Watamu

I exchanged the sounds of bustling urban Nairobi for the more nautral hum of cicadas and the ocean. On Sunday, I took the 10 hour bus ride from the capital to the coastal town of Watamu. Nairobi seemed like a strange island of Western culture, filled with up-scale malls, movie theatres, and every variety of food you could possibly want. In my new town, with the help of a local who introduced himself as Captain Stingray, it took a lap around the entire town and a visit to almost every shop just to find a newspaper. Life feels a bit slower again!


From town, I had quite an enjoyable hour long walk watching the local transport (pikipiki - motorbikes and tuk tuks - three wheeled vehicles) whiz by, hearing kids yell ciao (instead of hello, bonjour, or jambo, as there is a somewhat substantial Italian population nearby), and exchanging greeting with a Maasai draped in traditional garb (red checkered cloth) while he adjusted the piercing in his very stretched earlobe.


Research wise, there are days that feel very productive and others when there is frustratingly little to do. I had a good meeting yesterday with a driver from the forest research institute nearby. He is a member of the indigenous community that I hope to talk to for my research and is willing to introduce me to all the right people. Now I just need to talk to his boss to see if he can help me out for a few days. In case I haven't mentioned before, my research deals with looking at how communities are involved in high level environmental assessment and if that participation leads to any kind of learning outcomes that result in sustainable resource use. This particular indigenous communtiy was involved in a series of consultation during the development of a regional land and water use plan. I hope to talk to them about their experiences during the consultations.


Today has been one of those days with very little to be done. Apparently 11 am was the lowest tide of the year, so I went exploring the rock pools along the nearby beach. While I'm getting quite antsy to get on with work, I suppose I can't complain about teh way I get to spend my down time.