Kakamega Forest

Our first stop this morning was a bird watch in Kakamega Forest. I was surprised to find out that fifteen indigenous species of birds are only found in this particular forest. After picking up a bird watcher Fabian knew on the side of the rode, we headed towards the forest. Before the hike Lindar made a comment about climate change, referring to it as the Northern Hemisphere effect. I inquired what she meant. She explained to me how the Northern Hemisphere had caused all the climate change. I find this very interesting. I do think the Northern Hemisphere has a lot to do with climate change, but I also think other parts of the world are just as guilty to contributing.

The hike was long and I didn’t see very many birds. The birds that were spotted were always near the tops of the trees. The guides shocked me with their ability to identify the birds at such a distance. To me, the birds looked like little dots bouncing at the tops. My bird watch turned into more of a monkey watch as the monkeys were all over. This also meant I had to listen for sounds of rain, which actually turned out to be the monkeys urinating. There is a peacefulness and harmonizing effect that occurs in forests—one that cannot be described in words or recorded for others to hear. It’s really something I can’t describe but it’s beautiful. Mixed with the lush, green vegetation and the sight of the sun illuminating the fog of water evaporating from plants makes the forest magical in a sense. We hiked for about two hours and emerged from the forest full of mud due to the nightly rains. No time was wasted, however, and we jumped in the car to begin our specimen collection. We picked up another local to serve as our field assistant for the day.

Today, we preformed our sample collection backwards compared to yesterday, attempting to see if the time of the day we collect our samples has any effect on the water quality. At our first stop, some cattle were drinking from the stream—a sure contributor to water pollution. At this location, we had a hard time gathering any insects. All of our scoops seemed to be empty. After collecting just a few, we moved on. While driving to our second location, we saw bull fighting in a field. The whole town seemed to be spectating. Our second collection sight didn’t have as many spectators as yesterday; the children must have been in school. At this sight we captured some large insects. The third and fourth sights were routine. Nothing fascinating, unless you enjoy finding macro-invertebrates with an astonishing ability to camouflage. I had to laugh during some of the collections as I felt as if I were doing a “Where’s Waldo?” puzzle. During our collection days we ate lunch on the go with the food we had purchased from Nakumatt on the first day in Kakamega. Not really sure what to buy in a supermarket offering different foods I bought some buns with a tub of vegetable fat (butter). The vegetable fat didn’t have to be refrigerated so it was easy to stick in my backpack with the bag of buns. So in the car, as we traveled down unpaved roads throwing us every which way, I dipped my bread straight into the vegetable fat container. I wonder what those I was working with thought; I know I would have found it strange to witness someone doing a similar thing.

Wanting to see the city of Kakamega at night, I went out to dinner with Lindar and her family. After walking through the busy streets in the nightly downpour, we made it to a small local restaurant in a shopping center, Korde 56. Her sisters and their children were very nice and welcoming. One continually joked about getting the United States government to send people to trade lives with them for a while. She also offered for me to take her daughter back with me. As cute as the little girl, I don’t think that would be allowed. I ordered a Margherita Pizza, which was a mistake. I should just stick with local cuisine because their attempts at any other food usually result in a failure. The family asked me how America is. I never really know how to respond to this question, of course it’s a great country and I now see how fortunate I am to live there, but how am I supposed to respond?

When I returned to the Guest House the power was out once again. With dwindling battery power in most of my electronics I lit up a candle. I felt primitive getting ready for bed and reading under candlelight. I was surprised at how much light a single candle can provide. The little smoke also kept the mosquitos away for a good night’s sleep.