coffee, etc scoped out.. but I'm SO ready to be in the field!! I got my first "mama" taxi driver EVER to take me from the airport- she let me know I was "very lucky", as she is 1 of only 4 female taxi drivers in her company of 200... she let me practice my swahili with her, which we both found hilarious- mostly her :) ... people here are always ready to laugh and have a good time, which ... read more
