Some Handshake volunteers learn about marine life in Mombasa.
Sitting by the shores of Bamburi beach, on the outer skirts of Kenyan tourist hot spot Mombasa, I have time to reflect on the day’s events. I’ve never quite so happily woken up to the sound of my Nokia phone alarm at 6.20am. The sun has risen but it is still cool enough to play a game of ultimate frisbee on the beach, without sweating from the rays of the sun. In fact, Kenya sits on the equator, so is perhaps one of the few African countries that rarely experiences adverse weather conditions or such a contrast in seasons. The weather is, and perhaps to little surprise, much better than the U.K.
What I haven’t mentioned is that I am a volunteer on the Kenya 2012 expedition. We are currently on the 3rd day of Kenya 2012 and have largely spent these past days in training. Today, in addition, we were graced with the knowledge and kindness of a local Swahili, who took us for a guided tour of the Bamburi beach shore. Around 10am the tide is out and we have the benefit of seeing some of the Indian ocean’s inhabitants, including sea cucumbers, ugly fish, and even puffer fish!
So far this trip has exceeded my expectations. I have never seen free roaming monkeys, let alone free roaming vervet troops within such close proximity. We are all sharing the same living space, which really brings primate conservation closer to home. There’s a great group of us here working for the GPH and it’s wonderful to be sleeping under the Kenyan stars every night. I look forward to Diani beach and the Colobus Trust tomorrow, our first project in Kenya 2012, and can’t believe there’s only 25 days left!
