JAMBO !!!!
It is hard to remember the moment when we actually arrived in Kenya. I think it was 09-24-06. We came into Mombassa early in the morning and began work right after we docked. It was a long time with out sleep for me, probably 48 hours with one or 2 hours of sleep in there somewhere. Most of that was work related but a soon as my first day was
over in Mombassa I hit the town.
I can say right off the bat that this is WAY better than any of our other African ports. The town is not exactly a metropolis but, there is plenty to do at night as far as clubs. I can't wait till I upgrade so I can work evenings now and then. It would be nice to see these towns during the day.
The people here speak English. I guess the Official language is English, the National language is Swahili, also spoken is the Mother Tong and a mix of 48 other tribal tongs. Everyone is very nice,
and the workers aboard the ship work hard and well. I don't expect I will have to fire anyone in this port.
It is interesting to think of being the only white guy hanging out somewhere; in absolute no way do I ever feel like a minority in the crowd. Everywhere I am welcome and people want to know were I come from then of course they want to know what America is like. It is clear that most everyone wants to at least visit America.
Something also interesting... The girls like American White Men. Go figure! I was asked by one gal to introduce her to any man on the ship. (I was hanging out with her sister) She insisted he not be black.
Well, when in Rome.....humm .... Let’s talk about something else.
TSAVO EAST NATIONAL PARK...
The safari
On 9/26/06 I woke up early to catch the bus that took 5 of us to Tsavo East. The T is silent. Of course the van was filled with beer and other assorted booze (I don't recommend this if you want good pics, on the other hand what the hell right?. We took the road from Mombassa to Nairobi. The first hour and a half was rough. The driver called it "The African Massage". Talk about pot holes, these were not nearly as large or as deep as the VW swallowing holes in Lome', Togo but they were constant and everywhere. Drivers would swerve head on to each other as they maneuvered through them, supposedly missing the bigger or deeper ones. I am not sure that our driver missed a single one. I like to think of it as "The Pot Hole Slalom".
Eventually we made it to newer and smoother road. The driver took us first to a curio store. I am not sure what a curio looks like, but I don't think saw one. But they had lots of really great stuff in there. That is when I realized that at 5 am that morning I was to tired to make sure I had money in my wallet. Unfortunately I only had a few bucks and the rest was on the ship. I did buy a Safari hat though. Can't go on Safari with out the hat, right? The same hat was offered to me when we got to the gate of the park for half the price :(
It was when we were at the gate that I realized the $50.00 battery I bought for my camera as an extra, was sitting in my drawer on the ship with my money. So I only had about one hour of video power. I used every trick in the book I could think of to conserve power, and the camera did last through the Safari. But it pooped out when we visited the Masi Tribe.
Tsavo is something else. I want to come back again and stay at the lodge for a week sometime. If you like animals, someday try to do it if you can.
Well here is a partial list of the animals we saw.
Dick Dick (okay, a bunch of drunken sailors first
animal was the DickDick....the seriousness of the safari was lost at the start)
Wart Hog
Grey Eagle
Black Bearded Bastard (a bird...either it was the booze or the drivers English, but for a long time we all called it a Blackberry Bastard)
Elephants, lots of 'em
Ant hills, lots of those to, some may have been termite mounds but we couldn't get out to see up close
Grand Gazelles
Ostriches (unfortunately kind of far away)
Lesser Kundu
Giraffes (mom and two kids)
Baboons (I think the driver said Yellow Baboons but they were not yellow)
Zebras
Lions (got great pics of a Lioness, her mate was to far for good pics but still got video) (the group that went the next day witnessed a kill)
Water buffalo (lots of those too)
and some monkeys, not sure what kind. And other assorted mammals, rodents and lizards of
names I know not. We eventually made it to the lodge for lunch.
WHAT A VIEW!!!! We ate in an open air restaurant that over looked the plains stretching to the horizon and distant hills to either side. As you ate you could watch elephants roam right below you with herds of water buffalo. As we ate, the guy sitting closest to the rail had his two bread rolls stolen
by a very quick and sly baboon. The baboon got away with the loot before almost anyone could
comprehend what was happening.
The lodge had a trail that wound down the hill. At the base there is a watering hole and the trail ends in a tunnel for the humans. Once in the tunnel you get an eye level view of the animals that come to the watering hole. There are bars to keep the people out. It was a Reverse Zoo! Seems to me to be about right. Amazing is the only, yet inadequate word to describe the whole thing.
We did not see any Cheetahs or Rhinos. But I understand that Tsavo is very large, and in the East part those animals are very seldom seen. I think Tsavo West is where they hang out.
After the park our driver asked us if we would like to visit a Masi Village. He explained that they now allow tourists to come and take pictures, but they request payment. $10.00 US per person. He said
they have no use for the money except to buy more cattle. We decided to go see the Masi.
Considering the Masi have no dentists, they are beautiful people. We were invited into their homes to see where they sleep and cook. Their houses are built of sticks and cow dung. Actually they seemed
rather sturdy and the floors felt spongy soft. They use cow leather as mattresses for sleeping and each house has 2 bed rooms, one for mom and dad and one for the kiddies. The cooking area is next to mom and dads room. The single men and women each get their own homes. The women build all the houses. I think it was the age of five (it may be older I can't remember for sure), you get branded
with the tribal brand on the cheek. These people had sort of a spiral brand. The brand makes them an official member of the tribe.
At some point before the males turn 21 they must kill a Lion to pass the manhood test. They go out in groups of 6 to 10. One lion counts for the whole group (which is good for the lion population I guess).
The Masi taught us how they build fire. I rubbed my sticks together very well thank you and got my fire going with no problem. Those guys on survivor are a bunch of Rubes! The secret was a little bit of sand in the hole of the bottom piece of wood. The two pieces must be different, one hard wood one soft. After fire they danced for us. When they asked us to dance with them I was the only one that did. The guys like to jump when they dance. So I jumped with them. My camera was out of power buy then, but Joy says she got video from her camera, so I hope I get a copy.
After the dance they showed and offered for sale their jewelry and weapons that they make. There stuff is beautiful and there I was with out any money. Sigh..... I would have liked to have helped buy
them another cow LOL.
Well, that hardly sums it up I think, but I can't type all night :)
We are guessing that Monday we will be leaving Mombassa for Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. But today the rains came on hard. Each time it rains we must stop discharging our grain and cover all the hatches. This slows us down considerably. So it is hard to say for sure we'll leave.
I hope you are all doing well and I miss you.
Take care
Jesse
It is hard to remember the moment when we actually arrived in Kenya. I think it was 09-24-06. We came into Mombassa early in the morning and began work right after we docked. It was a long time with out sleep for me, probably 48 hours with one or 2 hours of sleep in there somewhere. Most of that was work related but a soon as my first day was
over in Mombassa I hit the town.
I can say right off the bat that this is WAY better than any of our other African ports. The town is not exactly a metropolis but, there is plenty to do at night as far as clubs. I can't wait till I upgrade so I can work evenings now and then. It would be nice to see these towns during the day.
The people here speak English. I guess the Official language is English, the National language is Swahili, also spoken is the Mother Tong and a mix of 48 other tribal tongs. Everyone is very nice,
and the workers aboard the ship work hard and well. I don't expect I will have to fire anyone in this port.
It is interesting to think of being the only white guy hanging out somewhere; in absolute no way do I ever feel like a minority in the crowd. Everywhere I am welcome and people want to know were I come from then of course they want to know what America is like. It is clear that most everyone wants to at least visit America.
Something also interesting... The girls like American White Men. Go figure! I was asked by one gal to introduce her to any man on the ship. (I was hanging out with her sister) She insisted he not be black.
Well, when in Rome.....humm .... Let’s talk about something else.
TSAVO EAST NATIONAL PARK...
The safari
On 9/26/06 I woke up early to catch the bus that took 5 of us to Tsavo East. The T is silent. Of course the van was filled with beer and other assorted booze (I don't recommend this if you want good pics, on the other hand what the hell right?. We took the road from Mombassa to Nairobi. The first hour and a half was rough. The driver called it "The African Massage". Talk about pot holes, these were not nearly as large or as deep as the VW swallowing holes in Lome', Togo but they were constant and everywhere. Drivers would swerve head on to each other as they maneuvered through them, supposedly missing the bigger or deeper ones. I am not sure that our driver missed a single one. I like to think of it as "The Pot Hole Slalom".
Eventually we made it to newer and smoother road. The driver took us first to a curio store. I am not sure what a curio looks like, but I don't think saw one. But they had lots of really great stuff in there. That is when I realized that at 5 am that morning I was to tired to make sure I had money in my wallet. Unfortunately I only had a few bucks and the rest was on the ship. I did buy a Safari hat though. Can't go on Safari with out the hat, right? The same hat was offered to me when we got to the gate of the park for half the price :(
It was when we were at the gate that I realized the $50.00 battery I bought for my camera as an extra, was sitting in my drawer on the ship with my money. So I only had about one hour of video power. I used every trick in the book I could think of to conserve power, and the camera did last through the Safari. But it pooped out when we visited the Masi Tribe.
Tsavo is something else. I want to come back again and stay at the lodge for a week sometime. If you like animals, someday try to do it if you can.
Well here is a partial list of the animals we saw.
Dick Dick (okay, a bunch of drunken sailors first
animal was the DickDick....the seriousness of the safari was lost at the start)
Wart Hog
Grey Eagle
Black Bearded Bastard (a bird...either it was the booze or the drivers English, but for a long time we all called it a Blackberry Bastard)
Elephants, lots of 'em
Ant hills, lots of those to, some may have been termite mounds but we couldn't get out to see up close
Grand Gazelles
Ostriches (unfortunately kind of far away)
Lesser Kundu
Giraffes (mom and two kids)
Baboons (I think the driver said Yellow Baboons but they were not yellow)
Zebras
Lions (got great pics of a Lioness, her mate was to far for good pics but still got video) (the group that went the next day witnessed a kill)
Water buffalo (lots of those too)
and some monkeys, not sure what kind. And other assorted mammals, rodents and lizards of
names I know not. We eventually made it to the lodge for lunch.
WHAT A VIEW!!!! We ate in an open air restaurant that over looked the plains stretching to the horizon and distant hills to either side. As you ate you could watch elephants roam right below you with herds of water buffalo. As we ate, the guy sitting closest to the rail had his two bread rolls stolen
by a very quick and sly baboon. The baboon got away with the loot before almost anyone could
comprehend what was happening.
The lodge had a trail that wound down the hill. At the base there is a watering hole and the trail ends in a tunnel for the humans. Once in the tunnel you get an eye level view of the animals that come to the watering hole. There are bars to keep the people out. It was a Reverse Zoo! Seems to me to be about right. Amazing is the only, yet inadequate word to describe the whole thing.
We did not see any Cheetahs or Rhinos. But I understand that Tsavo is very large, and in the East part those animals are very seldom seen. I think Tsavo West is where they hang out.
After the park our driver asked us if we would like to visit a Masi Village. He explained that they now allow tourists to come and take pictures, but they request payment. $10.00 US per person. He said
they have no use for the money except to buy more cattle. We decided to go see the Masi.
Considering the Masi have no dentists, they are beautiful people. We were invited into their homes to see where they sleep and cook. Their houses are built of sticks and cow dung. Actually they seemed
rather sturdy and the floors felt spongy soft. They use cow leather as mattresses for sleeping and each house has 2 bed rooms, one for mom and dad and one for the kiddies. The cooking area is next to mom and dads room. The single men and women each get their own homes. The women build all the houses. I think it was the age of five (it may be older I can't remember for sure), you get branded
with the tribal brand on the cheek. These people had sort of a spiral brand. The brand makes them an official member of the tribe.
At some point before the males turn 21 they must kill a Lion to pass the manhood test. They go out in groups of 6 to 10. One lion counts for the whole group (which is good for the lion population I guess).
The Masi taught us how they build fire. I rubbed my sticks together very well thank you and got my fire going with no problem. Those guys on survivor are a bunch of Rubes! The secret was a little bit of sand in the hole of the bottom piece of wood. The two pieces must be different, one hard wood one soft. After fire they danced for us. When they asked us to dance with them I was the only one that did. The guys like to jump when they dance. So I jumped with them. My camera was out of power buy then, but Joy says she got video from her camera, so I hope I get a copy.
After the dance they showed and offered for sale their jewelry and weapons that they make. There stuff is beautiful and there I was with out any money. Sigh..... I would have liked to have helped buy
them another cow LOL.
Well, that hardly sums it up I think, but I can't type all night :)
We are guessing that Monday we will be leaving Mombassa for Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. But today the rains came on hard. Each time it rains we must stop discharging our grain and cover all the hatches. This slows us down considerably. So it is hard to say for sure we'll leave.
I hope you are all doing well and I miss you.
Take care
Jesse
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