Here's something you should know about the Kenyan coast. Long after the sun has set, the heat still remains. It's not just the heat, but also the humidity, that work together to cause that sense of discomfort. It causes you to sweat, late in the evening or after you've just stepped out of the shower. You feel it the most when you step out of the heat and into an air conditioned room, then you feel the sweat go cold on your skin. The only other place I've dealt with the heat and the humidity together, other than on the Kenyan coast, was when I was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, back in February 2013. I know that there are people who don't like the heat and the humidity when it comes hand in hand like it is now, but I love it anyway. I love the heat and the smell in the air, the smell of salty water. Thankfully there's barely no seaweed because decaying seaweed doesn't smell very nice. The previous times we've visited, the sand was almost completely invisible because of the seaweed.
The days at the coast are coming to an end and we head back to Uganda. There's a deep sense of sadness as I say that we're going to be staying in the Yellow House. It's the house we stayed in, the house I called home from when I was seven right up until I left for the Netherlands when I was nineteen. It's the house my parents renovated back in 2000. It's going to be so strange going to the house I called home for so long, but is no longer my home. There are people staying there now, they've brought their own furniture in, changed things. The dogs aren't there anymore. Mac, my brother's German Shepherd/Border Collie cross, died about a year and a half ago, and the dashounds are in the care of another family. I've told my mum that I want to see them because I want to know they're alright. I want to make sure they're in a good place. It's going to be hard though, because I'd love to take them back to England with me, but I can't. I'll try to take some photos of my darlings...
Last time we were in Kenya we went to visit one of the local conservation projects. I don't know how else to call them. One in particular is a place I've wanted to go back to. Its called Local Ocean Trust: Watamu Turtle Watch. As the name implies, they're an organization that is trying to raise the numbers of an indangered animal. There are so many reasons why turtles are dying. Mainly because of humans. They get caught in fishing nets and on hooks. They eat plastic bags they think are their favourite food, jelly fish. They're also hunted because of their meat (to make turtle soup) and their shells (to make turtle shell jewelry and other accessories). Their eggs are getting dug up and their young are eaten by birds and other animals. The statistics are showing than 1 in 1,000 turtle hatchlings will make it to adulthood. Watamu Turtle Watch works with the local fishermen trying to change the culture and the mindset. The Trust also goes into schools to run educational sessions. It's really hard to see that these beautiful animals are being killed. In the years since Watamu Turtle Watch opened, the number of turtles have gone up slightly in the area, as the nests are being protected by the Trust, which has lead to more hatchlings making it into the water. Also more and more of the local fishermen are calling Watamu Turtle Watch when they find a turtle in their nets.
The photographs. The first and second photos are of the beach outside the hotel we're staying in, and the last photograph is of a Green Turtle that was brought in to the Turtle Hospital at Watamu Turtle Watch.