Sunday Feb 28
Sunday, Feb 28th, 2010
Sitting at the dining room table of our 2nd story house overlooking the bougainvilea’d and glass-shard topped walls of Malindi. Roosters are crowing and Judah’s on the porch with Biba, the monkey who’s alternately bouncing off the walls and allowing herself to be groomed.
Jacqui and I met up in Nairobi, where we both arrived on Friday morning after playing tag through Honolulu, LA, London. We spent the day at Didi’s Abha Light offices. Didi was running full steam as usual, but we were able to sit and visit over a vegetarian lunch.
That evening our little group (now consisting of Jacqui, Aidan, Judah and myself) caught the all-night train to Mombasa. On the platform we met a family from Paris who were traveling in the same car, and it was lovely to visit with them sporadically throughout our journey. The Nairobi-Mombasa train has always been fun, with its rollicking rhythms and dining car with silver service, and sleeping berths, and sweepung panoramas of African savannas.
We rolled into Mombasa around mid=day, met our taxi man and rode two hours up the coast to Malindi where we’ll be for the next week. It’s been arranged that we’ll stay at this house, and it’s wonderful to have a place to spread out, dig in, and get ready for the coming week. The boys traveling with us are thrilled a the small zoo living in the compounds, and Biba the monkey and a few of the cats seem pretty thrilled with us too. The compound belongs to the uncle of one of the Omari staff, who lives in on e of the other houses with his Italian wife and their son who is Judah’s age.
Shosi, my Omari colleague (who helps arrange these trips and trainings), came by to discuss the coming week, and the events for next week on Lamu. Things seem pretty well in hand with enough give to be flexible. We’ll start the training tomorrow, and I’m revving my engines in anticipation. Stacey, the last person in our TCMCH group, will be arriving this afternoon.
When we got home from dinner last night we started receiving texts and phone calls from folks in the US about the earthquake off Chile and the likelihood of a tsunami in Hawaii. What followed were several hours of stress and worry as we tried to find out more without a tv, internet, or radio access. We were thankful to eventually hear that no serious damage was done, but I’ll be happy to get tot he internet cafe soon to verify our news, and where I’ll post this.
And now here I am at the internet cafe, but will have to rush off to meet the others. Just had a very full day of our first training, and spent yesterday afternoon on a Swahili dhow sailing and swimming off the coast. Somehow never a dull moment here.