Winter snow in Groton MA

It is another snowy day. As we are in the 20’s but it seems warm compared to the last few days with temps below zero. Yesterday we walked hounds with a group from ONBH on the cranberry bog in Carlisle MA followed by a great breakfast of bacon, eggs and ham in the house at the kennel. About 10 members participated. After that I took Gidget on a walk in the tree farm which was easy as trees have been harvested and someone ran a snowmobile over the trail. So much for walks in the cold but if one dressed well it is not so bad.

Dolphins jumping wake in Naples Fl Christmass 2008

We are spending Christmas in Naples FL with Wendy's mother. I took a fishing trip out of the harbor and encountered these dolphins jumping the wake of the Lady Brett.

Rotary Polio Immunization trip to Nigeria

Last December I participated in a Polio National Immunization day in Bangladesh as part of a Rotary group. Another trip but this time to Nigeria was attended by some on the Bangladesh trip and organized by Ann Lee Hussey. Dino from Quebec Canada was on both trips and sent me the pictures below. Dino said:

HELLO and Happy New Years. I was(with my friend SERGE,Ann Lee and 10 Rotarians of the USA) in Nigeria from 23 nov to 05 dec 2008(Kano,Joes and Kaduna)for a SNID.We gave the polio’S vaccine to 7000 children in 5 days.If YOU MEET THE Kano’s Rotary’s Club(or Kaduna’s or Joe’s);tell them that you are A FRIEND OF ANN LEE.You will receive a lot of smile…Dino

Christmas in Naples Fl

Life is Good in Naples Fl

We are spending Christmas in Naples with Wendy's mom escaping from the weather in New England.

Thanksgiving Day Hunt ONBH

The Old North Bridge Hounds on Thanksgiving Day.

Take a look at : (click on the following link) http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/6690387_8GKZr/1/427100521_3kUUf#427044491_fBQN8

The Thanksgiving fox hunt and dinner

I started out the day with coffee at Dunking Doughnuts followed by laying the drag for the ONBH fox hunt in Concord MA with Pam, Stu, Dan and chief Fox Kathy. Two hounds followed the drag and nine went the other way after deer. A little while later the deer went running by followed by the errant hounds. Eventually the pack got back together and the hunt continued. Jinny Z. fell off with three fire trucks coming to the rescue. It looks like she will be OK. There was a black tie stirrup cup with grilled sausages. Latter we had an Indian princess over for Thanksgiving.

Obama HIV testing poster Nairobi Kenya

While on a Rotary International medical mission to Nairobi Kenya I found this poster featuring President Elect Obama and his wife Michelle encouraging people to be tested for HIV infection in the hall outside a Voluntary Counseling and Testing clinic in the Mathare slum.

Barack and Michelle in Kenya - AIDS poster

While at a Voluntary Counseling and Testing clinic in Nairobi Kenya I saw this poster on the wall. They visited Kenya last year or the year before. It is interesting that Bush's push on AIDS is a major source of funds for these clinics but it is Obama who gets the press.

Rotary Medical Mission to Kenya and Safari

The medical portion of this trip is chronicled on my blog

http://kenyaaidscarl.blogspot.com/

Leaving Masi Mara and Kenya

Exploring the Masi Mara by baloon

Today I got up at 4:30 and coffee and cookies were brought to my room at 4:45. They have a guard walk with you from your tent to the lodge so that nothing attacks you. We left for the balloon ride at 5:15 to meet at a near by Lodge. Bob and Kay went with me. After all the people had arrived we walked a distance through the woods to a clearing where they were blowing air into a couple of giant balloons. The balloons were attached to very large wicker baskets that could hold about 12 people. After the balloons were partially inflated the captain ( there was one for each balloon) turned on the flame and the gas bag began to rise to the vertical. The basket had foot holds and using them we all climbed over the top and into one of eight sections on the basket. The bottom of each section had a cylindrical inflated pillow that we were to sit on upon landing. Additional flame caused the balloon to rise and we were off. The Masi Mara is flat to slightly rolling with several rivers (dry in some places) flowing through it. The Mara is mostly grassland with trees along the river. We saw a fantastic sunrise as we rose. There were hundreds of wildebeest (Gnu), zebra and many different antelope. We also saw a heard of elephants and some hippos in the river. Giraffes were in many places starting their day of munching. In addition to our sister balloon, there were several more in the distance. Our captain was a great guide pointing out the various herds of animals as we passed over. He didn’t have much control of direction but could raise or lower the balloon and using vents on the side, rotate the basket so all could see and our landing was in the proper orientation. The landing was very gentle and we did not tip over. About 8 workers in red uniforms controlled the balloon on lift off and landing. We were then driven a short way, (we aren’t allowed to walk in the Masi Mara to protect ourselves and the animals) to a champagne breakfast on a small rise. It was a large breakfast with egges and pancakes cooked to order in the open.

Our driver then met us and took us on another game viewing drive. We had seen everything except at leopard. We drove and drove in leopard friendly areas without seeing one. Eventually we spotted a BBC video crew that had left a monitor van to keep an eye on the leopard. After a time taking video and pictures we moved on back to the Masa Mari Intrepid tent camp for lunch. The have had the best food of all the lodges we visited. After a pleasant lunch with Bob and Kay I said good by and finished packing and went to wait on the bus to the airport. There was some confusion about who would take me to the airport but I was finally driven to the dirt strip about half a mile away. While waiting for the plane a guy drove out next to the strip to shoo zebras off the runway. Zebras on the runway are a unique problem that comes with the territory. The flight allowed great viewing of the great rift valley and we landed at Wilson airport without incident. This is a small plane airport and I had to be transferred to the Kenyatta International airport. The head of the tour company, Michael, met me and took me and my baggage to the big airport. As the small planes couldn’t take much luggage he had kept my large bag from the day before and brought it with him. I got to the airport at 5:00 to wait until my 11:00 departure. I was able to get on the Internet which has not been available for the last couple of days and work on these notes.

Exploring the Masai Mari

Exploring the Samburu preserve in Kenya

Today we had to get an early start. A lodge employee brought coffee and cookies to my tent door at 6:00 am. We then got up and went to the safari van for another trek. The usual animals were sited and part way through we ate our box breakfast provided by the lodge. This area is plains interspersed among mountains and is very beautiful. A river with crocodiles runs next to the lodge and can be seen from my tent.

After the animal run I went on a nature walk that was excellent. The same naturalist as talked last night in the bar was the leader. We were accompanied by an armed guard in case we were attacked by the local fauna. I was the only customer. We are never allowed out of the van on game drives but the three of us headed out of the bush. The walk included descriptions of local plants and animals and there use in tribal society. One bush is for making tooth brushes and Francis my guide made one for me. It worked rather well. The animals were more afraid of us on foot than in the van so it was difficult to get close to them. I approached a heard of giraffes, most of whom stared at me intently. As I approached I noticed that there was no one with me. This was a little concerning as earlier in the day we had great difficulty seeing lions in the bush because of the way their brown coat color blended in with the dead grass. One could be there and I would never have seen it. I went a little further and the giraffes took off so I head back. Francis said that they didn’t come with me because if there were three of us the giraffes would never have let us get so close. Hopefully the guard was at the ready in case I was attacked. This walk was one of the better parts of the trip.

Back at the hotel I had lunch and then a dip in the pool before starting to pack for the next part of the trip. Tomorrow we fly out of Samboro for the famous Massai Mara preserve. The plane has severs baggage restrictions so our driver Paul will have to drive my luggage to Nairobi for pick up by me on Thursday on my way from the local Wilson airport to Jomo Kenyatta international airport from my trip home. I will have to carry a set of clothes and other essentials in my back pack.

In the afternoon we had another game drive on the far side of the river but didn’t see much. We returned to another talk by Francis in the bar on the animals of Samboro before another elegant dinner and to bed.

trip from Mt. Kenya to Samburu in the North

There was no night alert for the animals I had designated so while this was a very interesting rain forest site, we didn’t see many animals. It would be a very good place to hike from on one of their organized hikes.
After a very good breakfast we headed around the mountain and North across the equator to Samburu and the Intrepids tent lodge. Part of the road was very good but then there was more road construction and very rough pavement. We stopped a couple of times for rest and to fill the tires with air. It took several stops to find a gas station with a air supply that worked. When we stopped for a rest stop it was always at some type of souvenir shop. I believe that our driver was paid off. I did find some things I liked. There was always a lot of bargaining and for on transcatrion I was able to get a reduced price by throwing in a Red Socks tea shirt.

Our new Lodge was very interesting. It is on the banks of the brown (really brown) river and consists of some wooden buildings that while rustic are elegant and rooms that are a type of tent. They have a wood base and roof with wooden pillars connecting the two. There is a tent built inside the structure that provides the walls. In the back is a ceramic area that houses the shower, sinks and toilet in separate areas. It s very nicely done. The main part of the tent contains two poster beds with mosquito netting hanging down the sides. The front has a screen portion and a tent portion. To get in you must unzip both and tie the sippers at the bottom when leaving to keep the monkeys out.

After getting our rooms we went on a game drive in which we saw a mother and to cheetah (?) cubs on the hunt. Later we followed a couple of lions around but they didn’t seem hungry at the time. There was other wildlife such as giraffes, impalas, long necked gerounds (?), baboons, and many birds.

In the evening there was a talk by a Sanboro naturalist, Francis, about tribal culture that was excellent. The was followed by an elegant dinner in the tented dining room.