Wendy's Blog

Engaged

2008-01-14T13:17:00.000-05:00

Yes, engaged....but not the married kind. The busy kind. That's my excuse for being such a lax blogger. When I was home over Christmas, someone told me they check my blog every so often. Another told me she searched and finally found my blog site. How wonderful that people actually read it!

Here's a quick update of the past few months....

In August 2007, I quit my job at MEDA. After 12 years, it was time to do something new! I decided to try freelancing (graphic design/web site design). Because it takes time to build up a business, I decided to continue living in Nicaragua. Mostly because it's cheap...or at least it can be. Partly because I wanted to keep my distance from another Canadian winter.

Went home for brief stint in August to buy a laptop and to vacation at Effingham Lake. Here I am with fellow Monopoly and Life enthusiasts. We had so much fun. And I think I won most of the games, right guys? :)

On Labour Day weekend we were a crowd of 12 or so. That included Stan and Yvonne Madigan who flew their Piper plane in from Peterborough. Stan gave a couple of us rides…what awesome views!

I flew into Nicaragua on September 4, the same time that Hurricane Felix was whipping up trouble. Felix did a lot of damage on the northeast coast. Managua is on the west coast and only suffered lots of wind and rain.

New Roomie
In September, I moved into a new place with Megan Gavin. Megan is a former Peace Corps volunteer who now works at The World Bank. In February 2008 she starts a new job for American Institutes for Research (AIR). She's a great roommate. I love her! And as an added bonus, I also got part ownership of chiquia, nuestra gato favorita!

New Work
I did intensive Spanish classes in mid-September until the end of October. It was great and I learned a lot, but I had more freelance work than I thought I would starting out…so it was busy! I decided to call myself Little Lake Graphics (my website is under construction).

New Age
“Well, birthdays are merely symbolic of how another year has gone by and how little we've grown. No matter how desperate we are that someday a better self will emerge, with each flicker of the candles on the cake, we know it's not to be, that for the rest of our sad, wretched pathetic lives, this is who we are to the bitter end. Inevitably, irrevocably; happy birthday? No such thing.” (Jerry Seinfeld). I tried not to think of my sad, pathetic life for a day...and actually did have a happy birthday on November 4th. That thanks to my wonderful friends in Nicaragua (especially my roomie) who threw me a fiesta divertida at the very fine Seminole Hotel.

In December, Megan, Kyra, Shannon and I flew to Little Corn Island on Nicaragua's east coast. It was a blast. We stayed at a place called Casa Iguana, and spent our time relaxing and laughing and eating. I tried scuba diving for the first time and loved it!

San Juan Surfers

2007-06-25T14:37:00.000-05:00

We spent Thursday at Madera Beach. We rented 2 surfboards and a boogie board. We also paid for a few hours of surfing lessons. It was great! Brad was a natural. Katie and I needed a little more practice!

'Da Flying Frog

2007-06-25T14:12:00.000-05:00

'Da Flying Frog is San Juan Del Sur's Canopy Tour company. I took Mom and Dad ziptrekking too, but this time--after 2 1/2 months of rain--everything was beautifully lush and green. Katie and I did the Superman (no hands, face down) and the Butterfly (no hands, face up). We had to do so "attached" to a guide since the brake system is not so sophisticated (the hands). Brad didn't care to be attached to the guides...

Never a Dull Moment

2007-06-25T13:56:00.000-05:00

Brad likes vehicles of any kind...so we rented 4-wheelers late one afternoon. We didn't have a guide which was maybe a bad idea since that made me the guide and Nicaragua doesn't believe in direction signs. On our way out of town Katie's 4-wheeler stalled....right in front of a bus that kept honking until she got out of the way. I'm really sorry that I don't have a photo of that! After that we got lost trying to find a beach. We went up a laneway to ask directions and got the foreign owner piping mad for coming onto his property (geesh). Finally we found the beach and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. We took some photos and decided that we'd better get going in order to get back to town before dark. Well, the fun didn't end there. One of the 4-wheelers kept stalling on us. We got it going but ended up struggling to find our way in the pitch dark... and rain! We did make it back finally...a bit late, wet and muddy...but otherwise intact.

Fishing in San Juan Del Sur

2007-06-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

After climbing the volcano, we ferried back to the mainland and took the bus to San Juan Del Sur. In SJDS we went on a fishing trip. It was my lucky day...I caught 2 fish (a Mackerel and another -- I don't remember what it's called). Katie had the big one that got away, and Brad didn't even get a nibble.

Climbing Maderas Volcano

2007-06-25T12:55:00.000-05:00

I was very, very excited last week to host more visitors! My cousin Katie and her husband Brad arrived on June 16 and spent an action-packed week on Ometepe Island and San Juan Del Sur. Straight from the airport we went to Pochomil, the closest beach to Managua, with Serge and his girlfriend (who arrived June 15). On Sunday we headed to Ometepe Island via bus. Traveling by bus here is always an interesting experience. The Nicaragua transportation system is made up of old North American school buses. They often become full to overflowing (ie, passengers hanging out the back doors). You never need to worry about getting hungry or thirsty because vendors get on and off at major stops to sell you water, pop, cookies, chicken and salad with coleslaw, sandwiches, deep fried sweets...you name it!

On Ometepe Island we stayed at the Charco Verde, located inside a natural reserve and on a nice beach. On Monday, we decided to climb Maderas Volcano. Maderas is almost 1,400 meters high. What a feat!! What sore feet!! It took us 4 hours to climb to the top. At first it was very hot and humid, but it gradually became cooler as we climbed into the cloud forest. It was a challenging climb because Maderas is very muddy. Part way up we saw Howler Monkeys and an endangered White-faced Capuchin monkey. After reaching the summit, we climbed down to the crater lake. The volcanic soil makes the water bottom very mucky...entering the lake puts you knee-deep in mud. We rested for a bit and then started the descent. When we started out we met a bunch of other hikers going down into the crater lake. One climber told his guide that he would pay for a helicopter to come fetch him...we were liking that idea too! It took us 3 hours to get back down. Descending was the harder part in my opinion. About halfway down I thought my legs were going to give out on me. We walked funny for days afterwards....but WE DID IT!

Futbol

2007-06-15T12:34:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I went to a futbol (soccer) game. MiCredito's lawyer, Pedro, coaches a team of young guys who live in a rough barrio of the city. Some of them were into drugs and petty crime...so of course Pedro wanted them to channel their energy into something more worthwhile. MiCredito sponsors the team so I was asked to go and take photos (to put on their website that I'm in the process of creating). It was a close and exciting game. In the end our guys lost in overtime, and therefore are finished for the season.

Isla Ometepe

2007-06-01T18:31:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Serge and I visited the beautiful Isla de Ometepe. It is the biggest lake island in the world...placed inside Cocibolca lake. It features 2 large volcanoes - Conceptión (1610 mts high) and Maderas (1394 mts high). There are about 45,000 inhabitants, who for the most part work in farming (volcanic ash has made the soil extremely fertile).

We stayed at a hotel called Charco Verde (Green Puddle). Like most places in Nicaragua, it’s a largely undiscovered treasure. Peaceful...secluded...lovely.

On Saturday we took a tour with a very friendly local tour guide named Daniel. We enjoyed a hike around the coffee farm Finca Magdalena, visited the beautiful beaches of Santo Domingo and then stopped in the city of Altagracia. On Sunday we hiked around the beach at Charco Verde and took advantage of the ubiquitous Nica hammocks!

Katie and Brad are coming for a visit in mid-June so the plan is to return...and maybe climb Maderas!

May Day

2007-05-18T16:50:00.000-05:00

May 1st was a holiday in Nicaragua--International Workers' Day or Labour Day (a commemoration of the Haymarket martyrs who were arrested after the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago).

Fred Wall is a retired MEDA board member who volunteers a lot of his time helping MiCredito. He was in Nicaragua the first week in May and asked if I wanted to go to San Juan Del Sur on the holiday Tuesday. Serge LeVert-Chiasson, who is working for MiCredito for 3 months, joined us as well. We had a motorboat take us to a secluded beach and on the way to and from the beach we were entertained by dolphins! It was great...but very difficult to capture a good jump. Thank goodness for digital cameras.

Montelimar

2007-05-18T16:31:00.000-05:00

I visit a church called International Christian Fellowship (ICF). It's an English speaking church (I tried a Nicaraguan Baptist church service--far too hard on my brain). At the end of April, ICF held a retreat at the beautiful beach resort of Montelimar. It is southwest of Managua on the Pacific Coast. Very much enjoyed the beach, was spoiled by the nice facilities and loved getting to know lots of new faces. My roommate, Pam Neumann, is from San Antonio, Texas. She's in Nicaragua working with Food for the Hungry on a 3-year contract. We had a great time and just last weekend got together at her place to cook and enjoy supper.

La Dalia

2007-05-18T15:37:00.000-05:00

In April I visited an eco-lodge outside of La Dalia. This place is north of Managua in the mountainous (and oh-so-nice-and-cool climate) of Nicaragua's Matagalpa region. The lodge is situated on a large coffee farm. Enjoyed the hiking trails, a refreshing waterfall, good food and the beautiful and peaceful setting.

Fun with Mom and Dad

2007-04-05T19:35:00.000-05:00

I hosted my first visitors...a couple named Hazel and Russell from Canada. They took a chance with a novice tour guide, but I think they went home happy!

Mom and Dad arrived in Managua on March 19 and stayed until the 27th. We had a great time! I loved having them here...and now they know where I'm living and working.

I rented a car for the week. I was nervous about driving...it would be my first time driving; Managua is a busy city with lots of large, intimidating roundabouts; there are speed bumps all over the place and not always well marked; and I didn't know my way around that well. But we survived! The closest thing to an accident was when I backed into a parked motorcycle at the Masaya National Park. The worker who owned it assured me it was no problem and the rental car already had enough scratches on it that one more wasn't an issue...so it was all good! Our only other driving incident was getting stopped by the police because Dad wasn't wearing his seatbelt. I was told later that we were fined too much. Oh well, that officer had a nicer meal that night, I guess.

Anyhow, our first stop was Masaya. We visited the market and later drove up to the Masaya Volcano. We joined a tour that included a walk through bat caves and peering over the volcano's edge to see burning lava (gas mask was mandatory).

Our next stop was Granada. We stayed overnight here in a beautiful little hotel called Casa San Fransisco. It's owned by 2 American sisters. We enjoyed walking around the city, climbing a cathedral bell tower for a nice view and a visit to the market. We also took a boat tour of Las Isletas--a bunch of small islands formed by a volcanic eruption a long time ago. Many of the islands have been built up and have mansions on them. One island is inhabited by monkeys. Apparently if we would have had bananas, they would have jumped right onto the boat. Our only snack was plaintain chips which didn't tempt them.

We drove to San Juan Del Sur next. We rented a nice villa to enjoy for 3 days. Fun in San Juan included a canopy tour with a company called 'Da Flying Frog. For those of you who aren't familiar with this, they harness you up and hook you to a cable where you swing from tree to tree. It's also known as zip trekking. It was fun, but we were told it's much nicer to do in the wet season when everything is lush and green. Nicaragua is very dry now. Rain will start in May. Still, we had fun!

Another highlight was an all-day sail on a 42-foot yacht to a secluded beach. Along the way we spotted the large Olive Ridley turtles in the ocean. From July to December, tens of thousands of these female turtles nest and lay eggs on nearby beaches. At the beach we relaxed, swam in the ocean, and enjoyed a superb lunch. The sailboat had fishing poles rigged up at the back, and on the sail back they reeled in a bunch of large jackfish. We returned at sunset...it was wonderful!

MEDA Trust

2007-02-23T16:26:00.000-05:00

Check out the MEDA Trust web site which is now up and running at www.medatrust.org

The site looks really good and we've been getting great feedback from users. Try it out...check out my client stories!

Surfer Dudette

2007-02-23T15:53:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I went to San Juan Del Sur with my neighbours. San Juan is a fishing village, surfer hangout and a beautiful beach area on the Pacific coast of southern Nicaragua.

Inhabitants make their living fishing, diving, and catering to tourists. It took us 3 hours to get there by jeep (including stops). The town is small with everything you need located in walking distance from the main beach area. We enjoyed great seafood. We rented boogie boards and also hired an instructor for surfing lessons. What a blast! Our instructor would get us positioned (laying down) on the board and then after the wave crashed would let go while we tried to quickly jump up and balance as the wave took us into shore. I managed to stand up and balance about half the time...it would be hilarious to have it all on film. I couldn't help laughing when the others fell or got overwhelmed by the waves! Very good fun but the sun was hot and I got a nice, red back. It took 3 days before the pain subsided. Oops!

Some Work and Play

2007-02-12T13:05:00.000-05:00

A couple of weekends ago I went with friends Katie and Pedro to Laguna de Apoyo, the largest crater lagoon in Nicaragua. It’s a 2 km descent through jungle to a lovely beach area with places to eat. The water was beautiful...so I had my fill of swimming.

Last week I spent 3 days visiting clients. I spent one day following Rebecca Ramirez, a MiCredito Credit Officer, with my video camera. The other days I collected a number of client stories and more video footage. Again, it was a great experience! I visited a mirror maker, baker, vegetable vendor at Mercado del Mayoreo (Wholesale Market), butcher, piñata maker, electronics vendor at Mercado Huembes, seamstress (specializing in children’s underwear), tortilla maker, and a lady who owns and operates a pulperia (mini-mart). I especially enjoyed meeting Eneyda Duarte, the seamstress. She was so friendly and welcoming. She showed us a room at the back of her house where 5 sewing machines were humming away. She began 6 years ago as the only seamstress, and later taught her children how to sew. They sew children's underwear from 6am until 6pm, and everyday she takes a shipment to the market. They sew 200-300 dozen pairs of underwear per week. She had a digital camera and took photos of us—that was a first!

One of our visits took us to Mercado Oriental. It looks like the Wal-Mart of Managua—you can find anything and everything in this 60 acre sprawl of market vendors. It’s considered one of the city’s most dangerous areas so my “team” (loan officers and translator) kept a watchful eye on me. Actually, that was my second visit and both were good, but I wouldn’t risk going on my own. Anyhow, we strolled through the food section and I witnessed poor iguanas being slaughtered. Talk about fresh…there are live iguanas tied up in baskets waiting for doom’s day. Not so nice to see but I’m told they are a delicacy.

This weekend I took in another ball game, this time between Managua and Colombia (Managua lost). It was lively but there were less people and fewer distractions. Saturday I went to Granada, a city located on the north shore of Lake Nicaragua (the largest lake in Central America). Granada is the most touristed city in Nicaragua. It’s a beautiful colonial city with wide boulevards, lots of palm trees and a parque central packed with vendors. I definitely hope to go back and do more exploring.

Not missing winter in Canada

2007-01-29T19:06:00.000-05:00

Another week has gone by, and I'm wondering how I can get out of a cold winter next year too...

Right now I'm keeping a busy schedule. I start my day by going to work in the morning. After lunch, I head to my Spanish class (which I am really enjoying). Then it’s home, some more MEDA work and Spanish homework. The lessons are going well. However, I find my knowledge of French both helps and hinders. There are many similar words. But on the other hand, words that are spelled the same are not pronounced the same...and I continually use the French pronounciation (for example, with the words "de" and "en").

So far I’ve been using taxis to get to where I want to go. They are cheap ($1.00-$2.00/ ride depending on where you need to go). I leave my apartment and start walking. When I hear a beep, it’s (usually) a taxi wondering if I’d like a ride. I wave him down, tell him where I need to go, settle on a price and I’m off. But the taxi doesn’t always stay my own. The driver will take as many as he can fit in if they happen to be going the same way.

Managua is a noisy place. At any moment, you'll hear dogs barking, roosters crowing, music playing, birds chirping, whistles blowing and cars honking. Drivers honk all the time...to say "get out of my way" or "coming through" or "I'm a taxi, do you need a ride?" or "Hey, muchacha--looking good!" (had to throw that one in) or "get a move on -- the light is green and you took a whole second to start moving!". Try that in Canada...and you get the finger.

There are vendors and often beggars at every intersection. They sell fruit, dried plaintain chips, meringue cookies, gum (by the pack or stick), water in bags, cloth rags, cigarettes, newspapers...you name it. But vendors here take "no" for an answer. Unlike in Peru. There, I found if you even looked at one they became annoyingly persistent. Right, Grace?

Last week I went to a baseball game. Nicaragua is the only Latin American country where people are more passionate about baseball than soccer. And it was something else! I had a hard time focusing on the game because of everything going on around me. People are selling food, drinks, gum, cigarettes, baseball paraphernalia, etc. Bands are in the stands belting out theme songs, people are cheering and booing...some were even burning the other team's pendant. It was all very loud and chaotic!

Some tidbits about Nicaragua:

Known as the “land of lakes and volcanoes,” it boasts volcanoes on the Pacific coast, beaches on the Caribbean, tracts of untouched rainforest in the Atlantic Lowlands.
It is largely undiscovered by tourists, but the tourism sector is growing. Primary attractions are tropical beaches, culture, ecotourism, colonial architecture and other activities such as volcano climbing, volcano skiing and boarding, sailing, fishing and scuba diving.
Population: 5,000,000—90% of which is the Pacific Lowlands (includes Managua, where I live)
Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in the region, partly due to political unrest over the past few decades, and devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Major exports include bananas, coffee, tobacco.

And a brief political history:

ruled by military dictatorship (Somoza family) from the late 1920s until 1979
Nicaragua’s capital, Managua, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1972. Mishandled relief efforts, refusal to rebuild the city, brazen corruption and economic troubles propelled leftist Sandinista party to power
Sandinistas put into effect some good reforms (literacy campaign and land reform), but were criticized over their economic policies. Also, they supported rebels in El Salvador, and allied themselves with Cuba and the Soviet Union…so, U.S. trained and financed the Contra army to fight against them
Sandinistas ousted by Liberal party in 1990 (people tired of war and U.S. sanctions)
Liberals brought stability and economic growth, but brought in economic policies favouring foreign investment, basically serving to make the rich richer
Daniel Ortega, who had been Sandinista president from 1984-1990, was again elected to power last November—he claims to be more religious and moderate now. The Sandinista party looks a lot different now (consisting of Liberals and contras), so some doubt that they are still a party of the people, and Ortega has some been accused of disreputable conduct, yet poor people love him and are full of hope that he will bring in reforms that will benefit them.

Nicaragua

2007-01-22T21:06:00.000-05:00

It’s been two weeks since I arrived in Nicaragua. A very full two weeks! During my first week, I went along with MEDA member Conrad Brenneman who was conducting an internal audit of MEDA’s credit program (MiCredito which stands for “My Credit”). Visiting the clients was a great experience. We enjoyed meeting them, seeing their businesses and homes, and experiencing their hospitality. I guess we were a bit intimidating to some however. One client hid from us and afterwards went to make his loan payment! We had a translator who accompanied us and not only translated the client interviews, but gave us lots of information about Nicaragua and its people. The photo above is Momotombo volcano.

I’ll be doing a lot more client visits during my time here. I’m stationed in Managua until August…working for a new MEDA project called MEDA Trust. It is marketing initiative that will allow donors to see how Microfinance works. MiCredito’s database of clients is linked into the MEDA Trust website, so people can donate money then select the loans they’d like to “sponsor”. When the loan is paid back by the client, that money is put back into the donor’s portfolio for them to re-lend (you don’t get your money back!).

On Wednesday, January 10th, we went to the inauguration of Nicaragua's new president, Daniel Ortega. There had to be half a million people gathered into the main city square/grandstand area. They had party flags waving all over, and when Mr. Ortega made his first address to the people, they cheered passionately. A little different from Canadian politics!

I’m settled into an apartment (simply furnished...and came with pets too!). It's in a very convenient area…close to everything I’ll need, and not far from the MEDA office. I hope to walk around and get to know where things are, however, in Managua, there are no street names. People use landmarks, for example: from the Margarita Restaurant, 2 blocks east, then 1 block towards the Lake (which is north). That makes it tricky for foreigners who aren’t familiar with landmarks!

I’ve already had three Spanish lessons…2 informal and 1 formal. My first was with some kids playing baseball (or at least a version of it). I was sitting on a park bench getting my sandals shined by one of the kids, and soon they were all around checking out my camera…and teaching me some vocabulary! As payment, I bought them treats from a nearby vendor. My other lesson was with some MEDA staff, Veronica and Alexia, while driving from Leon to Managua. I felt like a little kid—repeating after them and when I came out with correct conjugations or pronunciations, they’d say, “Wow! Good!” I had my first formal lesson today at Viva Spanish language school. It was good...gotta work on rolling my r's and pronouncing v's like b's (or some kind of sound inbetween the two). I hope to keep up the informal lessons too....they're much more fun!

Kenya

2006-04-22T11:59:00.000-05:00

Here I go again… the past year has abounded with travel opportunities that I found too good to pass up. My aunt Evelyn is currently teaching at Rosslyn Christian academy, a private Christian school in Nairobi, Kenya. And I must say, there is no better opportunity to visit another country than when you know someone living there. Ev has been there long enough that we were able to profit from her experiences, discoveries and great connections. She showed us an amazing time, so much so that I feel it was the best vacation I’ve ever had. I wasn’t the only one that went—there was a whole North American contingent...including my parents, my uncle Al and aunt Julie from Nova Scotia, along with Julie’s sister Paula and husband Nick from the States.

Off We Go!

2006-04-22T11:47:00.000-05:00

February 14-15, 2006

Mom, Dad and I flew out of Toronto on February 14. Our flight was delayed but we still managed (barely) to make our connection in Amsterdam, although our luggage did not. It arrived a day later. We arrived in Nairobi on February 15 around 8:30 p.m. after some 15 hours of flying. While in Nairobi we stayed at the Mennonite Guesthouse, which is operated by Eastern Mennonite Missions in Kenya. It’s a great place to stay if you don’t mind sharing (bathrooms) and if you like to save money! The grounds were beautiful, meals were great, and the hosts very friendly.

Elephant Orphanage and Giraffe Centre

2006-04-22T11:31:00.000-05:00

Thurs February 16, 2006
Ev lined up some great day trips in Nairobi for us, the first one being The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (a wildlife orphanage). The orphanage takes in elephants and other wildlife that are orphans (usually as a result of poaching). Elephants mirror humans in terms of emotion, so they are discouraged from becoming too attached to one person, but are handled by a team of dedicated “Keepers” who represent a family and who replace an orphan’s lost elephant family. The “family”, along with their milk formula, are essential components to success in rearing the elephants. By 2004 the Trust had successfully saved and hand-reared over 55 infant African Elephant calves. Currently, over a dozen of the Trust’s hand-reared elephants are fully established and living free amongst their wild peers in Tsavo National Park, some returning with wild born young to show their former human family.

We then went to the Nairobi Giraffe Centre where we saw giraffes up close and personal. And I mean close…there were buckets of pellets to feed them and a pellet between the lips got you a big, sloppy kiss from Daisy! Daisy wasn’t all lovey-dovey all the time, however, if you were a bit negligent in the feeding area, she’d give you a good head butt. The Giraffe Centre exists to educate Kenyan school children about their country’s wildlife and environment, and to give visitors an opportunity to come into close contact with giraffes. Another reason it was created was to help rescue the endangered Rothschild giraffe (in 1979 there were 120—now there are 300). Our last stop was the Kitengela Glass Factory. This seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Our driver got lost so we experienced our first dose of very rough Kenyan terrain. The Glass Factory was very unique. They make decorative and funky stuff out of recycled glass. We were given a tour of the place and watched them make wine goblets. For supper, we dined at Ev’s friends and co-workers, Werner and Adelia’s. We enjoyed an excellent Kenya meal complete with the traditional dish, ugali (a starchy, bland foodstuff that wasn’t particularly appetizing).

Kiambethu Tea Farm

2006-04-22T11:22:00.000-05:00

Fri February 17, 2006

Our second day trip was to the Kiambethu Tea Farm. There we met Fiona Vernon who, with her husband Marcus, live and operate the farm. The farm dates back to 1910—Fiona’s family (originally from Britain) was one of the earliest tea growers in Kenya. The house is beautifully situated among colourful gardens, indigenous forest and acres of tea. Fiona shared her family history and the process of making tea while we sampled the good stuff. We were then given a tour of the grounds and served a delectable 4-course lunch. We enjoyed the Colobus monkeys that got just close enough to snatch the bananas out of our hands. After that we went to Village Market which holds a Masai Market on Fridays. We enjoyed Rosslyn Academy’s Spaghetti Bash in the evening (a spaghetti “cook off” where we had to vote on the best tasting sauce).

The Masai Mara

2006-04-22T10:57:00.000-05:00

Sat, February 18 to Sun February 19, 2006

Ahhh, at long last…safari time! Our safari to Kenya wouldn’t be complete without a safari to a game reserve. We left at 8:30 a.m. to begin the 5-hour trek to the Mara Simba Lodge in the Masai Mara National Reserve. This is on the northern tip of the Serengeti—African savanna country. Our lodge was great. Nice rooms that backed onto a small river full of snorting hippos and a crocodile or two (the crocodile was scary). There was a pool to cool off in, and the meals were fabulous. We stayed at this lodge for 2 nights and went on 3 game drives. What an experience! Sammy, our talented driver/guide, had the uncanny ability to find just what we wanted to see (“Let’s see, we haven’t seen male lions yet…omigosh, there they are!”). And that’s not very much of an exaggeration either! Here’s the list…we saw: zebras, giraffes, elephants, African buffaloes, baboons, a leopards, cheetahs, jackals, warthogs, lions, hyenas, Marabout stork, Tawny eagle, vultures, a buzzard, ostriches (these were playfully chasing each other at incredible speeds, then they’d stop by extending their feathers and spinning around), Topi, Thomson’s gazelle, Grant’s gazelle, hartebeest, a Blue wildebeest, impala, and Kirk’s dik-diks. Gosh, did I miss any? There were mongooses (or is that mongeese?) and Vervet monkeys in abundance at the lodge. On Sunday night we enjoyed Masai dancers which features jumping. Also the staff gave Ev a cake for being such a regular customer (it was her third time there)!

Lake Nakuru National Park

2006-04-22T10:50:00.000-05:00

Mon, February 20 to Tues, February 21, 2006

Left early to go to our second safari destination—Lake Nakuru National Park. This was actually a pretty rough day. We traveled 5 hours to get to Lake Nakuru, did a 2 hour safari drive that circled the lake, then drove to Lake Naivasha Lodge where we spent the night. A lot of time on bumpy roads! However, Lake Nakuru was a sight to behold. It is a shallow soda lake with more than 400 bird species, including a huge flamingo population. This park also boasts a small number of white rhino. We saw one close up, albeit mostly hidden by brush and others quite a distance away. Other exciting sightings included baboons, zebra, Colobus monkeys, giraffes, buffaloes, waterbucks and the funny warthogs that dine on bended knee and run with upright tails. Our stay at Lake Naivasha Lodge was most delectable—it seemed too nice to afford! Accommodations were top-notch (Ev and I shared a room that featured an outdoor shower, the food was scrumptious, and the grounds and pool were wonderful. It was here that Al and Nick got security all riled up when they ventured too close to a hippo (who had reportedly already killed 2 boys).

The Indian Ocean

2006-04-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

Wed February 22 to Sun February 27, 2006

Dad, Mom, Al, Julie and I left early Wednesday morning for the coast (Paula and Nick opted to do another safari in Amboseli National Park). We flew into Malindi then drove to Watamu to Turtle Bay Beach Resort, an all-inclusive hotel on the Indian Ocean. It was lovely. The weather here was very hot and humid unlike Nairobi, which is higher in elevation. Nairobi has a dry heat and was considerably cooler in the morning and evening (still didn’t warrant the warm clothes that some Kenyans donned —I even spotted someone in a parka in late afternoon). We enjoyed lots of swimming. The Indian Ocean is incredibly warm. There was scheduled beach volleyball every day which Dad, Al and I took part in. We tried out their kayaks, paddleboats and catamarans.

We saw some Giant tortoises that were rescued from the nets of fishermen—they were released into the ocean and swam away extremely fast. The highlight for me was swimming with dolphins. Dad arranged a tour on Captain John’s boat. We left at 8 a.m. to begin the search for the dolphins that swim into shallower areas each morning to feed. When we spotted a bunch, we were given a mask and snorkel and told to get in quietly and swim towards them. I was swimming away when all at once I saw about 8 or 10 of them right below me. They weren’t swimming overly fast so I was able to get quite close, but not close enough to touch them. It was amazing! After a while more boats came so we headed over to another area to snorkel. This was a neat experience as well. We swam in an enclosed area that was just loaded with fish—I wish I knew the names of them all! Our guide threw bits of bread in the water to attract them. The whole tour was so nice I decided to do it again. The second time, the dolphins were swimming faster, so we had to keep getting in the boat and driving ahead of them for a chance to swim close. The snorkeling was better, however—our guide allowed us to jump out about half a mile from the enclosed area so we could explore the reefs along the way at a leisurely pace. Mom’s not into water too much, so she opted for a camel ride along the beach. Her ride was a huge Somali camel named George. Speaking of camels, Dad tells me that he was made an offer of 51 camels in exchange for my hand in marriage. He told the guy that it would be cheaper for him to feed one daughter than 51 camels.

Maasai Ostrich Ranch and Resort

2006-04-22T10:17:00.000-05:00

Mon February 27, 2006
Back once again in Nairobi, we went to the Maasai Ostrich Ranch and Resort in Kitengala. This place boasted luxury tents, a pool and bar/restaurant facilities. We were given a brief tour where we were shown ostriches from little on up. After that, we rode an ostrich with the help of two “riders”—two fast running Kenyans who held us on the poor bird as he ran. An interesting experience, but I felt very sorry for the poor bird. After riding an ostrich, we ate one (it seemed to be the only thing that was available from their extensive menu). That evening, we went with Ev and some of her co-workers to Diamond Plaza where we feasted on wonderful Indian food.