Jambo! Checking in from Maasai Mara, and procrastinating working on my ethnobotany essay...
It's quite chilly here! I'm so glad that I brought warm leggings, and a rain jacket! This time of year is usually dry-season, but because of climate change, the rains are becoming more frequent and less predictable... Basically we're all cold, wet, and soggy.
Today we went into the nearby community to learn about land ownership, traditional knowledge, and medicinal plants. I got to taste a few strange plants (one of them was a different species of basil), and brushed my teeth with a twig! Squeaky clean!
We've been going on game drives every day. So far, we've seen zebras, giraffes, elephants, hyenas, buffalo, all sorts of antelope, ostriches, a cheetah, a leopard, and LIONS GALORE! Seriously, so many lions! Maasai Mara has one of the world's highest lion densities. On our first drive, we saw two mothers with about nine little baby Simbas all cuddling together, and yesterday we saw a bunch of lions and cubs (probably the same ones) chowing down on a nice big buffalo carcass! (Pictures to come next week when I have free wifi in Mbita!)
So now we've seen four out of the "Big Five" (lion, rhino, elephant, buffalo, leopard). We have one final game drive tomorrow, so hopefully we'll see a rhino. Gotta catch'em all!
On a final note, one of my classmates pooped in the Mara with elephants on the horizon. Pretty cool, eh?
Lovely -- so cultured! Hope this does not go into your studies journal. Can't wait to see the pictures -- not of the classmate pooping!
ReplyDeleteI just read your blog. I think I will be skipping breakfast!! Love you,
ReplyDeleteGramma
Procrastinating on your ethnobotany essay? It sounds like you're just too busy doing field research!
ReplyDeleteAlso, a question - when I think of a "game drive," I think of some rugged, all-terrain vehicle that looks like a Jeep/Hummer, but that can't fit a whole class full of people. Should I be picturing a fleet of vehicles, galloping through the plains like a pack of impala?
Hope all is well. Cheers!
Zach
We're sitting in 14 inches of snow, and you're whining about a drizzle. Love the posts. Please don't tell us where you are pooping. A Suz would like a new cat. A BIG cat.
ReplyDeleteZach -- We have two GIANT bus/truck type vehicles. Super heavy duty. I'll be posting pictures tomorrow! :)
ReplyDeleteUncle Rick -- A drizzle can be super cold when you're used to 100 degree weather! I'll try my best to bring home a lion cub!