Starting a New Chapter

A Different Kind of Travel

I have moved countries many times. My usual modus operandi is to get out and explore and meet new people and set up my new home. Exploring is key. I haven't been able to do that, this time, because of Covid-19. I am aware that the medical facilities here are not the same as at home, and I am also aware that the people who love me are as afraid for me as I am afraid for them. 

I'm not the first to say it, and I definitely won't be the last  - Covid19 has changed EVERYTHING. It has imposed an undercurrent of fear that was never present before. Sure, before, I was always aware of possible dangers - plane crashes, car accidents, being robbed. But they were vague worries that I refused to allow to interfere with my ongoing exploration of my planet. 

So, basically, I'm whining because I can't explore Mombasa the way I am used to. Poor me. 

In 'normal' times, the Aga Khan Academy has a large population of students who live on campus. Because we are teaching online until January, the dorm rooms are largely empty. The school administration offered the new staff (myself and 3 other newbies) housing on campus until January, or until we found accommodation off-campus. This was wonderful, because it gave me lots of time to check out different options with no pressure. 

For those who might be confused, Mombasa is a port city on the Indian ocean. The original city of Mombasa is on an island. Mombasa now sprawls to the north of the island (linked by a bridge) through the neighbourhoods of Nyali and Bamburi. To the south of the island, you need to take a ferry to cross and continue to the beach town of Diani. Many people who work in Mombasa take the ferry daily to and from the their homes to the south. 

For my first two months here in Mombasa, I lived on campus. During the first two weeks, I hardly left the grounds, when I was taken to the grocery store, and to do official errands like setting up my phone and registering with the health service. 

I loved being on campus. I was VERY safe. Every time I left the grounds, the security guards would inquire as to where I was going. Once when I took an uber, the security guard quizzed the driver. As we drove away, the security guard looked at me in the rearview mirror and asked, "Am I driving the ambassador?" "No," I replied, "You're driving a teacher, and that's just as important."

The campus is on the south end of the island, quite near the ferry. From the campus, you can look over the wall, and see the Indian ocean, and the channel leading to the port. You regularly hear the big boat horns as they negotiate the channel. 

I quickly got into the habit of walking around the campus at the end of the day to capture photographs of the birds. A guard once asked me what kind of birds they have in Canada, possibly bemused by my obsession with stalking every feathered creature on campus

Bronze Mannikin

Bronze Mannikin

African Golden Weaver

Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu

Hadada Ibis

African Golden Weaver, about to do some weaving. 

Speckled Mousebird

Collared Sunbirds

Common Bulbul (I think)

Common Bullbul?

Golden Palm Weaver

Drongo - I have since learned that when you see a drongo in a tree, you should look for other, smaller birds. Apparently Drongos act as 'security' for the little birds. 

Lillian's Lovebirds - apparently the large flock at the AKA campus is an anomaly, as unfortunately most of the wild lovebirds around here have been captured for the pet trade. 

Lillian's Lovebird

Hadada Ibis

Hadada Ibis