Trout Tree

Today I got no work done, but it was a fun day….

I tried to go out in the morning, but the roads were still wet from the rain yesterday and I almost got stuck in the mud. I had to switch into 4-wheel drive and reverse out of a mud hole until I could turn around. I then went the opposite way on a better road and watched a couple hybrids, but did not actually get to any of my sites.

Then in the afternoon, it was time for Alli to leave. So we drove to town and first had one last lunch with her at the awesome Trout Tree restaurant. For those of you who haven’t heard me talk about it, it is literally a restaurant in a tree. And they raise their own trout in tanks just behind. Here are some photos. There are usually colobus monkeys in the tree also, but they were not around today. They have actually never been there the 3 times I have gone. Is it me?

Alli then got in the taxi to go to the airport in Nairobi and the remaining three of us ran errands. Kim, Nicole, and I also EACH had a flat tire that we had switched out for the spares, but needed to get the punctures patched, so we brought the 3 tires into town with us to get fixed. We also did lots of grocery shopping and rang up a pretty big bill, even though this food only needs to last us a week until the first Earthwatch gets here next Monday.

We met up with George (the manager of the chimp center) who was also in town and went to a local bar/hangout spot for a couple beers. We were the only ones there, but they had a pool table, so we played several games. By the time we left town to drive back to Ol Pejeta, it was already 6pm. So we got back just in time for dinner at 7. Which means, I didn’t make it to the bomas to switch out the GPS units for a second night in a row… But I think the roads are still wet, and the ones to the bomas are especially bad. So I don’t know that I would have been able to get there anyway.

When we got back for dinner, there were two new ladies who are staying at the research center for just 2 nights. Trish and Helen- they are very nice. I’m not actually sure who Trish works for, but I think she is based in Denver, and Helen works for the Zoological Society of London.

Dan comes to visit me tomorrow and might be bringing Lena (one of the other grad students in my year at Princeton), who has apparently given up her project in Tanzania after some difficulty and come up to Mpala to try to do it here in Kenya. We’ll see how the meeting goes.