Ox Balls? I'll have 2 with everything

Carnivore!!!!!!!!

Now that's a Bar - B - Que!!!!! Could I get the meat coated meat with meat filling please.

 

At the age of 52 one thing that should be known at this point in life is that any decision made after 3 beers is suspect and should be considered very carefully. Such was the decision to try Ox Balls at Carnivore Restaurant. "Will give you strength and you will become more brave" I was assured. Huh! - well what man doesn't need a bit more of that! Bring it on!!!

 

Since 1972, Carnivore restaurant in both Johannesburg and Nairobi have been challenging meat eaters to a showdown of epic proportion. Vegetarians need not apply.

  

The flag stood for over 2 hours! The veggies were mostly ignored..

 As long as the flag is up the servers continue to come by your table with spits of roasted meat! Only when you tip the flag and surrender do they stop the parade of mostly delicious meaty treats. Ahhh -  pork, pork ribs, Turkey, beef, rabbit, lamb, gizzards, livers, the list goes on and on. While it used to serve Zebra Ostrich and others exotic wild meats, these bush meats are no longer available although there is still crocodile (chewy like snake and the same chicken-like taste) and of course my favorite Ox balls.

Bob - you're  looking absolutely delicious tonight....

The restaurant has a surprising number of cats chillin' and watching the "Beast of a Feast" as it is aptly named. This was surprising to me not due to potential Ministry of health code violations arising from their proximity to food but rather because an all meat restaurant hardly seems the best place for an animal that's relatively easy to catch, trusting, and right beside the bar-b-que. Good thing I stopped at 3 beers....

 

Pictured here is my fellow Carnivore and colleague Maina . In additon to an amazing appetite, he is a long-term committed and professional MSF Manager who excels at his work and is as pleasant and thoughful a person as you'll ever meat.... meet I mean. Many thanks to him for arranging "the Beast of a Feast"

My advice: Pass on the ox balls.....

 I also visited the Karen Blixen Museum this week - who you may remember as the author of the novel later made into the famous movie Out of Africa.  It starring Robert Redford and Maryl Streep. Noteworthy in my view is the beauty and serenity of the Ngong Hills surrounding the estate. Karen's quote below beautifully captures the sentiment.



 To be lonely is a state of mind, something completely other than physical solitude; when modern authors rant about the soul's intolerable loneliness, it is only proof of their own intolerable emptiness. – Out of Africa, 1937

 

2013 Stats for MSF operations at Dadaab

 

With each passing week I learn a bit more about the plight of the African people in the region. And while I've always known how challenging life is here (and other nearby regions facing insecurity, lack of access to medical care, and hunger) - there's a new awareness that goes well beyond just reading the words on the page or watching images flash by on a screen.

 

This week I'm painfully aware of the refugees in Daddab in North Eastern Kenya. 300,000+ mostly Somalian refuges are in the camp doing nearly nothing day after day after day. My good friend Paul once said of me - "if something interesting doesn't come across your desk every 10 minutes, you go mad"- so I have no idea how these people get through each day - month - year. The circumstances are dysfunctional and horrific from so many perspectives.

 

This week MSF undertook the difficult decision of withdrawing 40 staff from the camp due to increasing insecurity. It must be brutal for the well meaning National and Expat MSF staff  but worse is that the victims continue to be re-victimized. I don't know what the solution is but not talking about it isn't it.

 

 

I bought a guitar this week - after searching for weeks I finally ended up buying something used from a guy in a coffee shop. A bit shady but good musical instruments seem to be hard to find though I suspect if you are in the know it's easier. Anyways this sweet little Yamaha 310 is now all mine.... now just figuring out how to play the damn thing:) I have started first with a very Eric Clapton-like soulful gaze...that's a good start. Look like a musician first - the rest comes easy....Thanks very much for reading!! Asante sana!!!

 

 

Melting in Lockichoggio

Melting in Lokichoggio

How do you get 18 goats under a truck? First put the truck in Lokichoggio - then add well into the 30's!!!!! weather and they'll just go there on their own! Dumb goats!... I say this while standing in the blazing sun to take the picture. Dumb goats? Hmmmm

It is hot - as Melanie can attest (pictured here smiling as usual) and while not as hot as her work in the northern part of South Sudan, for me it was a shock! By 9am it's "holy crap hot" and by early afternoon moves up to "you gotta be kidding me" sizzling. Melanie is among the nicest people I've met which is saying a great deal given the amazing friends and family I am fortunate to have in my live. Not to mention all the committed and wonderful colleagues met thus far at MSF.

Loki is a dessert after all; lush and barren at the same time. All the while smelling like a combination of new baby, bouquets and blossoms. So sweet.

And so I ventured up to Loki to meet the supply team there and to get an understanding of the work done in this area and the environment in which they work. It's roughly 650 kms north of Nairoba and as you can see from the attached map I was lucky enough to see a large amount of Kenya on my return flight. The area is dotted with these volcanoes - some full of water and we were close enough to see wildlife around them.





 













A herd of Giraffe ran under the plane at one point....it's like a movie. Pictured below is our plane, a caravan, capable of taking 500kg into almost anywhere. The pilot was amazingly skilled at landing the plane on dirt roads in  a very very heart-stoppingly short distance. The pilot told me that he often has to scare off the goats or mules etc with a 10ft. pass and then teardrop back in to "set her down" Love the jargon!

Fueling from a barrel in the back of a Land Cruiser using a hand pump and elbow grease. Necessity really is the mother of invention.

Kaeris International Airport.The pilot actually pulled right up in front of that little building 4-bying through the brush. Yahoo!! Love it!!!



The Country is more vast and sparsely inhabited than I would have thought - below you get a sense of the flash floods from the rainy season (that is now) as the water seeks low ground. That river bed is dry but could be raging hours later....

I stayed in the Tukol pictured here enjoying the unique feature of this modern though traditional structure. It crossed my mind that the Tuco is hotter than the outside temperature at night and cooler than the outside temperature during the day .... Hmmmmmm...... would Steve Jobs agree that this is Exceptional design???

There are no bugs in Loki who chose not to stop into my Tukol for a late night visit. I love mosquito nets.



While drinking cold beer was my second favorite "non-work" activity the evening volleyball game was both hilarious and my clear favorite. Even though many of the players are highly skilled, the spirit of fun and joy of just being together underlies each serve and volley. While I was arguably the worst player ever to grace the official Lockichoggio Volleyball court - I will be forever grateful to the team for including me, encouraging me and making my visit both memorable and enjoyable.

Most interesting for me was the local people of Lockichoggio mostly of the Turkana tribe. They number about 350,000 members making them the 3rd largest tribe in Kenya.

The following pictures are stock borrowed images as you really can't take pictures without offending and likely provoking a security incident but man oh man you sure want to. 

The girls look just like this with their wealth represented by how ornate the bead work.They are stunningly beautiful, joyful and graceful all at the same time. World Supermodel Ajuma Nasenyana comes from this tribe.

I sat on a small bench in front of a store sipping a Sprite and watching life go by in Loki. It was hot - really hot. An elder woman who looked very much like the one pictured above was walking by then stopped and looked at me. I looked back for a minute and then patted the bench beside me and slide over a bit. She sat down right next to me and we just sat there for the next 10 minutes in a comfortable silence. Just when I thought that we had absolutely nothing in common she suddenly spit on the sand in from of her. Not to be outdone, I did the same. We then looked at each other and smiled wide.....just when you think you have absolutely nothing in common.....

 Below: "setting her down in Lockichoggio - thanks for reading again





Landing in Loki - "rumored to be the land of abandoned aircraft and drunken pilots.... I did notice a few abandoned aircraft but can't speak to the other.



Mid May - settling in....

The beautiful lands of Africa and a sky so blue  -  it seems forever.

I visited the Karura National forest for a hike this week. It's just what you'd expect from Africa (during the rainy season). Lush tropical forest, humid hot and loud with a million insects and birds deep in the forest.

And a beautiful waterfall deep in the jungle and beautiful trees.. BUT no one warned me about the huge damned MONKEYS!!!

Centered in the tree to the right is a critter who greeted me as I walked along the trail alone. Not knowing there were monkeys in the park - you can imagine the surprise when this fella walked onto the trail. He was about the size of a 4year old child... like a big dog I guess. Turns out he and pals were peaceful but it scared the bananas out of me! Later a whole troupe of about a hundred members crossed the road and were walking through the forest....There's no real underbrush so you could see them all sort of marching quietly along.

 



Interestingly, Kenya sets the gas prices with a regionally specific multi variable formula on the 15th of each month. That price will be the same at all stations. Smart!!!! No gas wars....But!!!!! here's the problem with that -  if in the days leading up to the new price being announced,  the expectation is that the price will be higher - there is an immediate shortage as sellers hold thier stocks to sell at the higher "new" price after the 15th of the month. Pictured above is a cartoon from yesterday's paper making fun of the situation. The cartoon tells the story.....

 




Janet and Koril: Intrepid watchers of the gate

I asked Janet and Koril if I could take their picture and they agreed. The 2 of them stand or sit at the gate from 6am to 6pm daily in the sweltering heat with the important job of making sure "bad guys" don't come through the gate into our shared work compound.

 

They work 6 days per week and likely spend 1 to 2 hours getting to work each day and then another 1 to 2 hours getting home. Equally likely is that they live outside the city where accommodations are more affordable so they walk or take a Matatu (Highway pirate) to and from work. The cost of the Matatu depends on how far you travel but likely around 50 to 75 cents each way.

 

While I don't know what J&K are paid for their fine work, similar positions would attract monthly salaries equivalent to a day's wage in Canada. At the same time -  coffee is $10 per lb. Basic food on the other hand is very reasonable. Rice for example sells for around $2 per kilo .....All I can say is that I am very thankful to these 2 for the Exceptional work they do each day.

 

 

And then there's the baby elephants!!!! Mischevious, smart, playful and unbelievably cute. Without the intimidating size of their grown parents they present as just loving and vulnerable. These are young orphan elephants less than 2 years old ranging in size from just above your knee to chest high.

 

The main reason they're here is because their parents are dead from poachers (ivory poachers) or they fell into a well (not the ivory poachers unfortunately - the baby elephants) . Either way - these lovely creatures need our support and protection. Since 1950 the numbers have fallen from 3million to 300,000 members. The orphanage is a fine example of Kenya looking after these little guys - continued poaching is not. Nor is the world's continued use of Ivory - shame.....

The hide is surprisingly tough like tree bark.  

Fresh out of a nice mud bath - so refreshing!

And below my new favorite breakfast - Chapati and 2 eggs in a baggie. For 60 cents Canadian you can't beat it - add in a cup of Kenyan coffee (more on this delicious nectar of the Gods later) and you have yourself a beautiful start to the day.

 

Catching a flight to Lockichoggio tomorrow morning taking me to the border of Kenya and South Sudan. Looking forward to working with the awesome Logistics team there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first week of May

May 1 2015 - The Nairobi National Museum - bones and more!

Did you see the traffic coming in?

Much of what we know about early persons is contained right here in this museum. That's awe-inspiring stuff. Turkana Boy or now called, Nariokotome Boy from the  Pleistocene was discovered in 1984 by a member of Richard Leakey's team. It is the earliest most complete a skeleton on the planet. The museum is full of other examples of early specimens and the accompanying story of evolution (or creation). Not going one way or the other on this but if a creationist you may wanna check this out. (Just saying)




Turcana Boy: Note that Justin Timberlake has the same hair style.

The balance of the museum is a bit tired but given all the challenges facing this community understandably the museum is not on the top of the list. Also contained on the property is a reptile exhibit nicknamed "no sleep for you!" Check out this sexy little reef knot of death and paralysis.

Whats there to talk about? - you guys are way too stoned.


 Always a fan of sculpture, I immediately loved the pieces dotting a botanical garden that surrounds the Museum. The style, artistic interpretation and sense of proportion are attractive and interesting. One of these sculptures is thin tall and rather stiff looking while the others are made out of cement :) The collection of floral and fauna is fantastic reminding me of a previous trip the Amazon. I was unable to get a good picture of these bees that look like small birds. To be honest that creeped me out almost as much as the snakes. Bees carrying off small children......

The work week was great. Pictured below is Jacob overseeing the reception of a 40ft container of refrigerated medical supplies. This container would have left Rotterdam and landed in India then headed over to Mombassa about a 6 hour drive east of is on the coast. From here, we'll take it to the airport and fly in loads to Lockichoggio in the north of Kenya... over the border to Juba and then finally to the projects in South Sudan



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Mmmmmmm nuuuumy Fresh Mango.

Thanks for reading about my adventures!