Cooking adventure went acceptably (it was edible). However, couldn't really taste the ginger... or the garlic... and I think I used too much soy sauce. Hopefully will improve next time.

Today, I dug holes for fence posts, cleared out some more of an old fence, and shoveled out the chicken barn. Fucking satisfied.

Food!

Let's talk about food. A significant motivation for going WWOOFing was that I imagined I would be eating fresh, delicious, wholesome, healthy food at these organic farms. In my head, these meals were pretty expansive; lots of spices and dishes. While in reality, the food that I've had so far has been pretty simple, it has definitely fulfilled all those other expectations. The salads, as mentioned previously, couldn't get much fresher or more local. And the food itself is fresh from the market we went to on Saturday (if not from this farm itself), and, though simple, really satisfying. Also, they make their own bread here, which I have now resolved to start doing (key ingredient is spelt in addition to wheat flour). A notable exception to the simpleness is the piece of apple and berry crumble that Wolfgang bought for me at the market, from their preferred baker. I was going to say that it was classic French baking, but the guy we bought it from is actually German. Whatever, it was great.

I think I'm going to cook tomorrow- hopefully it won't be disastrous. I won't say "I can't imagine it will be" so I don't jinx myself, but still, I'm going to fry up some tofu with a few spices. This is something I can (should be able) to do.

Now, let's talk briefly about barbed wire fences. They are extremely frustrating to take down (rolling up a line of barbed wire is annoying, as it gets caught on everything, including but not limited to gloves and shirts). However, putting up barbed wire fences is kind of fun. (Not much to it, as the posts were already in the ground, but still, compared to taking down the other fence, much more enjoyable).

Also, it's really pretty here. (I was going to illustrate that sentence with a picture I took today, but I'm too tired to upload it to the computer and give it the necessary tweakings to put it online. Next time.)

La Lombarde Ouest

Whew. So, I made it through my first 24 hours as a real WWOOFer. It's been emotional.

Got in last night, train was relatively on time. Recognized Wolfgang from a couple of pics I had seen of the farm and the people; I'm sure he had no trouble picking out me from the 4 other French people (only one of whom was male, and did not have a large camping backpack or hoodie). He's Austrian, and thus speaks English and German in addition to French; however, we've mostly been conversing in French. In the fading light as we drove from the train station to his house/ the farm, it was clear that this was a pretty middle-of-nowhere area; not much more than vineyards around. We drove through the tiny village of St Vivien (where La Lombarde is technically located); I may have to go explore that on a day off. The house/ farm itself is a house, a barn, several acres (18 hectares= how many acres?) 12 chickens, 2 donkeys, 3 cats, a greenhouse, and various fruit and nut trees. He took me on a bit of a tour around the property before it got dark (including an artifically-dug pond with lots of frogs and frog eggs around the edge; I'm listening to a lovely chorus of frogs (unidentified as of yet) as I sit in my room right now).

I then got to meet his wife Ingrid, who left this morning for a 6-day meditation retreat in Switzerland (they are both very into meditation; Wolfgang has apparently been doing so for 30 years). She's nice (they're both nice) but much more talkative than he is. Dinner consisted of a thick slice of home-made bread with some local, organic goat's cheese (not a problem; as I was kind of anxious, I didn't have much of an appetite). Small talk, practicalities, then bed. I discovered that I am addicted to screen-based entertainment; no WiFi available, so I watched part of a movie I had on my flash drive, and felt much better/ less anxious. Hooray for escapism.

Today was the really interesting part. Got up to see the sun just coming over the nearby ridge and illuminating the prayer flags they have strung up in front of the house; beautiful. Breakfast = toast (still the home-made bread) with the same cheese; however, other options appear to be available. Then- to work! This consisted mostly of filling a wheelbarrow with cut pine branches and bringing them to the woodchipper, then shoveling the newly-created mulch into either aforementioned wheelbarrow or into the back of the tractor's small trailer. During the morning, I went through a variety of emotions; in descending order of magnitude: anxiety about my shoulder and whether I would be able to actually do farm work; general anxiety at being in a new place, doing new things; excitement at actually being on a farm, doing field work; sudden, intense pleasure at a random moment while feeding a branch into the chopper; anxiety at having to cook lunch for us tomorrow. Lunch is the main meal here, so we stopped and I prepared the salad (following Wolfgang's instructions) as he cooked the meal. My anxiety about my cooking abilities dissipated somewhat when the meal was a simple affair of rice, fried tofu slices, and the salad, plus some steamed brussel sprouts. Tofu was so-so, the salad was quite fresh (I saw him go cut it from the greenhouse while I was working) but kind of bitter, and the brussel sprouts were delicious. But the best part was just eating outside in the beautiful day, watching the birds, the cats, and the chickens. Yes, this is why I'm in France working on farms.

Felt much less anxious in the PM (work started back up at 3 PM after a nice siesta). Shoulder seemed to be holding up acceptably, and I was feeling more comfortable here. At about 5:30, he told me I could stop working, saying I had worked enough today (I am supposed to work about 5 hours per day; at that point I was probably at around 5.5-6 hours. But I decided to finish the pile of branches next to the chipper. I realized that had he not told me I could stop working, I would have ended up doing the same amount of work, but would have felt much less good about it; it seemed to be the fact that I was choosing to continue working that made the difference.

By the evening, after a shower, I was feeling great. As long as my shoulder feels OK tomorrow, I think I'm good to go. Dinner is "self-serve" (like breakfast); we each made some fried eggs, had the rest of the salad, and some bread. I feel as though I am eating less food than I normally do; however, I don't feel like I'm going hungry. Maybe I usually eat more food than I need.

Tomorrow is market day (they don't sell things, but we will go buy things). Coming on a Thursday evening was probably a smart move. Also, one of the cats is sitting on the windowsill outside my window and staring at me/ the bugs around the window.

To the farm!

I'm on a TGV right now, headed towards my first farm. The past few days at Sam's have been mostly good; we spent an afternoon in Tours, a beautiful city with a cathedral, a church, and random other cool-looking buildings. Also the Loire runs through it. Sam spent a few weeks there before his semester abroad in Paris, so he knew his way around a bit. I spent a day on my own while Sam was working; didn't do too much of import, but I talked to a few French people while buying various foodstuffs/ mailing a postcard, so I felt relatively accomplished.

One not-so-great thing was that while playing handball (the European version, a bit like a combination of basketball and soccer), I managed to hurt my (right) shoulder while taking a shot. I don't think it's anything too serious, but the shoulder's been sore and a bit swollen since then. I'm hoping I will still be able to perform my necessary farm duties, but I will probably let the farmer(s) know that I probably shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting for the first few days.

My broken body aside, I'm quite excited to be on my way to the farm. This is something that I've been planning to do for years. I'm also realizing that this doesn't feel like a "trip" as the other trips this year (Israel, Kenya) have. I'm in Europe for 4 months, so there's much less urgency to see/ do things; I assume I'll have th etime to do and see the things I want to. It's also quite different in that there will be things expected of me while on the farms, whereas in Israel and Kenya (and, indeed, so far in France) there's been someone who is taking point on everything; all I have to do is follow along.

My French is occasionally decent, more often not so great. I get flustered and forget simple vocab/ easy constructions pretty easily. Since I also get flustered relatively easily when talking to strangers in English, this shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Still, I expect that my French will eventually pick up, though only if I actually start speaking French more often (spoke mostly English with Sam). Of the two farmers, I know one of them is German; I'm hoping the other is French, though I know they both speak English, so I will have to have some force of will and make myself speak French with them. Maybe for my next farm I will choose one where they only speak French.

Time for some random thoughts.

There's a lot of graffiti in France. A lot of it is really good, artistically, and it generally seems to be the case that people appreciate this and don't take it down. And sometimes there are some nice messages: just passed under a bridge where someone had spraypainted "SExISM = FACHISM" [sic].

Some notes for potential future WWOOFERs: pack lighter than you think you will need to. If possible, bring one camping backpack with extra room in it. Don't pack it to the brim, and DON'T bring more than one very small other bag.

Vendôme

Vendôme is a pretty cool place.

I've mostly been hanging out with Sam's friends, a few French guys and girls around our age (plus a 30-year-old English woman) who live near him. Friendly group, they seem to enjoy having me around and occasionally trying out their English on me. I'm realizing my French is not nearly as good as I thought it would be. I have a pretty easy time following conversations with 1 or 2 other people, but when it gets to be a larger group, it's pretty tough for me to keep track of everything going on, plus the speed of speech tends to increase, as does the amount of slang used. But still, some things are coming back to me; I expect to significantly improve my French during the months I am here.

Sam and I biked through a bit of Vendôme today. It's a beautiful small-ish (~20,000 inhabitants) French town, with an abandoned castle on a hill, a beautiful abbey with amazing carvings that you just sort of come upon suddenly, as well as a church with a steeple that's illuminated at night. Haven't actually gone in to any of these yet, but that's the plan for tomorrow. We drove around on Saturday to a few of the castles/ manors in the area (we're on the very edge of the Loire Valley, so there are a good number of "chateaux" around).

Also been drinking a good deal of pastis, another anise liquor that you add water to (it turns milky white when you do so). Delish.

My next adventure begins

At the moment, I am sitting against a wall in the corner of Gare Montparnasse, a train station in the middle (more or less) of Paris. I left my house yesterday at 2 pm (EST) with Deidra, made it (eventually, despite some train troubles) to 125th St Station in New York, where Mwanzaa's parents picked us up (Deidra lives near JFK).
Flight over was relatively uneventful; I was in a swanky new A380. Since my last 2 trips each required multiple long flights, this jaunt over to Europe seemed downright quick.

(If you're just joining us, quick rundown: I'll be in France and Europe for about 4 months, mostly WWOOFing (World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), working for room and board at various places around France, and occasionally taking trips to visit my boyfriend in Berlin, other people I know in other places in Europe, and the odd ultimate tourney with the team I played with in Paris).

I love Paris. I don't have time to go walk around (plus I have my bags, which, despite my best efforts, are pretty bulky), but it's nice to be back after living here for a semester junior year. It still feels pretty familiar; I may have to spend a week or so here (not farming, of course...)

A dilemma while packing was what kind of clothes to bring. Since I'll be mostly on farms, I opted for mostly practical clothes (synthetic t-shirts, hiking pants, etc.) BUt I do hate being in Paris and having all these well-dressed people around, and knowing that I could easily fit in if I had brought other clothes. But again, I overpacked as it is, so that wasn't really an option.

Plan for today: Get to Sam's place in Vendome, hang out, probably fall asleep early. I'll be visiting Sam for a few days, and then I'm off to my first farm (somewhere in Dordogne) on Thursday!

Side note: Apparent recurring theme: my watch band breaking on the first day of a trip. Happened in Africa (repaired it); happened today on the RER into Paris (different part of the watch band). Tant pis.

Part 2
I'm finally at Sam's place. This seemed like it would not be a big deal: 40-minute TGV ride from Paris to Vendome. What I didn't count on was the massive TGV delays due to some sort of "technical accident," such that we sat on the train in Paris for about an hour and a half (getting updates every 20 minutes or so saying we would be departing in "a few minutes." It got to the point where we would all laugh every time they said this; it was actually a kind of nice, collective, good-natured resignation to the fact that we were going to be quite late). We had to stop a few times on the track for unclear reasons, but the worst was when they announced that we were approaching Vendome, and then the train came to a stop (NOT at the station); we found out there was some unclear issue, and we were again stopped on the tracks for about 15 minutes. Finally, I got to the station to find out that the bus I was supposed to take to Sam's wouldn't get there for an hour. Fortunately, Sam got his friend to drive me (only 10-15 mins), and now I am here, showered, somehow a bit awake (lots of napping on the train), and ready to go!

Masai and Herd

Masai and Herd a photo by GeoffSJG on Flickr.

Nom Nom

Nom Nom a photo by GeoffSJG on Flickr.

Boing

Boing a photo by GeoffSJG on Flickr.

Cheetah Wide

Cheetah3 a photo by GeoffSJG on Flickr.

Sunrise Hyena

Sunrise Hyena a photo by GeoffSJG on Flickr.

Panning!

Panning! a photo by GeoffSJG on Flickr.

Lick

Lick a photo by GeoffSJG on Flickr.

Flop

Flop a photo by GeoffSJG on Flickr.

Lion (1 of many)

Lion a photo by GeoffSJG on Flickr.

Young Lion

Young Lion a photo by GeoffSJG on Flickr.

Hasn't got his full mane yet, but he's got the "look" down!

At last, some images

I'll be putting up some select images from these, obviously. But this should give a good sense of what we saw. Special thanks to Heather for the music selection and general aesthetic suggestions.

Kenya in 3700 Photos from Geoff Giller on Vimeo.

Reflections

Flights back were relatively smooth and uneventful. Had some of the best airplane food I've had on the Air Kenya flight to Amsterdam (found a chunk of real cinnamon in the lentils!); ended up with my own 3 seats of an exit row on the KLM Dutch Royal flight from Amsterdam to JFK, where I watched The King's Speech (solid, but not amazing in my opinion) and Inception (again) (dozing off during Inception does indeed make for weird, brief dreams).

When I got to JFK, I realized that my American phone was totally dead. I had failed (rather, decided) not to bring my charger with me because I figured my phone would be off while in Kenya, so it would have a charge when I returned. Wrong, and the charging cord weighs almost nothing- lesson learned. After a call home via payphone to try (unsuccessfully) to get Mwanzaa's parents' phone numbers (they were picking me up from the airport), I decided to check outside at the pick-up area; thankfully, Mwanzaa's dad was indeed there. Spent last night at their house, where I feel pretty familiar/ comfortable by now (even without Mwanzaa there); now, on a train back to CT.

So I figure this is a good time to reflect on the trip. Unquestionably, it was one of the most incredible places I've been. The Masai Mara is probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited; each day we saw something amazing and new. And being there not on safari, but with people doing real research, made it that much more meaningful. I know that if I had been there on safari, staying in a lodge, it would have been great, but the fact that we could stay in one place for an hour to watch hyenas interact instead of feeling the need to drive elsewhere in order to add to the tally of animals seen meant that I really got a feel for how these animals behave in the wild. This also meant that I could take different kinds of pictures of the same scene, and left me the leeway to experiment with framing, exposure, etc. that I don't think I would have had otherwise. And, since we were in a research vehicle, we were allowed to go off-road whereas safari drivers aren't permitted to do so; this let us get much closer to the animals. And the hyenas were familiar enough with the research cars that they would sometimes come right up to it.

As for the pictures themselves, I of course have not yet had a chance to look at them on the computer, but I definitely think I got some good ones. A lot of them are "portrait-style," meaning it's mostly the animal's face or body without much in the way of environment. I also got some wide-angle shots of lions and hyenas, but what I think I lacked was a mid-range zoom lens (such as my 24-70mm lens); most of the time, I had my 300mm (super telephoto) and my 17-40mm (wide-angle), but not much in between (I also had my 70-200mm lens out some, but still, it would have been nice to fill the 40mm to 70mm gap). But I expect to be quite pleased with the results. Unfortunately, I will likely not have enough time before my departure for France in 8 days (!) to go through all 5,000 or so pictures (final tally coming soon), but I will definitely get a few up online.

Out of the Mara... for now

Today, we drive back to Nairobi. Skeist's flight leaves at 11:30 pm; mine leaves the following (Tuesday) morning at 8:15. But, of course, the trip doesn't go smoothly. We leave camp at 10 am after a brief drive around (Meg sleeps in, so it's just a drive to see animals, not do obs), which is what time we wanted to do so. At the gate to the entrance/ exit of this part of the Mara (it's managed by a different group than the part Talek camp is in), one of the rangers asks if we can give him a ride to Narok (about 5 hours away; he actually ends up going with us all the way to Nairobi). We cram in to the back; it gets a little roomier after we drop Brian off back at Talek camp. After another brief goodbye to Joseph, Benson, and Joseph's daughter Gloria (who was pretty shy/ afraid of us when we first arrived, but had progressed to playing games with us and giving us high-fives by the last day). And we're off!

That is, until our first flat tire, about an hour outside of camp. For some reason, the car we're in now seems to get lots of flat tires. Possibly because they keep getting the tires repaired and they're really old. In any case, Tracy is more than proficient in the exquisite art of changing tires. Having not done so before, I am eager to help/ learn to do so as well. Basically, it involves a lot of lying on the ground, ratcheting, and heavy lifting. But we succeed in getting the spare on (as 3 Maasai men watch us and comment). We stop after about 45 minutes to get the flat repaired, in the (likely) event of another flat tire. That takes about 20-30 minutes, and we're off again. We stop several more times to tie the tarp down that's covering our things in the back, as well as to buy samosas at a gas station we stopped at on the way up as well (and where Tracy stops every time she makes this drive). I'd forgotten during the week in the Mara how crazy driving around Nairobi is. Rules are few and flexible. But finally we make it to the mall near the cottage, where we've decided to have a drink, get some food, and relax for an hour before we leave for the airport to drop off Skeist. I hadn't really noticed how dirty I was (being in the bush can do that, I guess) until we were back in a city where everyone was wearing normal clothes, and I had my dirty field pants, a grimy t-shirt, and large amounts of dirt under my fingernails. Whatevs.

At 8:15, we go back to the truck to drive to the airport. But what's this? The spare tire that we put on is now flat? Baffling. It must have been a slow leak, because we hadn't noticed it on the drive. Good thing we got that other tire repaired. Fortunately, now I was familiar with how to change a tire too, and Tracy knew exactly where to put the jack for this car, so we got the tire changed (with the help of a friendly mall parking lot security guard) in about 15 minutes, and made it to the airport with plenty of time.

Once we had seen Skeist off, Tracy and I drove back to the cottage. Both of us would have loved nothing more than to sleep for about 10 hours, but such was not to be. She had to finish accounting before I brought the receipts back to the USA to send to the head of her project; each sheet of receipts also had to be photographed (usually we photocopy them, but we didn't have time) in case the originals got lost along the way. Next I had to re-pack my bags. But the best part was taking a shower again (there is no running water at the camps). I knew it was going to feel good, but I was unprepared for how amazing it feels to have a hot shower after a week of cold bucket baths.

Finally, we head to bed around 1, with our alarms set for 4:30 the next morning.

Now it is that morning (I am writing this while waiting for my flight from Nairobi to Amsterdam; afterwards, on to New York!) Fortunately, no problems getting out the door and to the airport this morning. Fingers crossed for the flights and for my bags getting to New York with me as well.

Serena

Though this has likely been the case earlier this week, it's an interesting feeling to know for a certainty that somewhere nearby in the darkness is a large, sharp-toothed carnivore that could kill and eat you if it really wanted to.

We've made it to Serena camp, which was of course not a sure thing. After morning obs (during which we again saw about 30 hyenas traveling together, though this time less excitedly and without a clear purpose), we struggled to get one of the cars working. Both cars need to be working so that we can go to Nairobi while Brian stays at Talek to keep performing obs. Various contingency plans are formed while we finish up inventory, packing, saying goodbye to Joseph and Benson (the cooks/ assistants) and Joseph's daughter Gloria, etc. Brian drives the car (that they manage to start by towing) to the mechanic 30 minutes away, only to remember that it is Sunday and he is not there. Eventually, we come up with a plan whereby Tracy, Skeist and I bring our stuff, pick up Brian (leaving the car there to get fixed), and drive to Serena.

The drive is beautiful; leaving the border of the Maasai lands and the lodges relatively near Talek camp makes us feel even more isolated. There is some rainfall in the distance; we see a lone bull elephant, a crowned something (crane?) which I have only seen in zoos, and eventually make it to Serena.

Serena camp has a totally different feel from Talek camp. It's only 3 years old, compared to Talek's 22 years, which explains why all the tents seem nice and new. But the layout is also different; it's on a bit of a hill, overlooking a valley through some trees. We wanted to make it there in time for evening obs, but didn't quite succeed; instead, we left camp around 6 with Meg (the research assistant at Serena). Tracy, Brian, and I were in the back in benches that faced each other; we had a bit of a party. Meg took us to the hyena dens of one of the clans she had been studying. We had yet to see any hyena cubs, as the dens of Tracy's clans were either inaccessible, hidden, or in an unknown location. I could describe how adorable they are, but the hundreds of pictures I took will help. They basically act like puppies, running around, tussling with each other, and curiously approaching our car (one of them came up, then decided to explore underneath the car). It was hard to resist jumping out and petting them.

Just to say we did, Brian, Tracy and I tossed a disc for about a minute; we eventually headed back to camp when it got too dark. Meg's cooks/ camp assistants are as good cooks as those at Tracy's camp, so the food was delicious.

Normally this is when I would explain how tired I am, but since I'm actually writing this the day after Serena, there is more. The sharp-toothed carnivore to which I referred was a leopard; there is apparently one that lives around Serena camp. I awoke sometime in the early morning hours to hear a sound that sounded like a combination of a car trying to start and wood being sawed (I will try to find a sound clip online). This is called "chuffing," and it's the sound the leopard makes (I'm unclear why). I laid in my very thin-walled tent, enjoying the sound of this giant cat somewhere nearby. So we never saw a leopard (in the wild), but at least we heard one. (One of the camp assistants confirmed that there had been one around that night; I had thought that it was a leopard based on Meg's description of their chuffing, but was glad to have it confirmed).

Last full day in Talek(!)

What a morning.

Not a great start: got bitten a few times by the seyafu (sp?), ants that form these cool lines from location to location, but if you step in the line, they will swarm up your leg and bite you a lot. Fortunately I only got 2 or 3 bites, and they're painful, but brief- once you brush the ant off, the pain goes away. (There are apparently also the warrior ants, bigger with much larger mandibles, which are the same species but a different "caste" and whose bites are much worse).

However, as soon as we got out to West for obs, it was clear something was going down. The first 2 hyenas we saw were running together faster than we've seen any others run, and very steadily: they clearly had a destination in mind. As we followed those, more joined, slowing down but still clearly with a place to be. Suddenly, about 15 of them appeared, and all were clearly excited; their tails were up (called "bristle-tailing") and they were all loping rather quickly. We got to hear one give the "wooping" call (which they do while pointing their face at the ground; it looks bizarre).

Finally, we came around a bunch of bushes and saw what the fuss was about: 3 lions at a kill! Two females were gnawing away, as the hyenas circled around them; the male (not fully adult, but older than the one we had seen yesterday) was off to the side. They were beautiful in the rising sunlight. And watching the hyenas was fascinating; they were displaying all kinds of behaviors that Tracy and Brian did an impressive job of recording. And we heard all their different calls: "giggles," "groans," "squeals" are the ones I can remember.

Eventually the lions ran off, leaving the hyenas to grab whatever scraps of meat were left. Tracy once again expressed to Skeist and me how luck we have been this week, which we appreciate- see has only seen hyenas and lions face off like this 2 or 3 other times during her 8 months here, and she says this was the biggest such confrontation she has seen.

The afternoon was spent helping Brian and Tracy with doing the inventory of the storage tent while Skeist napped. Not too exciting, but I felt good about helping them, considering that I am being put up, fed, and driven around the Mara basically for free. (I am told that the cheapest safari tours cost at least $200/day).

In the evening, it looked like we might actually get some rain for the first time, and we were right: as we headed out to the Fig Tree clan area, dark storm clouds rolled in, making for a very interesting sunset. We headed back as the lightning and rain bore down on us. I had suggested at the beginning of obs that Tracy and I frolic in the rain; as it started to pour on the car, Brian reminded us of this promise. Fair enough: we headed into the truck bed. Brian predicted that we wouldn't last 5 minutes. If he hadn't said this, we definitely wouldn't have; it was windy, there was some hail in the rain, and it was extremely cold. But our competitive streaks could not let him win. After 6 painfully long minutes, we declared our victory. Shortly thereafter, the rain stopped, and Brian stopped the car; for a bit, we watch the rain clouds and the very frequent lightning bolts; eventually I took some pictures that came out quite well.

In the evening, we finally played "Bang!," a card game that is a favorite of mine and Tracy's ever since senior week, when we played it almost non-stop down in the Outer Banks.

Tomorrow: Serena camp, about 2 hours away in the Mara; it's another research camp for the same project, but with different hyena clans. We still have some inventory and other things to finish up, as we will only be briefly stopping by Talek camp again on the way to Nairobi on Monday.

Best obs yet?

There has not been one single day of this trip when I haven't been amazed at the ability of this place to be breathtakingly beautiful and incredible. During the afternoon, we drove to a safari lodge about 30 minutes away to get drinking water for the camp. As we drove along, Skeist suddenly started saying "Woah. Woah. Woah!" We looked up to see four lions walking along, headed for the road. We stopped, and about 10 yards in front of us, 3 female lions crossed the road, followed about 20 or 30 feet back by an adolescent male lion. Had we left even a minute earlier or later, we wouldn't have seen them; they were out of sight almost the moment they crossed the road.

The morning obs session was eventful in terms of hyenas; we saw more of the West clan than we had all week (about 25 hyenas all told). When we returned, Skeist and I assisted Tracy in doing the inventory of the camp supplies (pulling our weight around camp, at least a bit!) and then went on a bird walk with Benson, one of the chefs/ general camp assisant. He has been studying birds and trees, and is hoping to be a safari guide. My favorite bird we had seen up until today was the lilac-breasted roller, which has beautiful blue-green iridescent wings (and a lilac-colored breast). But on the walk, I saw a pygmy kingfisher- bright red head, bright blue iridescent body. Didn't get any good pics (he's quite speedy and shy) but it's worth looking up a photo. (Benson also demonstrated how to make fire using a stick and another piece of wood. Impressive).

The real gem of the day, however, was evening obs. We decided to go out to look for the Fig Tree clan again; last time we did this, we saw the elephants and ostrich. While we didn't find them, we did see quite a few remarkable things.

First was 2 adult male lions. As we drove along, suddenly I saw out of the corner of my right eye something bright and orange-brown, lit up by the setting sun. Lion! We swung around, and sat watching him. He was utterly uninterested in us, going to sleep after about 10 minutes (and 150 pictures) . Then, as we drove deeper into the bushes, we came across another one, already dozing (or "sacked out" as the hyena researchers say). We pulled up close to it, and as Tracy leaned out of her window (we were maybe 10-15 feet from it), the lion suddenly flipped around and jumped to its feet. Tracy and I on that side of the car quickly ducked our heads back into the car, and rolled up our windows a bit for good measure. (There was also some shouting and swearing). But it wasn't attacking- I think we had just startled it. We watched it look around lazily for a bit before we decided that 10 feet was too close to be to a lion that wasn't sleeping, and drove off.

Next up: hippos! It's been quite dry here, but we came to a part of the Talek River that was still a bit deep; 10-12 hippos were submerged there. They're quite funny; of aquatic mammals, they seem the least likely. It's as though they were standing on land, and then simply didn't move when water filled up the area they were in. They look quite cute (especially the baby one) with just the tops of their heads above water, periodically submerging (I assume to eat), but we knew to keep our distance on the raised shore- they're big and dangerous animals.

Nothing that unusual the rest of the night; just drove around until it got dark and headed back to camp. They had made ugali for dinner, along with a cabbage and carrot dish that they've made before and butternut squash soup. Ugali is apparently a very common and popular dish made from cornmeal; it reminded me of polenta. A bit bland by itself, but delicious with cheese or as a base for other dishes.

A touristy-seeming day

This morning, Skeist (the other friend visiting Tracy) and I had a great surprise: unbeknownst to us, Tracy had scored us 3 seats on a sunrise hot air balloon tour over the Mara! She knows a few of the balloon pilots, and had been calling every night to see if they had any free seats we could take; however, she didn't tell us until this morning that it had worked out. These trips normally cost about $400 a person, so this was pretty sweet.

We gathered at the take-off spot, chatted with some of the other passengers, and watched the huge balloons (there were 2) being inflated. While the pilot was giving instructions, a French family was having trouble understanding; I stepped forward and translated for them. Over the course of the balloon ride and the breakfast afterward, Tracy and I chatted with them some in French (I was quite surprised to discover that they didn't really speak much English, despite having 2 teenage children). I was encouraged about my prospects of communicating effectively (if at first crudely) when I go to France later this month.

The ride itself was beautiful; it was great to see the Mara from a different perspective; Tracy pointed out the boundaries of the various clans of hyenas that we had been observing. Saw some wildlife, but for me it was more about the landscape views; the wildlife I can get a much clearer view of on the ground. Afterward, there was a Champagne breakfast in the Mara; we chatted mostly with the French family, but also a good deal with the pilot (middle-aged, cool guy from Alaska who moved here six years ago).

During the afternoon, Tracy took us over the Talek river to Maasai land to meet up with Steven, one of the night-time guards at the camp, so that we could see his home. The Maasai typically have a wooden fenced area for their cows, sheep, and goats (essentially used as currency) and a short, rectangular house made in a particular way from mud, grass, and wood. Inside it is very dark, but a lot cooler than it was outside; clearly the materials do an effective job of keeping the small space cool, despite the direct sunlight.

As Steven took the three of us around his house and property, we saw that several women (and a few men) were starting to set up blankets in a semi-circle on the ground, spreading out the beaded jewelry that is quite common in Maasai areas. Was this all for the three of us? Quickly, it became clear that the answer was yes. 25 or 30 people, all with their handmade jewelry spread out so that we could possibly buy something. As we were not expecting this, none of us had brought any money; however, we talked to Steven and told him that if we bought something we would give him the money for it that evening. We weren't necessarily needing to buy anything, but Tracy asked each of us to buy at least one thing, which we felt was right to do. It was also unclear how much bargaining was reasonable; on the one hand, the prices we were quoted were quite a bit higher than what we had paid for similar items at the market, but on the other hand, many of these people were family members of Steven. We eventually each bought something (Skeist bought several somethings) for perhaps 100 shillings more (400 instead of 300) than we would have paid at the market; however, 100 shillings is $1.30, so really it's not that big a deal. I feel like, when I am in a foreign country whose residents are a) somewhat poor and b) significantly dependent on tourist money as a source of income, I shouldn't lose track of those facts while trying to get the best possible deal. But nor do I want to look like a "sucker"- though that is certainly much less important.

Evening obs were somewhat exciting; we found the den of the West clan! Tracy and Brian had been searching for this for quite some time. There's a chance, if we're lucky, that we'll get to see some hyena cubs (which are apparently adorable) before we head out!

I also saw a bush baby in a tree after we got back- cute, cat-sized, fluffy black fur and a very bushy tail, and big eyes. There's also a genet (ocelot-like, weasel-shaped creature that's technically not a feline) that hangs around camp, and will come eat the scraps that the researchers leave out for it. There are also 2 bats that fly around inside the lab/ dinner tent, eating the bugs that are attracted to the lights. (They're cute too, of course). Basically, at no point are wildlife viewing opportunities over. And even in my tent, I tend to listen to the calls all around me for several minutes before putting in my earplugs to go to sleep.

Camp

Today's obs were pretty standard; lots of following around of hyenas; a beautiful sunrise; no big cats today though. During the afternoon hours after morning obs, we went to the Masai market in Talek where I bought sandals, cloth, and a necklace; we also talked to a guy named Mitchell Kaplan that apparently grew up in Roslyn Heights, Long Island, where my mom also grew up. Nothing else too exciting, so I am going to write about the research camp itself, as I don't think I've adequately described it.

To start off, the first question I was asked today (by Steph) was, "So, did you hear the elephants last night?" I responded in the negative; apparently, though I have a really hard time getting to sleep if there are any disturbances (light, noise), I stay asleep pretty well; I once slept through a fire alarm at Amherst (though I did have earplugs in, but still). Anyway, apparently last night, a herd of about 10 elephants wandered through camp, waking up everyone else (to varying degrees) except me with their breaking of branches, thumping around, etc. This is apparently not an infrequent occurence. The camp itself is situated on the edge of the Masai Mara, right by the Talek River, which forms the border in this area between the Mara and the Masai lands. So, though the tents are situated in relatively dense brush and trees, there is nothing physically separating us from the rest of the wildlife in the Mara.

The camp is made up of about 10-12 semi-permanent tents, connected via dirt and rock pathways (I believe the camp has been around for about 20 years). The 2 closest tents to me are about 20 yards away each; Tracy's tent is about 50 yards away (everyone is within earshot). There is also a kitchen tent, a lab tent where the lab stuff is kept and where the eating table is (that's the general meeting point of the camp), as well as tarps strung up around a toilet (it's a big hole in the ground with a plastic toilet on top of it). I'm not a great judge of size, but the overall radius of the camp is probably on the order of a few hundred yards.

When we got back from evening obs tonight, I was headed to my tent when one of our Masai guards stopped me on the path. There was something that he was shining his light at, but he didn't know the word in English for whatever the threat was; I tried but couldn't quite make it out. Finally, I thought maybe I saw something snake-like on the ground, but I wasn't sure. He took me a different route to my tent, then walked me back to the lab tent where someone translated that there was indeed a snake. I thought I had seen something light tan with reddish-brown squares or diamonds, which Steph said sounded like a puff adder; however, the guard seemed to think it had been a black mamba, so perhaps I had been looking at the wrong thing. (Both are highly venemous; a bite would require immediate emergency airlift to Nairobi, and apparently a puff adder bite usually results in the loss of whatever extremity has been bitten).

Readers who know me may know that I like snakes a lot. I have been planning to get a corn snake as a pet for quite a while, and was stopped from doing so my senior year of school by Gabi and Tracy, who vehemently objected (especially Gabi). So here's the funny part: while I am discussing at the dinner table how terrified I am of this snake, Tracy's treating it like no big deal: "Whatever, there are snakes all around. It's fine." (Don't worry, I still want a pet snake).

Going to head to bed now (having thoroughly checked all the corners of my tent for any possible snake entrances).

Hunting day

Dear readers: assume that all days follow the schedule mentioned earlier. I will thus simply give hightlights of the day, and you can put them in to the framework I have given you.

This morning, we set out to find some hyenas using the radio collars that about 20 total (split between 3 different clans) are wearing. Basically, this consists of listening for repeating clicks/ beeps on the 70s- era radio (complete with car-top antennae), then circling around to try to locate the source. After about 30-45 minutes of driving around and being very confused as to why the signal we were following seemed to remain extremely strong throughout a large area, and didn't seem to change with direction, Steph realized that we had some radio collars IN the car, and sure enough, one of them was close enough in frequency that it was being picked up.
Near the end of morning obs, we had the great excitement to spot a cheetah. This was our first wild cheetah sighting; he was a beauty. For a while, he just laid in the grass, soaking up the sun, despite our entreaties to go kill something. Then, after we (i.e., Tracy) recorded some more hyena behaviors nearby, we returned to find that the cat had moved closer to one of the "roads" (dirt tracks), and was eying some nearby impala, who were also warily eying him. Eventually, 2 safari trucks showed up; we alternated between wildlife- and people-watching. Finally, the cheetah decided to go for the impala, sneaking up to within about 30 yards. The humans, about 20 total, were totally silent, transfixed and watching. Were we going to get a chase like we had only seen on PBS Nature? Sadly, no- the cat rushed the impala and they scattered, hissing; Tracy explained that predators often have "test chases" to see if there are any weak or injured amongst the group that might make for easy targets. Still, we were quite pleased, and drove back to camp for a late breakfast.
Afternoon hours were mostly spent driving to get gas to prepare for the coming gas shortage courtesy of the unrest in Libya; we also spent at least 30 minutes sitting in the living room of the mechanic Tracy and the others at the camp go to when they need help with the cars around here (he is apparently a lot more competent than the one in Nairobi, though unfortunately can't really order necessary parts out here). Apparently, the Cricket World Cup is going on now, so we watched the Kenya-Sri Lanka game as he explained the rules (I knew the rudimentary ones, but not the more esoteric ones).
Evening obs consisted mostly of hyenas; at the very end they did a bit of test-chase hunting as well, before we returned to camp.

I feel like I often want to reflect on my experiences here past a simple recounting of the things I have done and seen. But often, once I am done writing up said things, I am more than ready to go to sleep. I will say, if I had one more piece of equipment with me, I wish I had brought a really good microphone and recording equipment. The calls of the night time creatures, the sound of lions gnawing on zebra bones and flesh, then sound of elephants' feet through a field of long grass. These are actually some of the most amazing things I've experienced. I suppose memory will simply have to serve; I suspect that just as photographs rarely do the original scene justice, sound recordings would serve a poor substitute for the actual experience.

Tomorrow: obs as usual, then the Masai Market! I'm pretty excited about planned purchases: apparently the Masai people mostly wear rubber sandals made of recycled tires, that are apparently pretty comfortable. Also, the fabric they wear is always brightly colored and beautiful, and seems like it would make for some good gifts.

The schedule

I awaken to complete darkness, but with the mismatched symphony of noises still steady outside my tent. I lie in bed, trying to figure out why I seem to have slepts so well here. Of course, I am using earplugs. But no eye mask: there are almost no lights on in the camp, and certainly none near my tent. Pure, pitch blackness. As I lie in the bed, enjoying this darkness and trying to fall back asleep, I decide to check my watch, just to see what time it is. 4:42. So much for going back to sleep: my alarm is set for 4:50. Roll-out time for morning obs is 5:25.
Here's how a typical day seems to go here:
5-9 am: Morning obs (with a granola bar snack)
9 am: Delicious breakfast
9:30 am-5 pm: Do various chores around camp (today, it involved setting up the new batteries and solar panel controllers; later, I went with Tracy to pick up Steph, who worked at this camp for her PhD a few years back).
5- 8 pm: Evening obs
8-9:30 pm: Dinner, chatting
10-11ish: Bedtime!

Highlights from this morning's obs include: seeing about 40 impala all facing a brushy area, looking intent and making weird hissing noises; 20 or so zebra plus some other random ungulates were also present, looking at the same area. Eventually we made our way to where they were staring (in the car, as always) and saw 2 male lions. We're 2 for 2 on lion sightings during observations!
I'm certain there are other highlights that I will remember when I see the pics. But I am quite exhausted, so this will be a short entry.
Evening obs: elephants and ostrich (which I also saw for the first time while joining Tracy to pick up Steph) in glorious pre-sunset light. We went out today with Tracy's friend Gina, who is studying abroad here but has gotten to know Tracy and the people at the camp. She is enthusiastic, delightful, and hilarious; hopefully she will join us on a few more obs.
We apparently just missed seeing a leopard after nightfall; the other car from the camp called us, but by the time we made it to their location the cat had gone into the brush. Hopefully we will spot one, but as they are nocturnal, chances aren't so good.

The great thing about this schedule is that it feels like 2 days in each one: after the morning obs, it felt like a full safari day; but then we got to go out again in the evening!
Looking forward to doing the same tomorrow.