Kenya A Rocha

The next morning I took off on Kenyan Air for Malindi, the nearest airport to the A Rocha training and conservation center in Watumba

On the way to where I would be staying, I noticed that the local housing design differed from that in the highlands.  Here, with an abundance of palms, thatched roofs covered and stick and mud walled houses.  Though one might be inclined to assume that 

this building technique was only for the poorest of the poor, I saw several compounds of five or six buildings with well kept grounds that indicated something other than abject poverty.  I talked to someone who said that these homes are airy and cool.  He preferred them to concrete block.

I arrived at A Rocha around lunch time.  A few of the staff are lounging on the porch.  I found the humidity and heat overwhelming.  My experience with the seashore was that it offered a cool pleasant climate.  Not so at the equator.  My room included a bathroom with a shower, and though there center had a solar heater for water, we were asked to take short showers to conserve water.  There never seemed to be time for the hot water to get from the tank to my room.  This part of Kenya suffers from epidemic malaria, so the bed netting is heavily impregnated with insecticide. The smell and the heat made sleeping difficult.

But the ocean was great, warm with a beautiful sandy beach.

This is the view of the Indian Ocean I could see outside my room

One morning I got up to see the moon set over the jungle

and the sun rise over the Indian Ocean.

A Rocha Kenya works with local farmers to preserve Arabuko Sokoke forest to preserve the habitat for local birds.  This is a tree in short nature walk on the center property.  The black band is the result of beetle infestation.

The center is staffed by administrators environmentalist, and researchers. While I was there two young volunteers from Britain and New Zealand rounded out the permanent residents.In addition to myself, other guests included several avid birders anda woman from New Hampshire recovering from volunteering for a year with Doctors Without Borders at Lake Victoria. Elsba, one of the permanent staff, cooked wonderful lunches and dinners in this kitchen.  The food was kept in a locked room so the monkeys wouldn't get it.

One day I went into Gede with Elsba to get groceries for the center.  This is the local grocery store, frequented by White Kenyans and expats.

The street outside is filled with many small businesses.

The next day I took off early in the morning for a safari in Tsavo National Animal reserve.