Remnants from Africa

Remnants from Africa
It is strange how quickly we adapt to an environment.  We have now been back in the USA for just over a month and in THE BIG CITY for 2 weeks.  All the memories of our adventure seem far away.  Except I have noticed a few lingering behaviors:
I am having trouble thinking in Fahrenheit  and by miles rather then Centigrade and kilometers

I feel that strange homesick feeling in my stomach when I see a picture of an elephant, giraffe or other familiar African animal - especially the life-size stuffed animals at FAO Schwarz.  Both Karson and I just started at them for several moments.  Several of them are quite good representations.

Every time I touch our new HP printer I hesitate and think I should check inside for a gecko.

I look both ways when crossing the street even one ways with a walk light!  You have to have walked the streets in Nairobi to really appreciate this one.

I tend to walk up the left side of a staircase, like driving on the left side.  This is not good in a crowded subway station.

Occasionally I try to convert a dollar amount – like divide by 6 which is what we did for Namibian dollars.  While the price does look a lot better that way alas the merchant does not think so.  It is really scary then multiplying by 6 to get the actual amount.  Eeek.

The convenience and variety of the city is amazing.  I (hopefully we) love it here.  It is a great way to spend a couple months or…maybe more.

Hospital Trip

Of all the travel, out of the way places, and dangerous animals we have experienced over the past 10 months we have had no injuries and only a few minor illnesses.

Imagine our surprise (yeah ok it was horror) when Karson tripped hit his head on a table and cut a gash in his eyebrow just three hours after we check into our swanky resort in the Seychelles. Oh, yes head injuries do bleed. Lots of blood but it was not too deep. The hotel management was great. They drove us to the local clinic and even charged the bill on our room since we did not have local cash. The doctor put in just two stitches and sealed the cut with a liquid adhesive. K was a trooper. Once the initial shock wore off, he was quiet even falling asleep on the examining table. He went through the ordeal without local anesthetic since that numbing needle was larger then the one used to stitch. Mom and dad however, took some serious anaesthetizing drinks after returning to the hotel and ensuring little one was comfy cozy in bed. Next day all was well and Karson was ready to play. Dan started calling him scarface – which of course being 2 years old – he repeated to several strangers at the resort!

The Seychelles

Mahe’ island, The Seychelles. Wow. My mouth literally gapped open as I stepped off the plane. Soaring granite cliffs covered in beautiful green vines and trees. Absolutely gorgeous.

“Oh and look honey, we are back in the developed world! I can order a cocktail and it shows up perfectly blended, with ice! And it cost $10 (oops they charge in Euros) so make that ~$12.” Yes, our little vacation was expensive, like a week at a nice resort in Hawaii. We had a great time, with the exception of the trip to the hospital, which you can read about in a separate entry. The snorkeling was fantastic right off the warm, powdery beach. We met several other families with boys about Karson’s age. We spent quite a bit of time with one family from Paris. Their boy Jamie and Karson got along well and had long, elaborate toddler-talk discussions about trucks! I think the highlight of the trip for them was riding on the local, public transport bus! All little boys seem to be drawn to trucks, buses, trains, and airplanes.

Next time, we will visit some of the other 1,000+ islands that make up with lovely country. Including the one with good fly-fishing which apparently is only good during part of the year – which is not May. Too bad for Dan.

Back in Kenya

So here we are back in Kenya. The people here are warm and friendly – it feels good to be back in Nairobi. We arrived without specific travel plans for the next few weeks. We talked about going both back to Masai Mara to see friends as well as back to TDC to visit and take some supplies for the building projects. But serendipity stepped in and a new plan came to be. Within a few hours of each other, two events led us on a wonderful adventure. Dan channel surfing and came across a show on fly-fishing – in the ocean surf for bonefish. The location was one of the beautiful islands of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. A bit later as we were wandering around town trying to make travel arrangements, we saw a flyer for package travel deals to the Seychelles. I have always wanted to visit these islands, but back in 2002 when I looked into the arrangements it was too expensive. But this time, the hotel and flight package turned out to be less than traveling to some of the destinations in Kenya. So 2 days later we were off for a week of fun in the sun and surf. -Susan

Out of Namibia and into NYC!

In early May, we decided to leave Namibia – for good or for a little while, we are not sure. Dan’s Bushblok and possible biomass power efforts were going very well. Perhaps we will return so he can continue the work - depends on many factors that we will not go into here.

So, the plan is – back to Kenya for 3 weeks of visits and wrap-up. Then we fly back to the Utah/Wyoming/Idaho area for a couple weeks to visit Susan’s family and pick-up our regular clothes and a few other possessions.

For July and August, we have rented an apartment in NYC. Yes, I believe that going from Otjiwarongo, Namibia to Manhattan is the ultimate definition of “a change of pace”. Susan has always dreamed of living in Manhattan so this will be a chance for a small tryout. And, it is an easy flight to Ohio for Dan to visit with his Dad and brother. The convenience of a big city will give us a space from which we can plan our next move. Will it be employment – yes probably, but where? Once again, stay tuned… -Susan

Kanini, the newest cheetah at the CCF, has made wonderful progress since a farmer turned her in during early February. We get the chance to go out and exerciser her every day, sometime just spending time to scratch her behind the ears.

What a difference a few months of food and attention make. This was a mostly hostile and frightened little cheetah during her first week...now you can see how much more social she is. But believe me, when she gives you a 'playful' nip with her teeth or a gentle swat with her front paws, you know that you are dealing with a wild animal - one that was meant to kill in the wild. These 'sharp attachments' are one reason why this family portrait is missing Karson. At 16kg he is perfect 'prey size' for cheetah and would trigger a few hunting urges in Kanini that we would rather not see.

A brief trip to the Namib

It would be a shame to come all the way to Namibia and not spend a little time having fun and visiting some of its more famous tourist attractions. So we packed up the car and drove off on an adventure to the shore and then to the red sand of the Namib desert.

Here is a glance at a sand dune... get a feel for the the scale by noticing the full-sized trees located near the bottom of the dune. These things are huge! Some of them reach 300 meters high. We left the lodge before sunrise to reach the main area of Sossusvlei in time to catch the soft light and long shadows on the dunes and of course to have a little bit of hiking fun before the temperature got too high.

One would think that, dunes being made out of sand, they would move around freely. And small dunes do exactly that. But these towering dunes in the Namib turn out to be very stable. Aerial photos from the 50s compare very closely to today. It was quite fun to get out of the car and take a hike in the valleys between these giants and Dan got the chance to spend half an hour climing the crest of a 'moderate' one.