After a long, hot, bumpy journey, we finally made it to Wajir, about 300 km or so from the Kenya-Somalia border. The next 3 weeks may be a bit of a challenge in many ways, not the least of which is the climate. I only hope my stomach situation improves and stays stable. The day before leaving Nairobi, I suffered a relapse (I think) of my previous ailment. This time around wasn’t as bad as the first time, but it hasn’t been fun either. I’m medicating again with metronidazole, but this time with the “regular” 5 day course rather than the whopping dose all at once. Hopefully, I’ll kick it this time. I’ve met some folks from various NGOs in Garissa who’ve recommended trying tinidazole if this round of meds doesn’t work. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find some here in Wajir if I need it; had meant to pick some up in Garissa…
I arrived in Garissa on Sunday evening after a long hot drive
(remember, no air conditioning in my car – of all the luck, I’m the only one without it this time around). Along the way, I saw plenty or camel herds, which the Kenyan Somalis keep rather than cows as they’re more suited to the harsh climate here. I arrived in Garissa to find that the one really decent hotel was fully booked. They did manage to find me a room in a “new” hotel down the road. The Halgen, where I stayed the last two nights, was at least clean, and yes, at least had air con, but the power would cut in and out and then they shut the power off from 6am. Water supply was OK and the usual low pressure I’m getting used to, until this morning, when I found at 7am that there was no water at all. Oops. Oh well, so much for a morning shower – thank goodness for my supply of hand wipes. 
It’s supposed to be relatively safe in Garissa (the majority of Northeastern Province is Muslim), but still, it’s weird having a room with two doors, one on either side of the room, leading into it. Should I mention, too, the endless crickets? I found 7 hopping around in the bathroom the first night, and then there was always at least one in there chirping away from 5am every morning. [sigh] Here's the charming view from the balcony outside my room.
Still, Garissa was interesting. Carry (remember she’s one of the WHO short term consultants recruited for the two months of the polio immunization campaign) and I went for a walk around town one evening before it got dark. I’m sure the locals weren’t sure what to make of us. Garissa, however, seems to abound with plenty of NGOs. It’s kind of weird actually to see so many foreigners out here. Some of them from an organization called Mentors’ Initiative, an organization that promotes and assists with malaria prevention, had a house near town and invited a bunch of us to dinner one night. It was a haphazard and fun experience. Imagine a big relatively empty Somali style house (flat, kind of high ceilings, large square/rectangular windows, large rooms, Muslim influenced style doors – this one probably was built for a wealthy family) with barely adequate lighting powered by a small generator and then a whole lot of mostly Caucasians, a couple Africans, and me, the lone Asian. We enjoyed a very simple but very “hit-it-on-the-spot” dinner of spaghetti marinara. It was really wonderful.
So that was Garissa. Seems ages ago. The drive to Wajir was a bit hot (up to 43 degrees C and probably hotter if I put my pocket thermostat in direct sunlight) and rough – no tarmack and plenty of dirt, sometimes packed and treaded like a washboard, and/or sand and occasionally ditches and deep divets – but there were some interesting wildlife along the way.
We saw Gerenuks – guess it’s in the deer or gazelle family. The name comes from the Somali word for giraffe-necked because of their long necks relative to their bodies and the way they seem to move like giraffes. Usually, they were trying to seek shade from the scorching sun or running away from us. Interestingly, they tend to feed standing up on their hind legs. We also saw plenty of other gazelles and a small version called dikdik; they mate for life and are so committed to each other that if one dies, the other will starve itself to death. We also saw ostriches – talk about some powerful and very imposing birds.
Pretty cool. Fortunately, we only saw animal wildlife and the occasional bus or lorry rumbling along and kicking up plenty of dust, and not other kind of trouble, so my three security escorts had an easy ride and snooze in the back of the Land Cruiser. I think they even enjoyed seeing the wildlife, too.
Tonight, I’m staying in a Catholic mission guest house just a little outside of the center of town in Wajir. It’s not too bad compared to all the other places I’ve been. Just very meager, although I see a few small bugs on the sheets – seems to be a part of life in the bush. Thank goodness for the fan in my room, although it tends to blow around the warm air rather than send around cool air. Still, it’s good to have been able to take a shower, which I kind of shared with a little frog who appeared to usually inhabit it but hopped out the side hole that was the drain when I started the water and returned when all the water had drained out at the end of my shower. So, now, clean again, and ready to get some sleep, although I could wish to be back in the Fairview in Nairobi, I’m glad to be out in the field where it’s more fun and I can really help out.
I arrived in Garissa on Sunday evening after a long hot drive
(remember, no air conditioning in my car – of all the luck, I’m the only one without it this time around). Along the way, I saw plenty or camel herds, which the Kenyan Somalis keep rather than cows as they’re more suited to the harsh climate here. I arrived in Garissa to find that the one really decent hotel was fully booked. They did manage to find me a room in a “new” hotel down the road. The Halgen, where I stayed the last two nights, was at least clean, and yes, at least had air con, but the power would cut in and out and then they shut the power off from 6am. Water supply was OK and the usual low pressure I’m getting used to, until this morning, when I found at 7am that there was no water at all. Oops. Oh well, so much for a morning shower – thank goodness for my supply of hand wipes. 
It’s supposed to be relatively safe in Garissa (the majority of Northeastern Province is Muslim), but still, it’s weird having a room with two doors, one on either side of the room, leading into it. Should I mention, too, the endless crickets? I found 7 hopping around in the bathroom the first night, and then there was always at least one in there chirping away from 5am every morning. [sigh] Here's the charming view from the balcony outside my room.Still, Garissa was interesting. Carry (remember she’s one of the WHO short term consultants recruited for the two months of the polio immunization campaign) and I went for a walk around town one evening before it got dark. I’m sure the locals weren’t sure what to make of us. Garissa, however, seems to abound with plenty of NGOs. It’s kind of weird actually to see so many foreigners out here. Some of them from an organization called Mentors’ Initiative, an organization that promotes and assists with malaria prevention, had a house near town and invited a bunch of us to dinner one night. It was a haphazard and fun experience. Imagine a big relatively empty Somali style house (flat, kind of high ceilings, large square/rectangular windows, large rooms, Muslim influenced style doors – this one probably was built for a wealthy family) with barely adequate lighting powered by a small generator and then a whole lot of mostly Caucasians, a couple Africans, and me, the lone Asian. We enjoyed a very simple but very “hit-it-on-the-spot” dinner of spaghetti marinara. It was really wonderful.
So that was Garissa. Seems ages ago. The drive to Wajir was a bit hot (up to 43 degrees C and probably hotter if I put my pocket thermostat in direct sunlight) and rough – no tarmack and plenty of dirt, sometimes packed and treaded like a washboard, and/or sand and occasionally ditches and deep divets – but there were some interesting wildlife along the way.
We saw Gerenuks – guess it’s in the deer or gazelle family. The name comes from the Somali word for giraffe-necked because of their long necks relative to their bodies and the way they seem to move like giraffes. Usually, they were trying to seek shade from the scorching sun or running away from us. Interestingly, they tend to feed standing up on their hind legs. We also saw plenty of other gazelles and a small version called dikdik; they mate for life and are so committed to each other that if one dies, the other will starve itself to death. We also saw ostriches – talk about some powerful and very imposing birds.
Pretty cool. Fortunately, we only saw animal wildlife and the occasional bus or lorry rumbling along and kicking up plenty of dust, and not other kind of trouble, so my three security escorts had an easy ride and snooze in the back of the Land Cruiser. I think they even enjoyed seeing the wildlife, too.Tonight, I’m staying in a Catholic mission guest house just a little outside of the center of town in Wajir. It’s not too bad compared to all the other places I’ve been. Just very meager, although I see a few small bugs on the sheets – seems to be a part of life in the bush. Thank goodness for the fan in my room, although it tends to blow around the warm air rather than send around cool air. Still, it’s good to have been able to take a shower, which I kind of shared with a little frog who appeared to usually inhabit it but hopped out the side hole that was the drain when I started the water and returned when all the water had drained out at the end of my shower. So, now, clean again, and ready to get some sleep, although I could wish to be back in the Fairview in Nairobi, I’m glad to be out in the field where it’s more fun and I can really help out.
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