Solo ruins

A smooth three transfers on the trains and an hour and a half later I landed at Ostia Antica. This was the original port of Rome.

There were probably a whole 30 people in the entire ruins. I had a cheesy downloaded audio tour which was actually very helpful. You can actually walk almost everywhere in the ruins. I found myself exploring overgrown areas that probably had not been used in months. 

I could sit and contemplate for hours there. It's amazing to see how these structures from 1AD have survived this long. 

I found my way to the old bar/store which was across from a lower class apartment building. I subjected the headless man statue to a selfie.  Sorry well endowed man. But this is what you wanted, to be forever remembered. 

I walked for hours and hours and then realized the temperature was dropping which meant nightfall as well as the closing of the site.  I watched one more plane go overhead (obviously Ostia Antica is in the path for the airport).  If I fail as a vet, my backup plan is definitely a pilot.  I got so giddy seeing when the wheels came down.  I love flying :).  

Now my half frozen self is on her way back to Rome to source some wine and a warm place to rest the toes. 

Fine art day in Rome

So after returning Monday night, I started talking to the other two guests in the house. I have fondly named them "the Greeks" because I have forgotten one of their names.  One is Greek, and the other is Polish.  We got to talking and the next thing I knew it was 1 am. Good wine and conversation seem to cause this time warp very predictably.

Tuesday is known as fine art day. I casually made my way to the Borghese Gallery to meet Trisha and her father. I had a coffee from a hole in the wall, served in a plastic drinking cup. This coffee was arguably one of the best I have ever had.  Never judge a coffee by the cup it is served to you in. 

I had a pleasant stroll at freezing temperatures through the Borghese gardens. My body naturally seemed out any sun that was shining, just to add a bit more heat. The wind chilled me to the bones. 

As I arrived at the Borghese, I silently thanked my mum for recommending to buy tickets ahead of time. The sign on the door said they were sold out until January 6th. The Borghese is beautiful. It is walking through an old house, room after room lined on every side with beautiful paintings and works of art. Sadly the gallery only allows 2 hours before they kick you out. We spent a large portion of time admiring Berninis Apollo and Daphne sculpture. It was so delicately done. Not my picture, but here it is.

My late afternoon was spent wandering in the Vatican. This brings my foot in country tally to 7 this year. Not a bad way tally if you ask me. 

It dropped below freezing and the winds picked up, so I decided to head back to the flat, picking up cooking items on the way. 

Alessandro is the other brother who own the flat, and he and I chatted with another friend of his. More of his friends came over for a celebration of a wedding. Then the Greeks arrived home and we were officially a party.  It's lovely to meet new people and learn about them. 

Airbnb is my new favorite travel accessory. It's so nice to be able to come and be around other people, or disappear into your room if you would like. Having a kitchen for making a quick dinner is also a bonus. 

Ruins of Rome

So Rome = walking, and I love it. I found myself at an entrance to the metro. There were two rickety elevators and no stairs. Elevator it was. I got on and as every other person stepped in the elevator dropped 3 inches and then bounced back up. I'm sure we were over capacity with the 5 people sardined in the metal box of death.

Trisha and I started out the day by confusion on the meetup spot.  I had drunkenly the night before texted the incorrectly spelled mattress store near where I am staying.  She got there and thought why would we be meeting at a mattress store. Rightfully so, not the best wine induced meeting point. Next time we will be civilized and choose a cross roads. 

We made our way to the colosseum. Holy moly. After some confusion about me purchasing child's tickets and tour guides we made our way in.  We spent the next 2 hours attempting to visually reconstruct the bones of the building in our minds. We both spied a display case of animal skulls and as vet students do, we started to determine what animal they once belonged to. 

We then realized that we needed fortification. Wine. We stumbled into a place that was still open. When we finally looked up from our deep conversation we realized it was almost dark outside. We then decided to continue our wanderings. The forecast had been wrong and my poor Trisha was freezing. We made our way back to the colosseum to find a vendor to buy a scarf from. This might have been the only time that anyone had willingly wanted to get pestered by a vendor and there were none in sight. Finally an older man with arms full of scarves approached us. Trisha was warm. 

We then ambled down the boundary of the forum. It was so pleasant as so few people were out. We finally got the feeling of how old the structures were around us. 

Rome at night is glorious. So few people are out. Everywhere we we searched for words. The overuse of the word amazing became evident to both of us. We tried using other words, but our gasps and ebullient eyes around every corner would have been contagious to the most sullen of people. 

We walked to The little island in the middle of the river, and bravely went down to the banks. The echoes of our giggles and awe became evident as we went under the archa of the bridges. 

We decided after about 2 hours that we needed more fortification. I had a restaurant marked on my map. Honestly I have no recollection where I found it, but since I had at one point thought it was a good idea, we trekked on to it. The route guided us down the narrowest of the cobblestone streets of Rome. We were green with envy. People lived here. Vespas lined the narrow streets. 

The restaurant was a house. There were about 8 tables, for a total of about 26 guests. We walked in and were obviously the only non Italians in the place. We were questioned whether we had a reservation. I used the very little Italian that I know and simply shook my head. They decided that they could seat us at the tiny table by the chimney. I didn't even care about the horrible draft. It was perfect. The host attempted to take our order. Wine. He arrived at our table with our bottle and in his attempt to communicate with us, starts singing "red red wine" by Uber40. Trisha and I were in love. The server was a 70 year old Italian man. He was so precious. Trisha and I drank and talked into the night, so grateful that they were able to sit us, as countless others were refused. 

We were in the process of paying our bill and we had one of the euros for our tip out and were scrounging for more. Our server walked by and picked up the euro and kept walking. We tried to tell him we were getting more, but he was gone in a flash. We fished out another, which he came and picked up again. As a joke we put another one out and he came by and threw his hands up in question with a big smile on his face. 

We decided to try our wine induced brains and figure out how to get back to our different hotel/flat. We failed. So we got a cab. It is here that I learned that ALL traffic rules and signs are simply guidelines for Italians. Red lights do not mean stop, but simply to watch out for other traffic. The left side of the road is for driving on when a bus is going slowly in the proper right side of the road. Speed limits do not seem to exist. Throwing your hands up or cursing makes other drivers ahead do what you want. It is also where I learned that even if you think you know where you are, don't get out of the taxi until he tells you. I then had to wander back to my flat after I misinterpreted where I actually was. Only a 10 minute walk. 

Roma

So I missed writing about a few of my trips, but I'm back with a vengeance. 

Roma

Trains are the same everywhere. There is always a muddle of people who are utterly confused looking around as if they are lost. There never seems to be anyone around to help at that precise moment, but when help does arrive, a gaggle of confused tourists huddle around him. They then all return to where  they were as they were correct in the first place. 

I gracefully sat on the lush train, and flipped open my book.  Every time someone boarded the train,  they looked at me trying to best ask if this was their correct train. "Termini?" Was typically the case, in an attempt to have an Italian accent. They were all shocked when I spoke in English "yes". This happened 4 times before a lady sat down across from me and started asking me for a pen in Italian.  I responded non capisco which means I don't understand. How in the world I look like I would speak Italian is beyond me, but it's comforting in some sense that I don't seem to be standing out as a tourist. 

I made my way to the Spanish steps and around to find a place to eat.  I found a quieter street and picked the restaurant I found.  I was on a quest to find the best amatricana in Rome.  Big glass of red and an ok pasta.  

I left the resturant and walked, li and behold two doors down was the restaurant that my friend recommended. Doh!  

I then wandered finding my way back to the metro to find the flat that I am staying in.  I met Luca whose spare room I am staying in. 

I was to meet my friend Trisha at a resturant. I found my way there only to find a locked gate and a lengthy note in Italian.  I then wandered to the hotel to get it translated and found Trisha and her father wandering looking for the restaurant as well. The host at their hotel roughly translated that it was a kilometer walk down a busy street. We left a bit confused and tried to find it again.  Failed.  I called the restaurant and the host attempted to describe how to get there.  I guess it was the confusion, but suddenly she said to wait out front the hotel and they would come and pick us up!  We were a group of 7!  So the chef pulls up in his own car and makes two trips to get us all to the resturant!  We all piled in and got to the other entrance around the block. It was hilarious. 

The restaurant was basically a house. Trisha and i started the wine!  The food was fabulous and worth the confusion!  Course after course our palates were pleased!  

As we were finishing up Trisha and I were debating another bottle of wine. The hostess looks at me and says I'll bring you the cork so you can take it with you. We were sold! 

We then walked back the windy busy road back to the hotel, since we knew where we were going. We never would have been able to find the place if it weren't for the driver! 

Kwaheri Kenya

On the way to Nairobi, I stopped at the equator. There are many curio shops there where you can buy all sorts of African souvenirs. 

Buying things in a shop like this is an experience. You walk up and are immediately surrounded by ten shop owners trying to lure you into their shop.  Rudy's friend has a shop there, so I started with hers.  The shops are basically wooden stalls. As soon as you walk into a shop, the other shop owners quietly congregate outside the shop. 

I walked into Carol's shop and started looking at things.  I found a few things that I wanted. Then comes the interesting part: negotiation.  

The shop owner writes down the price that he or she wants, and you have to negotiate to a fair price.  I have found that as long as you give a price with a smile on your face, a shop owner doesn't get offended.  I left Carol's shop with a few things, including a pair of beaded flip flops.  These are now referred to as my equator shoes.  

I went into a few other curio shops and got a few more things.  And then James, my driver, and I were on our way.  

I had to nip back to Nanyuki to get a bit of money and also to say goodbye to Sammy.  

Just after leaving Nanyuki, I realized that I had still not had any mahindi choma. Nataka mahindi choma/ I want grilled corn. This sweet corn is slow roasted on the streets and normally readily available during the week.  It was Saturday. 

James and I were both on the constant lookout for mahindi choma for the 4 hours that it took to get from Nanyuki to Nairobi.  Finally just as we entered Nairobi I spotted two men walking and eating some! I burst out saying "Mahindi choma!!!!"   

I was satisfied with my 20 shilling purchase!  Sooooo good.  

Next came waiting at Nairobi airport where I met an Italian family.  When I asked the boy what his favorite animal that he saw was, he responded "Bambi."   His mother explained this was the impala.  We both cracked up! Of all the animals that he had seen, he loved the impala. 

The flight was fine, as was the transfer in Zurich.  I was a bit overwhelmed at everything.  It has been a bit of culture shock coming back.  

I got back on Sunday, and Monday drove off with my rotation group to Kent to do our farm animal rotation. No rest for the vet!   

Until next time.....

Time

Large herd of Grevy's on Lewa

During my last few days here in Kenya, I have been working very hard on the Hartebeest project.  I have been glued to the microscope.

Auscultating Hope, Nicky beside us 

I have also gone to see the baby rhinos again for continued monitoring.  The babies have gotten used to my scent I guess, because they are not quite as inquisitive with me as they once were.  Kilifi has gotten quite used to me auscultating him with the stethoscope, mainly because I have discovered where he likes to be scratched.  He now stands still for me to have a listen to his heart, lungs, and belly.  I know the only reason he does this is because he gets scratches and attention, but it is still an amazing experience. 

Auscultating Kilifi

On the way back from the babies, we drove past the airstrip on Lewa.  Mutinda stopped the car and starts laughing.  I look over at the airstrip and see a bull elephant just standing on the runway.  He has all of Lewa to hang out on, but he decides that the airstrip is the best.  Can you imagine being diverted from landing due to an elephant on the runway? 

Sleepy Kilifi resting on Nicky

It brought up the memory of when I almost killed Mutinda with laughter.  We were talking about how horses get hurt frequently.  I said, “You give a horse an acre by acre field to graze in.  There is nothing but lush grass in it.  But if you put one nail in the corner of the yard, the horse will find it and hurt himself.  Statistically, there is such a low probability of anyone ever finding the nail again, but the horse can.”  I thought Mutinda was going to cry he was laughing so hard. 

After lunch with Mike and Sarah Watson the other day, Mike gave me a ride back to the office.  We were walking up to the offices and Elvis, who was grazing nearby, decided that we were interesting.  Mike told me to stop; so we both stopped in our tracks.  He then said, “Run.”  A fraction of a second after he said this, Elvis picked up a trot towards us.  We bolted into headquarters with a black rhino trotting after us. 

Elvis then hung out in headquarters, making the phrase “Stuck at the office” a reality. 

Today I start my journey back to England.  I leave Lewa and head to Nanyuki.  There are a few things that I need in Nanyuki, so I will spend a few hours there.  I will then head off to Nairobi.  My flight is not until late in the evening, so I will have a long wait at the airport.   

Amazing view on Lewa

Time is different in Kenya. 

The unit of a minute is different here.  One minute in Kenya is actually 10 minutes based on the conventional time unit.  Five minutes is 20 minutes. 

During my time here, I heard the phrase, “Westerners have watches and clocks, and Kenyans have time.”  Now that my adventure is coming to an end I truly believe that.  I am amazed at how, despite how slow times seems here, it disappears just as fast.  One month, gone in a blink of an eye.  I truly believe that you must live every minute, or 10 minutes, to the fullest.  

Fun filled week

Isiolo

What a fun filled week!

So Monday we headed off to Samburu.  We were going to see a Grevy’s zebra and an elephant. 

You can definitely feel the temperature change as you go down in altitude.  When preparing for Samburu, I always pack extra water.  I was drinking lots of water on the way down in preparation for the heat. 

Thanks Mum and Dad for an awesome water bottle.  Mum note the Emergen-C! 

We arrived in Samburu National Park and made our way to where the Grevy’s were.  The Grevy’s Trust was there to show us which Grevy’s zebra we were working with.  Our goal was to remove the tracking collar from one female, and place another tracking collar on another female. 

Disoriented Grevy's bumps into our car

Mutinda successfully darted the first Grevy’s zebra.  She was reluctant to go down.  She went down, and we all jumped out the vehicle to work on her.  Suddenly she stood back up.  She was very disoriented and walked into our truck and bumped into it.  The guards ran over and put a towel over her eyes and were able to pull her to the ground.  I moved into action very quickly.  I placed eye lube and monitored respirations, they removed the collar, I drew blood for diagnostics if needed and also to get a supply of healthy Grevy’s blood so we can get the normal values for a healthy Grevy’s, and we poured water on her to help keep her from overheating.  And the antidote was in.  She was down for a total of 4 minutes.  Exhilarating. 

Removing the Tracking Collar

 Mathenge repositioned the car so we could then immobilize the second Grevy’s.  The dart was successful and she collapsed to the ground very quickly.  

We ran over and performed the same procedure; Tim took bloods, the Grevy’s team placed her tracking collar, we poured water on her, I monitored respirations and put eye lube in her eyes.   And the antidote was in.  She woke up well, but was unsure of what was around her neck.  She bucked and ran around for a few minutes whilst the rest of the herd looked at her. 

After working with Grevy’s with EB and Katie in 2012, it has been so wonderful to be able to work with a few of them whilst here on this trip. 

And we were off, no rest for the vet!  We drove deeper into Samburu National Reserve and found the team that was locating the elephant we were going to be placing a tracking collar on.  The elephants had gone out of sight, and he was searching desperately for them!  We made our way to the Save the Elephants headquarters to have lunch and to wait for the elephant to be found.  It was lovely to sit and chat with the Save the Elephants team. 

An onlooker

I must describe their toilet.  It is an outside hut, which has a view of the river.  So you widdle while watching the river.  This time, there was a bull elephant on the other side of river.  I literally thought to myself “I am widdling in Africa, watching an elephant walk through the river.”  I think there was an oddly large smile on my face when I left the toilet. 

Administering Eye Lube

The elephant was found, in her herd of about 30.  We slowly crept in with the truck and Mutinda successfully immobilized her.  She walked around for about 5 minutes, and then gracefully (as gracefully as an elephant looks) sunk to the ground.  We were on the ground.  I was pulling her trunk straight and placing a twig in the opening of her nares.  I ran around back of her and sprayed antibiotic spray on the dart wound.  I poured some more water on her.  I went and applied eye lube to her eyes.  The eye lube adds moisture to the eye and helps protects the eye from the hot sun.  I went back to hold her trunk straight, as she kept trying to curl it up.  Others were placing her tracking collar, taking measurements of her, pouring more water on her, and Tim was taking bloods.  Suddenly we were done.  She was standing one minute after the antidote was given.  We watched her try to shake and pull her tracking collar off with her trunk.  I wonder what animals think when they awake with a tracking device around their necks.  They get used to it fairly quickly, but the first moments that they feel it is interesting to watch. 

Keeping her airway open 

What a day! 

On the way to find the elephant, we had taken a slight detour to examine a bush that was reported to have a lion cub in it.  This was the bush where the Lioness that was killed by a snake bite was found.  We were sure that it was her cub that we had not been able to locate.  We slowly drove around and around the bush, but saw no signs of any lion cub.  On our way back out of Samburu National Reserve, we took a second look at the bush.  Mike, a guard, hopped out of the car and had a closer look.  She was in there!  I was only able to see a small amount of movement, but she was there!  The sun was going down, and we had no way to transport her, so we made a plan to come back in the morning. 

Baby lion feet

So Tuesday morning we head off with a plan to capture a lion cub.  The truck was filled with a chainsaw to clear the brush, netting to try and contain the cub if she ran, a box to transport her in, and various other things.  We made it back to the bush where she was seen and I slipped on my leather gloves.  Mutinda asked me to squeeze in the bush to grab her.  In I went.  As I approached, she kept her eyes fixed on me and slightly moved backwards.  This movement was just enough for Mike, the guard, on the other side of the bush to grab her!  We had her!  A 4-6 week old cub, dehydrated, and skinny, but we had her! I have such respect for her.  She has survived 2 weeks by herself.  She does not know how to hunt.  How she is alive is beyond me! 

We gave her a quick inspection and decided to put her in the box so we could get her out of the hot Samburu sun.  And we were off again, back to Lewa!  It all happened so fast!  We had expected much more of a “bonanza” as Mutinda put it! 

We stopped off in Isiolo to buy a liver for her.  We knew she is mainly still nursing from her mother, but we wanted to offer a bit more.  I even bought a baby bottle to be able to try and nurse her.

So much respect for this fierce little girl!

The plan was for her to stay at Lewa for a few days to recuperate and then go off to a new home.  However, once back at Lewa, we were able to place her into a new sanctuary, so we head off to Nanyuki to deliver a lion cub.

Now as far as directions speaking: Lewa to Samburu 1.5 hours both ways and Lewa to Nanyuki is 1 hour both ways.  We were in the car a lot yesterday!  But we made it to Nanyuki and delivered a scared, wild, lion cub.  It was a wonderful close to a story. 

This morning I awoke to the calls of lions.  What an utterly amazing sound that sends chills through my body.  Today I am working in the lab on my samples.  My time here in Africa is coming to an end.  I wonder what other adventures I will experience before heading back to England. 

The Handshake...

My dinner

Different cultures have different ways of greeting each other.  Some kiss on one cheek, others kiss on both cheeks.  Then the Dutch go all out and kiss 3 times.  Some cultures hug and some cultures wave hello.  The Kenyans shake hands. 

Carol and my dinner :) 

This greeting is done frequently.  When someone walks into a room, everyone’s hand is shaken.  When someone comes up to the truck to have a conversation with the driver, everyone’s hand gets shaken; even the people in the back of the truck.  The handshake is genuine and firm.  Sometimes it is a straightforward handshake.  Sometimes it includes a choreographed routine.  This is hard to describe.  First step is a normal handshake.  Secondly is a quick movement of hands to be grasping the other person’s hand.  Thirdly, the hands switch back to a normal handshake.  I have not been able to determine when this handshake is coming, so normally I look a bit silly when I pull away before the time.  I must say that when I do get to use this handshake, I feel like I am preforming a secret handshake in a secret society.   

Elephant taking water

Handshaking is done all the time.  There is even an alternate handshake used when your hands are dirty.  In this case, you simply offer up your right forearm to be shaken. 

Itty Bitty Babies!

Shaking hands has become very normal.  I actually feel left out if I don’t receive a handshake.

Sunset on Sunday night

This weekend has been pleasant.  I have been up early to go and examine our baby orphan black rhinos after an adult black rhino attacked them on Thursday.  See “When babies get hurt”.  The two injured rhinos, Kilifi and Nicky, have markedly improved.  I went to see them this morning and decided only Nicky needed medications.  I swiftly injected him whilst he was suckling his bottle.  I joked with Sarah that no one would believe that it was that easy to inject a rhino.  She said that I had mastered the technique.

Sundowner on Sunday night

I was able to do some lab work, but the heat of the day combined with early starts to the days led to a few naps.  Naps are so essential sometimes.