Marine adventures

Is there a better way to celebrate your return to the marine program than going on a field survey being the boat captain? Yes, that's what has happened today. Little by little, to the best of my ability, and with the supervision of an already experience captain (Mike, one of the marine staff) I have leaded the survey back and forth the Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park and, what is more important, safely. I must say that I am a little proud, as the sea was pretty rough. Because driving a dhow is not as easy as it may seem, even if it has a fuel-powered engine!
Anyway, I love boat surveys: snorkeling transects with tons of colorful fish and stingrays... and, as usual, dolphins! I was already missing it!

End of Ramadan

Yesterday was a special date:the Eid,  the most important day of the Muslim calendar. And the occasion deserved it: after one month of fasting, the muslim community was already free to eat and drink at any moment of the day. Ramadan is one of the 5 pillar of the Islam (with the pilgrimage to Meca, the profession of the faith, praying and alms), and the end of this period is the most important celebration for them. Hence, it was a pretty special day in the Kenyan coast, where most people profess the Islamic faith and, in the case of the island where I live, almost everybody.
Sean (on of the GVI community workers) and I were kindly invited by Juma, one of the askaris (watchmen in swahili) of GVI, to celebrate this festivity with him and his (enormous) family. It was an amazing experience, and for sure not one you can live many times in your live being a Westerner. I was welcomed by the relatives of Juma, all of them dressing their best clothes, and by the crowd of kids in the family, eat traditional Swahili food in the traditional way (a.k.a.: with your bare right hand, being impolite to use the left one) sat in the ground in Juma's house. A dinner to remember!

Inhabitants of the Shimoni forest

African fish eagle (Photo: GVI)

Angolan black and white colobus (Photo: GVI)

Sykes monkey (Photo: GVI)

Palm nut vulture (Photo: GVI)

Yellow baboon (Photo: GVI)

Back to Mkwiro

After three weeks in Shimoni, I am finally back on Wasini Island, on our base in Mkwiro village. Home sweet home! No running or fresh water, no electricity... but who cares? The sunsets and the sea are worth it!

Mombasa tales

This weekend I have finally fulfilled an ambition I have had since I arrived first in Kenya: visiting Mombasa! Yes, it’s true that I have already been there, but at that time I was having meetings and formation lectures, and having an insight of the GVI project in Nyali, so I actually didn’t have any opportunity to see the city. Hence, I took the first opportunity I had to go up to this city of suggesting name.

Fort Jesus, lookig after the entrance to the port of Mombasa

I have had the chance to see Fort Jesus, a fortress made by the Portuguese after the first visit of Vasco de Gama to the city, and which has gone through a history of sieges, slaughter, betrayal and greed. Surrounding the fortress you can find the labyrinth of narrow streets that form the Old Town of Mombasa, a puzzled chaos of Portuguese, British and Arab architecture, absolutely lively and charming. The rest of the Mombasa island is deeply more chaotic than the old town: ample streets and avenues are crowded with a multitude of pedestrians, bikes, motorbikes, matatus, buses, cars and tuk-tuks (a 3-wheeled car, used like a taxi), making the traffic of the city an absolute nightmare for any foreigner.

The Old Town

I also explored Nyali, the posh suburb of Mombasa. This is where most of the wealthy inhabitants of the city live, and also were a lot of expensive tourist resort are placed, besides Nyali beach. However, this doesn’t mean that there is not poverty. Just the opposite: in between the mansions and cool buildings, hundreds of poor persons live in small metallic houses, in small slums (where GVI works).

Nyali beach, meeting point for both tourists and people from Mombasa... in separate areas.

Nyali is a source of amazingness. This is the place where the Somalian pirates come looking for a quiet retirement when they have earned enough money, where hunger and poverty inhabit door-to-door with western-style supermarkets, cinemas and shops. Mosques are abundant, but you can also find a small aquapark, a golf ground and even a brand-new enormous hinduistic temple…

The temple... inside it, you feel like on the other side of the Indian Ocean

Welcome to Mombasa! Welcome to Africa!

One month

Yes, it has passed a full month since I landed in this torrid, colorful and amazing country. My only question is... already one month!!!!!????? But how?

Boat captain!

The great achievement of this week? Nothing less than getting my RYA Power Boat Level 2 license! Opposite to my ordinary driving license, I got it in the very first attempt! After a 2-day long course, I am officially able to drive powerboats all around the globe, so... does somebody want a ride?

Shimoni's deck

Sketches from Shimoni

The goats

I have already commented that goats roam freely through our base on Mkwiro. But it's not only that: they seem to be the most abundant animal on Kenya, invading all non-fenced territories with their noisy herds. Here you have them!

Now with photos!

As promised, I am uploading some photos of the place, adding them to the already existing entries. Hope you enjoy them!

Some related links

Here you can find the Blogs that GVI Kenya owns and which I have already started to manage, as part of my duties. You can also find them in the "Links" box in the left column of this Blog.
GVI Kenya in Blogger: mainly about the daily life and annecdotes in the different bases and projects. It's written by our volunteers and staff members.
http://gvikenya.blogspot.com/
GVI Kenya in Wildlife Direct: more focused on the scientific activities. On this Blog directory, owned by the KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service), several conservation NGOs and organizations post about their activities:
http://gvikenya.wildlifedirect.org/

Briefs from a week in the forest program

So, here it comes the (I hope) eagerly expected update about my adventures in Africa!
As I already posted, during the last week and, even, this morning, I have had the opportunity to participate in the forest project. What is it about? Basically, we perform some scientific research focused on an improved management of the Shimoni forest, currently endangered by the demographic growth of this village, that already accounts with about 4000 inhabitants. Curiously, they themselves are in need of preserving this forest, as they need it for the collection of fuel and timber. However, unsustainable practices, as charcoal production, are decreasing the forested area drastically.
Moreover, this forest gives shelter to the biggest population in Kenya of the colored Angolan Black and White Colobus, and the endemic Zanj Elephant Shreew. It also hides some pieces of traditionally sacred forest areas, known as "kayas". Among the species that live here, you can also find several species of hornbills, baboons, vervet and sykes monkeys, antelopes and a variety of birds, arthropods and plants. And, only 20 years ago, you could even find elephants dwelling between these trees. It is not strange that the East African Coastal Forests have been declared one of the World's 25 Biodiversity Hot Spots by the IUCN (International Union for the Consevation of Nature).
And what kind of surveys do we perform here? Here you can find a small list:
- Primate and hornbill etology (studies about the behaviour).
- Biodiversity surveys: mainly about birds and butterflies.
- Canopy studies, analyzing the height and distribution of the canopy throughout the year.
- Mangroove studies, analyzing their dynamics.
- Disturbance studies, analyzing the human disturbance in the forest: extraction of wood for fuel and timber, charcoal production, forest clearing...
The objective: enhance the scientific knowledge about this golden piece of nature, and help the local community to manage their resources, of which they are in a huge need, on a sustainable way.
But please, don't think that the local people are not aware of the problem. Actually, they are pretty concerned, and a partnership between GVI and the local community has resulted on a CBO (Community Based Organization) called Friends of Shimoni Forest, which has taken a lot of interesting and successful initiatives and with which I am expecting to work in close contact. But don't worryt, you will receive more detailed updates about them.
Hugs for you all from the Equator!

Under a red moon

I had forgotten that in Africa, some nights, if you are lucky enough as to look up to the sky, you can enjoy of the spectacle of a moon tinted in red, half hidden in the clouds.

Community projects, and so

I apologize for having been disappeared for a while. The past weeks I have been working on the community project that GVI is carrying on in Shimoni. What are these projects about? Basically, the volunteers and GVI staff members teach English in the village schools, and sometimes also other things like math or informatics to the oldest ones. On a community level, GVI participates also in other local organizations, like the Women’s Group and the Friends of Shimoni Forest.

Due to Ramadan, the schools have holiday during the afternoon, and we have organized a summer camp for the kids to participate in several activities, such as sports tournaments, music and fashion contests, treasure hunts…

And what about this week? The forest conservation project.

Ramadan in the Swahili coast

The coast of Tanzania and Kenya is home to an ethnic group called Swahili, who owes a distinct language and culture. This group developed through centuries of mixing between Arabic people, who emigrated from Persia, and the local communities. Hence, their language is a mixture of Arabic and African languages, as well as their appearance and culture. And they still share the Muslim faith.

One of the mosques in Shimoni, at dusk.

 Despite the touristy attractions of the area, the local populations are still pretty conservative in their costumes and habits. For instance, in Mkwiro Island, it is not adequate to show your shoulders and knees and, moreover, girls should cover their head and full legs.

And, of course, they celebrate Ramadan. This is, as most of you already know, a period of about a month consacred to spirituality, during which Muslim people fast during daylight hours. This means that they have to wake up early in the morning and eat and drink as much as they can, because they won’t taste any drink or food until the sun sets in the afternoon.

Opposite to the popular belief, this fasting does not involve a consequent gluttony and massive ingestion of food in the evening. After more or less 12 hours of fasting, the stomach shrinks, which makes you loose the appetite very rapidly. And the banquet is not as lusty as we westerners use to think.

Some of my workmates have decided to join this tradition in solidarity with our local hosts. Most of you know me well, and I am sure you already imagine I am not taking part on this celebration that has still two more weeks to go.

Huge baobab in Shimoni.

And action begins!

Some good news: as an introduction to my job, I am going trough a training that will show me the different projects and activities of GVI in Kenya, both in community development and in nature conservation. Because of that, the last days have been a non-stop of presentations about health and safety, transects, marine biology. But this week, at last, I have had the opportunity to go out on the boat and participate in the research projects!

A dhow in front of Wasini Island

And what’s new about that? Well, nothing special… it seems. Just amazing dives in coral reefs, dolphins, whales and sails in a wooden “dhow” (traditional Swahili boat). It seems that all those things are just normal in this base, in other words, their daily routine. Nothing special?

The view from a dhow's board.