We are meeting with countless government officials who each has the more or less same story to tell (and whom has told that story countless times)
-the problems are many
-We lack funds..

Right now we are waiting to be picked up by the Provincial director of Environment who is now at least half an hour late.. It is saturday and most likely he would prefer to be hanging out with his familly or something like that.. We are going to look at some hotspots in the Mombassa area, which seems to be a bit of a secret..
The nxt 4 days will bring more meetings with stakeholders and gov officials + a few excoursions to relevant sites.. hopefully the rain will slow down so that I get at least one dip in the mighty Indian ocean..

I havent written for a while.. Sorry.. Many things have happened, I have had visitors. My mom, dad and big brother were here over new years and we had a wonderfull trip to Lamu and Masai Mara. Christine my cousin was here and our safari took us to the coast and back to Nairobi through Tsavo West and Amboseli also a wonderfull tour!
I will try to write more and get some picks up too..

This Easter I went on a northbound campimg safari (more on that later as well..

Whoops here comes our ride

Ill gwet back! enjoy spring!

A

..the rainy coast.. remains copyright of the author Asger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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gtg its weekend and I am for the first time in a while feeling like beer!

Take care!
-A-

Staying in Nairobi remains copyright of the author Asger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I celebrated in Tsavo East national park with a bunch of fins and brits, we choose to do the "scandi" xmas on the 24 and the switch in to brittish xmas on the 25.

After the loong drive to Tsavo (wich my car did without complaints!) we arrived after dark in the park and had a ranger show us to the "special Campsite" we had booked. The idea of staying in the real bush seemed a lot more fun when planned in Nairobi than when we arrived in the dark to a tiny clearing in the bush where the last weeks of rains had caused vegetation to explode; the grass was chest high, there was a million bugs all over and we coudnt see anything that made the place remotely suited as a campsite.. The main attraction of the place was that it was close to a swamp.. great in the dry season as animals come to drink and leopards like to hanh out and wait for mamals, but in the rainyseason it had turned in to a mosquito breeding ground.. So we decided to go to the public campsite where the grass had been cut and there was acces to a cold shower and a real toilet..
We gor out ents up all right and managed too cook in the dark. I was put on fire duty and had to collect firewood in the pichblack bush only equipped with my head torch and my machete. Great fun! Lets just say that there are many strange sounds in the African night and that the bugs are quite alot bigger than in Denmark.

On the 24 we had a talk about our xmas celebrations and decided to do the "scandi" xmas as tradition bids it on the 24 and then let the brits take over on their xmas day the 25.¨'
We then did a 3 hours game drive and the 3 newbs (2 finnish girls and one brittish girl) was luck enough to see both giraffes, Hyena, loads of elephants, zebras + the normal score of antilopes and birds. Due to recent rains the thicket was.. well.. very very thick.. and spotting felines was practically impossible.
When we returned to camp we emidiately started cooking, I set up a tiny xmas twig and the finns decorated it and began preparing glögg for everybody.
As the finns were all vegetarians the xmas dinner was fish and loads of veggetables. we did drink quite a bit too, and after the finns had entertained us with a few of their tradtionally melancollic carrols I was asked to entertain a bit.
As I had not prepared anything and was asked for a song I opted for "nu er det jul igen" (a traditional danisk yulesong where u have to run around "train"wise") I went down fairly well with me singing and one of the brits leadinf the "train" the act was repeated later after lots more beer and Gintonics...
We had our dinner by the fire and afterwards sat by the nearby river and took in the beautifull scenery. The silent clucking of the river, a couple of more finnish xmas songs and a moment of collective silence to remember people back home made the evening a quite memorable one.
And then we got more drunk...

The next morning the local gang of baboons had raided the camp in search of food. they basically open up whatever they can get their little hands on and eat whatever they find tasty and scatters the rest around. Quite a mess to clean up.

I had quite bad hangovers.. hight humidity and 32 degrees celsius did not help my mood so I slept quite alot that day.
I did manage to get out of bed whan a young elephant male crossed the river right by out camp and loudly trupheted his intentions to do so before hed waded across..

The brits did actually do a wonderfull xmasjob, with a beutifull laid table and fantastic food, lots of singing and presents for everyone. To me the 24 was the climax and the 25 sheer bonus and all in all xmas was good!

Packing the camp up offcause took longer than anticipated and we begun our drive home by drooping off the finns by the bus station so they could cach a bus to Lamu and saying goodbye to one car of brits going too mombassa.
Arriving in Nairobi in the rains and afte dark was not really funny, and this morning my car wouldnt start.. My mom dad and brother is comming tonight and the day after tomorrow we are supposed to drive down to Masai Mara.. So I am at work trying to find a fast mechanic and planning the last things for my guests..

I am currently negotiating with the embassy whether to stay half a year more and start writing my "speciale" (final thesis) here. So any of yoyu who still feel like comming to see me and expiriencing one of Africas most beautifull countries now is the time to start planning!

Once again I hope u all had a great xmas and I hope that your new years will be great fun!
Hugs
Asger

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As the car finally was performing at its best I decided to test it at Nairobi National park. The park is 30min. drive from the center of Nairobi and is unique as it is the only place in the world where u can see most wild animals with skyscrabers in the backdrop.

The proud owner in front of the beast with Nairobi in the background
I am still not quite sure how old the car is.. round 1990 i think.. I will know once all the paperwork comes through

The day I decided to visit the park was Jamhuri day which celebrates the Uhuru = freedom of Kenya (they kicked the Brits out in 1963..)
So the entrance for locals was free while I had to pay the full 40$
Outside the park it was full of locals on picnic, but luckily most of the locals dont drive 4wd and are wise enough not to drive their small town cars into the park.

We drove around for a while with out seeing anything but antilopes and a few giraffes, it is the end of the rainyseason and the grass is very tall making it quite hard to spot lions, cheetas, leopards and the other smaller game.After a while I took a wrong turn and we ended up at the far end of the park in what looked a bit like the compost heap of the park.. fortunately there was a small waterhole and guess what!? Rhinos loves waterholes!

Peacefully He enjoys the water while a Tommy (thompsons gazelle) strolls past..

Unfortunately he notices us and gets curious, Rhinos dont see very well, they have a keen sence of smell and hears quite well, I am not sure whether we had the wind against us or in the back, my guess is that he couldnt smell us but could see and hear something big mooving and simply wanted to say Hi!
Nairobi national park actually has the largest concentration of rhinos in Kenya

As the road was a dead end and I didnt feel like speed reversing I chose to drive around him. He looked on curiously whirring his ears and slowly turned to follow us.
Rhinos move like Bulls in straight lines (at least when they charge..) so moving around him seemed like a better idea..

He never really got angry, merely strolled after the car, he did get quite close as u can see..
Rhinos have been known to flip cars over.. They simply nudge the horn under the car and lifts their neck and up goes the car and whomever is in it.

"objects in mirror are closer than they appear"...

Finally he got tired of playing catch and trudded in to the bush to feed.

This male giraffe and the yungster was watching us the whole time,
the animals have very different "safty zones" giraffes generally let u come quite close before they decide to take off, off cause u have to stay on the tracks at all times. Lions have actually been known to come to the car to rest in its shade on very hot days and generally display an impressing lack of interest in humans, feeding, sleeping, playing, mating within meters from safari cars. most other animals prefer some distance.

Not all the interesting animals are big.. Cant remember the name of these, but theyr are quite common

We had just decided it was about time to head home, when I noticed a small track that looked interesting..
I remember thinking "this seems to rugged for 2wd cars, maybe there is more to see here" and then I got stuck for the first time.. I managed to get my self out and continue for some 10 meters before I got totally stuck..
We got out cursed a bit and tried to find the right phonenumber for the rangers. Then along comes a friendly french/english couple in a big landcruiser. neighter of us had a rope, and I specifically said to the guy that i did not expect him to do anything foolish (like getting himslf stuck nxt to us) He never the less decided that it was all fun and games and that He could easily give me a push out of that little puddle..

As u can see I was quite deep in mud. The prob it turned out was clearence (hov "hight" your car is) His clearence was like mine so off cause he got stuck too.. he didnt even manage to get as far as I did (Yes I am a little proud)
And once your car is resting on the ground there is no chance of ever getting a grip..
So we called for the rangers who promised to send the tractor in 15 minutes.
Kenyan time i guess u can guess what that means..
aprox 1 hour later
We waited and hoped to at least see some animals, but in the end all we saw was tommies..

Fi´nally the rangers came, no tractor, it wouldnt start, but their pickup had a much higher clearence and quite easily pulled his landcruiser out.

My pull was a bit longer and i happened to bounce about quite a bit and build up a little too much speed..

Wrrrruuuuuuuiiimmmmmmm Quite a fun ride.. I just forgot to brake so i bumped right into the rangers pick up.. no damage to their car but I lost a tail light..

Driving home I realised my breaks were out too and upon inspection i could see i was dripping breakfluid, so i had to sneak back throug Nairobis night traffic using my handbreak only.

The car is now being fixed again and my trusted mechanic says that driving it to Mara will be no problem at all! and at least i now know a bit more of hov much mud i can handle..

I am currently preparing my parents and my brothers visit from the 27/12 to the 13/1, Kritte my cousin is planning to come in march (looking very much forward to that too!) I any of the rest of u feel like stopping by u are all very wellcome!

Big xmas hugs for all!
and say hi too all those who has not yet discovered this blog! (spread the word plz!)
-Asger-

Last pick is the Embassy where i spend most of my days on the third floor.

My Car and its first Safari remains copyright of the author Asger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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New Car! remains copyright of the author Asger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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First part of the hike goes through dense bamboo forest. A very strange walk wich reminded me of the chinese movie "house of flying daggers"
A the first campsite monkeys hung out with us in the day time and our sleep was disrupted by grazing buffalos.
The buffalo is regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in Africa as it is almost as unpredictable as the hippos and apparently gets really vendictive and can bear a grudge for several days.
We first saw a youg male grazing at some distance from the camp, later when it was dark our dinner was disrupted by a big female traversing right between our tents, as these huge beast can be quite curious and at the same time are utterly unpredictable we all moved closer to the lights and talked in hushed voices. As we went to bed we could hear them chewing in the thicket. At some point during the night i had to get up to pee (altitude makes u pee all the time) I exited my tiny little tent with my headlamp on, decided to stay very close to the tent but risked looking around in the dark with my tiny torch. The whole camp was sorrounded by huge grazing beasts! suddely all I culd hear was their munching, snorting and puffing, I stood very still finished my business turned off my light and just stood in the dark for a moment listening to these huge animals going on with their grazing.. Finaly i snug back into my tant and actually managed to sleep.

Cheeky monkeys hanging out by the tap.
these cute little fellas obviously lived close by and came by ever so often to check out our rubish og bags and have a sip from the tap.

flora and fauna in the mist, The landscape of the mountain changed every few hundret meters, from ghostly semiforest to openplains, most of the first day we hiked od a vertical bog, in the wet areas uit felt like walking on a sponge and we all tried to step exactely where Christopher did.
During our days on the mountain we saw tracks from elephant, hyena, jaguar some antilope and off cause buffalo.

The first peek to the peak! We are heading to the little knoll on the right.. actually its some 60m. lower than the wery top, but going to the actual peak requires mountainclimbing equipment and expirience..

The Group rests

Our porters overtaking us in full speed. most of them climbed the mountain several times a week and Christoper our guide was no longer able to count how many times he had been on the top.. All climed that this was the best job they had ever had, most of them never did anything else..

The happy hiker!

even cheekier critters posing for the photographer before attempting to steal our food.

More on these later..

Our basecamp "Naro Moru river lodge" at 4300 meters.

campsite and lodge, I chose to sleep inside as I was very cold the first night.

half an hour before this pic was taken I was completely unable to move due to altitude sicnes.
Basically I got out of bed too fast..
I had on purpose not been drinking much the evening before so that i might be lucky not to have to get up (in minus 10 degrees) to pee.. So when i woke up in the morning I figured that Id better gulp down a liter of water.. i then had to pee off cause. Jumped out of bed ran out peed and got seriously ill.. Nausea, banging headacke, vomiting. Felt like the worst Tequilahangowers I ever had multiplied by 5.
I went straight back to bed and curled up in featal position and whimpered.. untill some 10 min. later when the rest of the gang came to tell me that we were going to climp the peak in half an hour "are u ready?" I never felt so NOT ready in my whole life.
I managed to get up and joined the others for breakfeast, had one piece of pineapple and went straight out and threw up again. Needles to say I did not feel like climbing a mountain.
But then our guide Christopher took charge. He looked me straight in the face and asked me if I wanted to come. when I said yes he started pouring me black tea, no milk only a lot of sugar and a little lime. after 4 cups i started to feel like standing up. I was given 10min. to pack and get ready and off we went!

The original plan had been to stay at Naro Moru lodge for a full day acclimatizing and climbing the final peak from 3 am in the morning to catch the sunset on the top, but a nightly snowstorm and the promise of another one the following night promted us to push on straight away despite my sorry condition.

Our trusted guide Christopher, with his trusted umbrella.

Lisje in the snow

At the austrian hut the clouds liftet once more to show us point Lennana and allow us to rest a bit in the sun.

The clouds opening to reveal a look down on other clouds. The wievs were truely fantastic and the weather changed from minute to minute. Bright sunshine and wonderfull wievs one moment and fog , snow and rain the nxt.

Looking down on Mountain lakes

The happy climbers at point Lennana, we didnt stay long at the peak as it was quite cold and ione of the girls got altitude sick right at the top.. good thing about altitude sickness is that it gets better by the meter as u go down.

The hike down was done at almost running pace, it rained all the way down and everybody was eager to get down!

OOh yes the Quizz!!
The critters (not the monkeys) seems to be perfect for a quizz!
These little cuties were quite tame and seemed to be waiting to be fotografed.
first question! what are their name! (Liesje, who is e vet and does strange things to animals, hit one of them with a stick as it was stealing her candy and it loudly uttered a sound wich clearly sounded like their actual name!

second Qestion! to which large animal are they related?
Hint: Christophers trusted umbrella was brought along partly to scare of these animals and was acording to him most effective as lonfg as the wind is in your face..

correct answers will be rewarded somehow in Kenyan style!

So what have I learned about mountain hiking?
1 go slow very very slow
2 take time to acclimatize
3 bring loads of varm clothes and a good sleeping bag
4 eat plenty and lots of sugar and salt
5 drink even more! sugar and salt water tastes like.. well salt water but is very very good for u!
6 Bring proper footwear and extra shoes to use in the lodge
7 always trust ur guide
8 rain gear and sunprotection is a must

Did i enjoy it?
Ohh yes every moment (almost) was great!

Will I do it again?
No.. some other mountain maybe. Killimanjaro is still waiting in the mist!

Why did it take me so long to get this post up?
I was actually sick for almost 3 weeks after this climb. Some stomach infection. havent really found out what it was but i am fine now.

Last week we had a kyoto protocol top meeting here in Nairobi! more on that in nxt blog!

over and out for now Oh and congratulations to Søren and Christina and Mette and Kristian on their new borns! I have a new cousin! and a new.. 2.cousin(?)
:-D

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My parents and my big brother is comming to visit me! YAY! Just after christmas! well be doing Safari, Hiking, Biking and Beaches! And maybe even a bit of culture! more on the final program later!
Hope u all know that u are more than wellcome to come see me down here! I even gor a spare room for u to sleep in!

officework.. what do i actually do when in the office?
to day i have assesed acoulpe of support requests and sendt back replies. I have been working on familiarizinfg my self with "Logic Framework Approach" a how to manage projects"bible. and i have been trying to come up with some ideas on an environmental awareness campaign. Later i am going with Charlotte and Anders to the UN compound to participate in a meeting on the upcomming climate meeting COP12 here in nairobi

which other topics should i write about? Gimme some ideas and Ill look into them! Also comming up; the Mt. Kenya tale and a new foto quizz!

-A-

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On the picture is also one of our dogs, Minor, who has caused us a lot of truble as he keeps jumping the fence to visit the neighbourdogs. According to Kipanga Minor "Climbs just like a cat when he wants to visit his girlfrienddog nxt door".

Oooh another thing!

The Quizz!

So far there has been no correct answers.
It is not devices to bring the branches closer to the ground so that u can pick whatever u want and at the same time keep the giraffes from eating it from the top, neighteris it mailboxes or foodstorage and its is not a "vindharpe" eighter..
BUT it does have to do with animals! (hint!)
And actually it is neighter out in the forest or out on the savanna but on a mountain slope...

Keep guessing and Ill get the nxt question ready in the meanwhile!

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The first project we visited was a newly buil maternetyward at the small town of Kirinyaga. The ward was finished and all that was now needed was 4 extra nurses wich the government had promised but failed to deliver so far..
We were shown around by the local board commitee and a very proud nurse. All in all the project looked sound and Julia and Bill (the two external auditers) were quite pleased. the visit ended with a meeting where god and the EU was thanked! (the pics from this visit was not as interesting as the ones comming up)

Second visit was to a waterintake, waterpipeline and waterkiosk project outside the small town of Machacos.
As with all the other CDTF projects the comunity has had to raise 10% of the overall cost as well as suppliying unskilledlabour. This is demanded as a way of ensuring the comunitys feeling of ownership.

We started the visit at the conferencearea under a big nice tree. I was presented as a representant of EU and Denmark and was thanked in full for our villingness to give!

The project community along with some of the daily users of the waterkiosks being questioned by the two auditors.

The actual dam and waterintake. We had to wait untill the early the nxt day to actually hike up to see the intake. It was a really nice walk through terrased and heavily cultivated fields of all kinds of crops up to the tiny stream and the dam.

This fine gentleman showed us around the dam area and followed us down afterwards showing us his plot of land (here seen behind him)

We were the shown the waterkiosks further down in the valley. In Kenya feching water is a womans job. Sometimes the women has to walk for several hours each way to fecth the water, so a project like this can save them countless of hours of work every day, hours they can then use for other more profitable deeds.
The line for this waterkiosk was by no mean the longest..

The setup is as follows: the waterclerk controls the flow of water and charges 20 Ksh (1,5 Dkr.) per 20liter, money that goes to his or her pay and to the maintaining of the whole setup. The project is thus supposed to be selfsustained.

It is EU policy that the locals should know who their benefactors are, normally there is a formal opening of the projects (of course the people start using the water as soon as it flows)and I am invited to the opening of a borehole project sometimes nxt month!

One of the waterkiosks was rigth outside a small primaryschool. The kids were very exited about our visit and as one of the villageelders pointed out "you two might very well be the first muzungus" (Whities) they ever see, so you better make a good impression!"
The guy in the picture is Bill the English Auditor, the other auditor was a Kenyan Lady called Julia.

So I talk to the kids and they all wanna shake hands and practice their english.. I realise that lots of the kids are holding some toy thingies in their hands and after trying really hard I finally get one of them to show me what she is holding... a tiny homemade clay mobilephone! Yup status symbols are the same all over even here in Kenya...

Third project we visited was a drift (et vadested) crossing a local river near the tiny town of Makueni.
As with the other projects the locals had collected some 10% and was supplying unskilled labour, unskilled labour in this case shoved out to be divided between them and the women with the men supervising ant the women carrying stone and clearing rocks with pick axes.. One of the local men realised I had a camera and quickly picked up the pick to pose for a foto withc I grinningly took while I explained to him that I had seen the women doing most of the work for the last ½ hour..

In the dry season crossing the river is no problem, but when the rain comes the river cuts people off completely, forcing them to stay on the side they just happens to be on and closing down peoples possibility to go to the market or the hospital or school. Thus this project should facilitate peoples life greately and make furter trade and prosperity possible.

We held our board meeting in the middle of the dry riverbed overlooking the constructionsite and numbers of women fetching water.

The dry time is perfect for building a project like this, but the disappering of the water forces the local women to dig for water to the household.
I had only ever seen animals in the natureshow having to dig for water like this so the impact on me was quite strong. Once again It was the women who did the hard labour, digging the hole and later carrying the water home.

These two young girls was digging for at least an hour to fill up their jerrycans. The thorny branches are to keep animals away from destroying the holes at night.

These two women dug for some two hours repeatedly to open up a new hole.

the water fetched from these holes are not exactely clean. But its is the only water there is so it is used for drinking, cooking, cleaning etc.

Once the water has been filled into jerrycans the jurney home starts, some water is sold at the market by those fortunate enough to have means of transport.

These visits have thought me alot. not only about how the aid money from DANIDA and the EU is used but also alot about the locals. I had plenty of time to chat with people and learned a bit or two about their lives, what struck me the most is the way the Kenyan women is being treated, there are quite big differences inbeteew the tribes, but generally the women are seen as something close to a workhorse. As I mentioned before one of the auditorswas a kenyan lady called Julia she is a trained sociologist and works with gender issues on all levels. She would try to raise the gender question as often as possible but without much luck. The three project commitees we met with consisted allmost only of men, even the maternetyward project and the waterkiosk project where the people mostly affected are the women had almost no female input. The general opinion of the men is that the women prefer to have no influence and that they would rather just work in the fields, fetch water and mind the kids while their husbands does all the thinking and desissionmaking...
More on gender issues is surely to follow!
gtg for now its friday close to 13 o clock and the office is emptying quickly. Im going to a local market to try and find my self a 2. suit (pics might follow..) and tomorrow I am of to Masai Mara for a short camping trip :-D
Take care and I hope this massive influx of pics and txt doesnt scare any of u away!
Remember that u can subscribe to the blog, u will them get an email everytime something is posted! Just check the little box in the corner next to the text. U can even start ur own blog if u feel like telling somebody about ur life!
Take care!
Asger

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Our classic and very comfy safari tent at Sweetwater national park tented lodge

Two young and quite curious giraffes on my first safaridrive ever!

Close encounter with a young female elefant, at first it feels a little like watching a natureshow on TV, but then the smell of large animal hits u and the elphants warning trumpetsignal shatters the air and everything is suddenly very real and a lot more exiting!

The black rhino Morani was orphaned by poachers when very young and was taken in by the parkrangers, he is now too tame to join the other Rhinos and enjoys the company of humans more. We visited him in the morning where he was preparing for his dayly chores..sleeping.. he is active at night only and in the day he only gets up to move to a more shady sleeping area. Yet the feeling of being so close to such a huge annimal was quite unique!

When we first arrived at the park Mt. Kenya was hidden in the clouds, but early nxt morning we were offered magnificent wievs of Kenyas hihgest and Africas second highests peak.

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Early morning arriving to Mombassa by the nighttrain. Tre railroad is actually the main reason for Nairobi being where it is as it started out as a railroad depot when the brits where building the line that were to connect Lake Victoria to the coast. The Nighttrain starts out of Nairobi at 19.00 in the evening and is timed to arrive in Mombassa early in the morning, a really great way to travel! took the bus home, not as bad as one could expect, cheaper, but I will go for the train nxt time!

Kenyan taxmoney actually pays for this ferry and its sister ferry to work in pendulum between the main Mombassa island and its southern neighboring coast. fast, easy and reliable!

Words can hardly describe this little pach of paradise! we saw absolutely noone for two full days!

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This is actually a small vulcanic went on the side of the main crater, behind it is a small swamp and in the very background u can see Lake Naivasha

The fantastic view inside the main crater, the crater itself is perfectly circular, and the hike around it offers amazing views to all sides. It is possible but not advised to go into the crater, we saw one path going down, but was later told that it is a path made by a lokal cheeta and a lokal leopard who lives inside the crater but comes out to hunt on its outer sides at night. On the outer side buffalos roam freely and we were advised to be very carefull if we were to meet one. Luckily we saw only their remains..

At the peak! tired and quite proud :-D nxt to me is Bent also from Denmark.

(first attempt on foto blog! hope it looks goooood!)

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Fotos! Safari! Project visits! remains copyright of the author Asger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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weekend remains copyright of the author Asger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The house (pics will follow I hope) is a lovely one storey bouilding set in a wonderfully old garden with all kinds of tropical plants. The actual household concist of Matt, Claire, Me being the Muzungus, Kipangi the Askari (guard) our house lady (whose name Ive forgot, 2 great dogs + some chicken. Kipangi is an elderly but watchfull fellow who stays on the premisses from 18.00 to 6.00 in the morning helping the dogs guard the premessis. Our houselady does all the cleaning, washing etc inside the house as well as managing our tiny kichengarden.
The area Loresho is reputed to be one of the safest in all of Nairobi, both muzungus and locals live here, but all the people are pretty well of.
Transport to and from the embassy might turn out to be a bit tricky, but just this very day Ive been looking at a car that I probably shouldnt but probably will buy..
(a suzuki LJ80 from 81..)

Well its weekend and i really havnt got any wild plans.. Ill probably have a sundowner later on, to morrow I might do some shopping to make my room a bit more "homey" and sunday the rich upperclass are hosting a carshow on the nairobi Racetrac..
Take care in DK!

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The coast is absolutely wonderfull!

Finally got the definite GO! and quickely hooked up with Beatrice a Kenyan girl Ive met through Maria my seconf landlady.
Beatrice acted as a guide on most the trip and that saved me a lot of trouble..
We initially wanted to go by 2class night train, but as we found out that 2class is gender divided, we went for a first class compartment, that was a really good idea! the trip took about 8 hours and was smooth and comfy.
As we arrived in Mombassa in the morning we emidiatly started to head south were Beatrice had already booked a beachhut with a friend. After a mataturide, a trip on the local and public(free) ferry, another mataturide and finally a taxiride we finally arrived at Maweni cottages.
our cottage was basic but had all we needed, kitchen, shower etc, we were advised to close the kitchen door at all times as the monkeys were very apt in opening fridges.. We decided to head straight for the beach.
As we walked down towards he beach we agreed upon doing absolutely nothin for the rest of the day as Beatrice had to return home to work the very nxt day and really needed to chill..
when we arrived at the beach a few local boys were just leaving, broadly grinning the welcommed us to a perfect little cove (pics will come!) stunningly white coral sand, cliffs defining the outer edges, and absolutely nobody but us.. the rest of the day we had the beach to our selves and did nothing but swim, talk and relax.. utter bliss!
finished the day with seafood on the local restaurant and a glass of redwine on the porch.
nxt day we once more had the beach all to our selves but had to pack up and head towards Mombassa around 16.00.. we found a little guest house for me and a bus home to Nairobi for Beatrice.
I got in contact with Mogen and Mellanie , the Danida and the EU advisors to NEMA (national environmental management agency( who were my real excuse to be by the coast) and found out that I was late for a dinner invitation. We dined at "the Tamarind" probably the best and the most expensive seafood I have ever had, oysters, lobsters, crab, mussels, everything + great wine. the bill took a seriouis chunk out of my car bying plans..
nxt day we had a meeting with the district officer to the whole of Mombassa, not the mayor, but something very close.. a seroius loking very black man in a huge office overlooking the whole town, Mogens and Mellanie presented them selves and their (Danida and EUs) intentions and were assured that they and their money would be most wellcome. we left to meet with the actual people on the ground, the DEOs (district environmenatal officers), the story from them were all the same, they lack funds, office equipment and means of transport.. In the afternoon I toured around Mombassa, visited the old portuguese Fort Jesus. and looked around the old town, people and the whole "vibe" is alot more relaxed and friendly in mombassa compared to Nairobi.. as the saying goes "it is easy to get to Mombassa, but it is very hard to leave..)
My cheap hotel unfortunately had a bedbugs so I didnt sleep all that well..
Nxt day, we went up the coast to beautifull Kiliffi and Melindi. A long drive on bumpy roads in a hardsuspended Landrover.. The cities and the coast was beautifull but we were there on business not pleassurer, so Ill have to come back some day to enjoy the ocean and the tranquill.. (pics will come!)
Last day we participated in a workshop in mombassa on coastal zone management, quite interesting to meet and work with the actual stakeholders, people living and working on the coast. everybody had different agendas, yet everybody worked together. I ended up in group working with education and awarenessa and learned among other things that most kenyan villages has an active adult education system where the chiefs teach the citizens whatever he finds interesting (usually to read and write..)
Infortunately we (The Muzungus:Mogen, Mellanie and I) had to leave for Nairobi early that evening and could not participate in the final day. Mogens and Mellanie went by air, and i opted for the most expensive of the many bus companies servising the Nairobi Mombassa rute.. 8 hours in the night bus was not funnnnn
gotta log of now more to come!

mail me ur adresses and postcards might follow !

9

the Coast remains copyright of the author Asger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Lookied at a car today, Nela the husbanf of one of the embassy workers are helping me to find a car, to day I looked at a Nissan from 1974 (!) really a nice car and very well kept, but I just felt if was a bit too old.. I hope to find a cheap 4wd.. cars seem to be a necessity here..

Finally got my living situation figured out! more on that later!
Will try to get pic on asap, but the net and my acces to it is quite unreliable..

take care all!
Hugs
Asger

might be going to the coast.. remains copyright of the author Asger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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had a great weekend, which included a really nice bbq lots of beer and a wonderfull full day craterrim hike on an old vulcano called Longuenot. (will post pics soon if possible)
i have met quite a few really nice people, i am still without a permanent place to live, but that will change really soon.
i am seriously considdering buying a car. a 4wheeldrive could be great fun!

worksituation:
the ambassador has for some reasin decided that i am not to be allowed in the embassy before my security clearing has come through. so I am on loan to one of the danida advisors in the actual ministry of environment and natural ressources for the time being. as this is a quite small minnistry nothing seems to work as it should. (or is it ther whole country?) (pics might follow..)
my duties have yet to be defined and this is probably the most annoying thing about being here so far, not knowing what my tasks are going to be.. patience is more than a virtue here.. it is a necessity..

transport.. as i have no car i am forced to use public transportation.. matatus are crazed minnibusses roaming the bus routes picking up any body who looks remotely interested in a ride, they drive like madmen but are loads cheaper than taxis.. the lokal busses are qquite cheap and safe, but there are quite few of them around, and they are never there when u need them, taxis are almost as expensive as in dk, some are close to falling apart and some are quite new, when going home late from anywhere taxis are a must as nobody, not even the locals, walk at night.. most people have one or two taxidrivers they trust and call upon when they need them.
trafic in general is crazy, they drive in the left side wich adds to my confusion, most of the cars here looks as if they was dug up at a decades old garbage pile and fixed with whatever scrapiron was closest by, most make a tremendes noice and all of them belch out facinating clouds off jetblack fumes.. this does not go for the expat cars off cause.. quite a few shiny 4wheelers imported straight from japan..

safety (yes mom i am careful)
safety is a big issue here. I have been told some quite horrid stories, and I am taking things quite serious. as mentioned before, nobody walks the streets a night. Every house has a gate and one or two guards called askaris, when driving at night carjacking is a potential danger and roaming false policemen doesnt exactely ad to the feelling of safety.

expats
i have already met a lot of super friendly people from all over the world andthe xpats here take socializing quite serious, as i said earlier i went hiking this sunday, great group of people whom i have met through a girl i met on the plane. i am going to try to get out of the city every weekend, partly to get away from the noise and smell but just as much to see as much of this beutifull country as possible. there are a lot of international organizations here and employees from all over the world.

housing
i am still staying with a girl from denmark called maria, actually met her in denmark at a gardenparty at steens (thanx steen!) i might be mooving in with an english couple in a nice suburb, but then i might have to buy a car.. more info on this will follow

gotta run for now

how many people reads this? plz leave a comment! hugs alaround! a

first week remains copyright of the author Asger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Sov udemaerket og vaagnede op til en latterfugls karakteristiske KAAHaAAAAaaaHa uden helt at vide hvor jeg var, det regnede udenfor og var en smule koeligt.. Spiste morgenmad med Jytte og blev ca 10,30 hentet af Francis igen. Ankomst til ambassaden med sommerfugle i maven.. Blev vist rundt og praesenteret for de forskellige danskere og Kenyanere der arbejder paa ambassaden. Min umiddelbart foresatte Jane Wamuko var der dog ikke og da jeg endnu ikke er blevet sikkerhedsgodkendt hjemme fra PET og udenrigsministeriet var det begraenset hvad jeg kunne gaa igang med. Fik mig en snak med Thomas Kjaergaard tidligere RUCer og desvaerre paa vej videre i et job for UN. Fik en hel del laese stof at hygge mig med og er saa ny smuttet ned i det lokale storcenter og har haevet penge og faaet koebt mig et bykort. De naeste dage skal jeg se at have fundet mig et sted at bo og skal i morgen faa snakket mine kommende opgaver igennem med Jane.
Nok for nu, skriver mere i morn!

Arrival and first day at the embassy remains copyright of the author Asger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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