A Memorable Memorial Day

Happy belated Memorial Day everyone!

While many of you were out on the lake or at cookouts, I celebrated with a very busy day in the Naboisho Conservancy. Our day started off by picking up the trash that littered our camp. The hyenas had once again gotten into the trash and had taken it everywhere. Following the cleanup, we headed out on an elephant monitoring drive. After an hour of driving, we came across a herd of 39 individuals. While it is common to see elephants on any drive you take in the conservancy, I am always so amazed by them. I think I could see millions of elephants in the wild and never get bored with them. Here in my program, Impact Mara, we partner with a group called Elephant Voices who are concerned with the African Elephant’s conservation and have many mobile units, my group being one of them, that send data of herd numbers, location and condition. It is very interesting to do this is the bush because once we have located a herd, we fill out an application by phone at the exact location of the animals and the software allows us to get our immediate coordinates and real time data that goes directly to the Elephant Voices office. I’ve never heard of this type of phone application so I thought it was very exciting.

When we returned from the elephant drive, we had lunch consisting of rice, beans and potatoes then headed into Nkoilale where they have a weekly open-air market. I have had some experience with open-air markets in different countries but being in a low-income village I was not prepared for the mob that descended on us the minute we looked interested in any of the wears. When I first arrived, I talked to a woman selling masks and within 30 seconds, ten other women surrounded me, putting on me necklaces, rings, bracelets, anything to sell and telling me the price. “Very Nice. 1000!” “Very pretty, 1200!” I know enough about these situations to ignore this behavior but the women were insistent so finally I just walked away and had to keep my arms crossed so they couldn’t put jewelry on me. After 20 minutes or so, we headed to the stores to get cokes for the ride home and eggs for the camp and still several of the women followed us. The minute we would walk out of a store, like sharks sensing blood in the water, they would swarm and attempt to put all they had on us in hopes we would buy it. Finally, we had all the supplies we needed and all climbed into the jeep while still being bombarded by the woman. They who hung onto our windows and pushed beaded jewelry at us. At first, the woman’s neediness was alarming however towards the end of our trip we all were rather annoyed at being grabbed and treated like human jewelry hangers. I’m glad we only go once a week.

Following our trip to Nkoilale with fresh eggs and cokes in tow, we returned to camp at 4:00 pm and had two hours of down time while dinner was prepared and loaded up into the jeep for our big cat monitoring that evening. Typically, we leave for the drive at 4 pm but tonight we had decided to eat in the bush so we had to wait until dinner was complete. During the two hours of free time, a rainstorm passed over us ,however, the sun never disappeared and as we headed out on our drive we were surrounded by rainbows. Seeing the animals in a backdrop of rainbows as the sun set was beautiful. Even better was when we stopped the car for dinner. Being someone who loves the outdoors, there was no better way to spend my Memorial Day dinner than eating fried fish, potatoes and stewed vegetables with new friends, watching the sun set over the savanna. That was an experience you will never find in a restaurant. During dinner, a pair of hyenas wondered over to investigate our meal. They kept a safe distance but seeing them was a great end to an amazing dinner. I constantly have to remind myself that I’m in Africa and their appearance was very helpful.

Once dinner was cleaned up and we were back in the jeep, we continued out search for the big cats. Gabe announced as we started the car that he had a feeling we would see a leopard that evening. While we didn’t see a leopard, we did see a Serval. They are smaller, spotted cats and are very cute but I sure as heck don’t want to try to pet one. As we followed the cat around the plains, an incoming lightning storm helped illuminate the cat as well as the local Masai that were herding their cattle by flashlight. As the lightning flashed on the horizon and the Masai cattle bells filled the night air, I have to admit that was once of the happiest nights of my life. I had always dreamed of Africa and the Masai but to be here, chasing big cats, seeing the famed herdsmen on their native land, created a feeling that I am finding hard to explain. I wish you all could be here to experience this. Pictures, which I can’t upload, can only go so far to explain what it is like. The sounds of thunder in the distance, the smell of the rain on the hot earth is something that can’t be captured on film. While not a typical holiday, I know this Memorial Day will be one that will stay with me forever.

I hope you are all well. I will try to write as much as I can as long as the Internet cooperates. My global phone is now useless because it no longer gets signal so if anyone is trying to text me, I apologize for not responding. Email is always a good option if you really need to get in contact with me. I will try to post another blog soon.