Saturday, July 21, 2012

Lots of Crocs


The hotel I am staying in is nice for African standards. From the looks of things, they recently retiled the floors and bathroom. One area they forgot to fix, however, is the sinks. The faucets seem to be rusting, giving my skin a metallic smell with a simple shower or hand wash. But I can’t complain. There’s a pool within a few feet from my door and a little further down the resort lies a beach on the Indian Ocean. Needless to say, this morning I went to check out my surroundings, staying within the hotel boundaries of course. The air is muggy and more humid than Nairobi. I really enjoy the heat and the salty ocean breeze. The sand was fine and white, almost making me feel as if I’m no longer in Africa. The breakfast served consisted of pancakes and French toast. The French toast was decent and the pancakes were thinner than I would typically have back home, also a little sweeter. The resort I’m staying at has two pool areas, both of which look very nice. I sat by one waiting for Miriam to come pick me up this morning. All this scenery is beautiful, but not why I am in Mombasa.


Let me step back a second to explain. When one of my advisers at icipe saw my interest in marine sciences, she immediately thought of sending me to KMFRI (Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute). This is a government run organization, so I was required to send a letter requesting a week internship with one of their staff. They accepted my response and assigned Miriam to be my guide and instructor for the week. Each day Miriam has a plan for me to learn more about KMFRI and the Mombasa area.
Last night I called Miriam to tell her I was here and inquire what time she would pick me up this morning. My American accent threw her off, but eventually she figured out who I was and said she would get me at ten. I should have known this was African time. Finally, at about eleven thirty, she arrived. Being a Saturday, Miriam took me Mamba Village, a local crocodile farm. I think this is related to the crocodile place I visited in Nairobi. We paid at the gate and proceeded on the path a guide instructed us to follow. After a windy trail and looking at some bridges that were about to collapse (we didn’t use these), we caught up to another tour group and joined in. We walked through the park looking at all of the crocodiles. The arrangement was similar to a zoo. Crocodiles were everywhere! The village had the crocodiles divided into age groups. The youngest ones would soon be killed for food. The larger crocodiles were often missing parts of their tails or entire pieces of their jaw from fighting over food. I think the village may have had too many crocodiles in each area. The way some were literally piled on each other was something I had never seen before. Like in Nairobi, I was able to hold a few, except these ones were substantially smaller. The guides request payment or “appreciation” after letting the visitors hold crocodiles or giving tours. This always makes me laugh after we paid to get in. Mamba Village also had a botanical garden, small aquarium, and snake park. I was able to hold one of the snakes as well. In visiting places where animals are kept, I have found the areas are not as well maintained as zoos I have visited in the past. The enclosures often look poorly cleaned, if cleaned at all. I wonder if this has an effect on the life span of the animals.


For lunch, Miriam took me into downtown Mombasa. I didn’t think it was possible, but the streets of Mombasa are even more crowded than the streets of Nairobi. There is a prominent beach feel in the air. The heat carries an uncleanly stench with it. These streets still have those begging for money and children’s starving eyes—the constant reminder of why I am here. Miriam wanted to take me to one of her favorite Swahili restaurants. Being the season of Ramadan, the restaurant was closed. Mombasa has a prominent Muslim community. Walking through the streets we could hear a prayer going on at a local mosque. The Swahili women are everywhere as well, apparent by their full body black dresses. The different attire adds to the diversity of the area.
Since the restaurant was closed, Miriam took me to a local place. With all of the tables full, instead of having us wait, the restaurant took us to some open seats at a table to share with another woman. After ordering fish, I went to wash my hands, expecting a whole fish to appear on my plate. For once the fish was filleted; what a relief. I liked being able to use my fork and knife to eat with and not worrying about any bones. When the waiter came back and Miriam told him to take his time one the check, he sure did. I think we did not leave the place until an hour after we had finished eating. During that time I got to know Miriam better and how she ended up in Mombasa. She had numerous questions for me about America t00.


Miriam took me to Haller Park after lunch. She explained to me that Haller Park used to be a big quarry where limestone was mined to make cement at a local factory. The factory then made the park into an animal reserve where hippos, crocodiles, and other animals are found. We had arrived just in time for the hippo feeding and hurried to their enclosure. We were literally face to face with the hippos as they ate their meat. The crocodile feeding was next and was amusing to watch. The man put meat onto a pulley and dangled it over the water. As a crocodile would snap, the man would pull the meat up. Eventually all the meat was gone and we headed to the snake park. Haller Park was littered with monkeys. They were swinging in the trees and all around us. They were obviously immune to humans, as when we would approach they would just sit and stare. I think the monkeys still amaze me because I am not used to seeing them outside and not enclosed in a zoo. After a day filled with animal watching in the heat of Mombasa, I was thankful to come back to my air conditioned room.


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