I don’t recognize these stars, I initially thought the southern cross was the upside down big dipper. And at first I found it was funny, and yet later eerie as I stood beneath those stars. The continent of Africa is cold, and its winds were whipping over the valley, grating the boulders which held our tents. Here was I, at the precipice of humanity, viewing the same stars, seeing the same creatures, and walking upon the same Earth as my predecessors. It felt as if a tomb, a place formed to hold the long aged bones of man within this gorge, created as the continent of Africa is slowly ripped apart – millenia by millenia (that’s hard, I don’t know how to spell that word, but maybe that’s it!).
I have found Olduvai to be a place of introspection, walking amongst the spiked flora which have given this place its name. I wonder what it means to be human and ancient, and yet understand there to be no answer. Whether it is what lies beneath or what remains ahead, I am as transient as the wind, shifting into place like these sands.
Quick side note while speaking poetically of sands – that’s exactly what got into my tent and all up in my mouth last night. The grand, whipping winds would lift the rain flies and usher into our tents the very fine grains of Olduvai, leaving us all caked and miserable. However, that was last night and since then we have migrated, but today we finally began some biological research apart from better recognizing the general ecology of the African continent. There is a floodplain, Lake Olbalbal, which is especially full after the recent wet season. And so we set out 6 camera traps, hoping to better understand the ways in which distance from water affects the abundance of invertebrate animals on the savanna. We therefore met with the “big chair”, the chief of all Maasai within the region, in order to receive his blessing for our work! And a guard was also hired from the tribe, whose name I think was Bubba, and his job was to ensure no cute Maasai kids or their wandering goats got ahold of our stuff!
In terms of miles, they were placed .13 miles apart .3 further from the lake, so that our area ended up looking like the six on a pair of dice.
At this time I also began to sit with our other driver Mohammed, who I quickly came to enjoy talking to. He’s a super cool guy, and I told everyone he reminded me of my grandma! Mainly because he wears quarter zips and loafers, and is also just old and nice. We introduced ourselves formally, and after talking about the farm he works and the children he has, he told me he would call me “Kam” and so I let him know that he’d now be “Uncle” Mohammed. After all, my other uncles call me the same, and I rather enjoy their company too.
Let’s hope we see something more than grizzled old goats on the cameras. Oh, and of course, maybe while in Olduvai I can solve the mysteries of the universe – that would be righteous! Also, I am thankful I am able to keep Uncle Mohammed company, he seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. And and, obligatory but interesting as always, no primates today. No blue monkeys (cry). BUT, perhaps we will see a few, most likely some olive baboons, on our cameras.
Thank you for reading and here’s to hoping.
Godspeed and with all of my love,
“Kam”
