We live near the shore of Lake Victoria, named after Queen Victoria and the largest lake in Africa. I took a trip onto the lake and rode in this long wooden boat that was handmade in a local fishing village. It was a bit crude but it didn't leak. Nerissa is pictured climbing into our boat.
The water hyacinth grows profusely here and has become a nuisance plant. You can see how dense it grows but our little outboard motor was powerful enough to push us through. Later in the day the winds blew in more of the plants and blocked our passage into port so we had to beach our boat and walk an extra mile.
We took a ride across the lake on a hippo safari and along the way we passed some fisherman. There isn't much game fishing here but I asked anyway and learned that you can catch Nile perch and tilapia. Not exactly big game fishing but the real problem is you have to fish in the lake at night when the hippos and crocodiles are roaming around. They can easily knock over a wooden boat so I figured it was best not to tempt fate. Also, I was told that all kinds of parasites and bacteria live in the warm muddy lake water and falling in would likely lead to illness. So much for fishing...
Eventually we did come across some hippos and we saw some babies as well. We kept a safe distance and always kept the motor running should one of them charge us. Apparently hippos do not bluff and if they rush at you then you move out fast!
After dinner one night I took this picture of a beetle that walked across my path. I put some malaria tablets in front of it so you get an idea of how big it is. An impressive, really huge bug. After getting close enough to take pictures the hotel staff said they were dangerous so I let it walk away unmolested.
It rains more frequently in the evenings now but it makes for great sunsets and lightning shows.
Ten of us are squeezed into the Land Rover for a trip into one of the villages. Sometimes we stuff in even more passengers when a local wants a ride into town.
The last few pictures were taken during my poultry training class at Kenchic. Our instructor was vet Dr. John Nyambero who explained how to raise day old baby chicks into adult layers or broilers. We learned how to build a coop, about brooding chicks, what to feed chickens, when to vaccinate and how to interpret their behavior. The class was packed and we had to share seats because students kept coming in. All of us took notes and I am putting the lessons learned into a file as a guide to help the next volunteer.
Tomorrow the chicks will receive eye drops to vaccinate them against bronchitis and Newcastle disease. It's supposed to be easy but I am sure it will be quite an experience. One potential problem is trying to keep the vaccinated and non-vaccinated chickens separated- it could be a mess...
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