Swimming in sweat

Our third day in Kenya started as usual with delicious breakfast by Phenny and Jonathan. As we were eating we got informed that our teachers had arranged us a pleasant surprise: they told us that we would go swimming after field work! This news got us super excited and ready to roll, so after breakfast we headed back to the lowlands and savanna to continue with Ilja’s Heliotropium locating and measurements in Lumo sanctuary. When entering Lumo we got to see many lovely animals again. “Giraffe alert” and “cow accident” were yelled inside the bus when encountering animals which indicated that this time it felt more casual to see these animals around. It was fantastic to spot these animals as we were heading to “work”.  Quite different commute than back home!

Heliotropium field work went smoothly after yesterday’s practice. Some of us also started measuring and researching one water pan for Lumo’s animals. The water pan was quite dry, with only one lonely cow hanging around.

When field work was done for the day, we went to see an active termite mound which was also located in Lumo. Interesting fact: the area around termite mounds has lots of nitrogen because different animals use the mounds as vantage and relieve themselves there. 😀

It was a blistering hot day in savanna, even more than yesterday. The forecast predicted something around 30 degrees but in lowlands it felt at least 40 degrees… Couple of us got some heat damage and I think we all got sense of the typically scorching hot savanna day. All respect to the cattle herders who wander all day long across the savanna!

After dusty and sweaty day, we were excited to go freshen up and swim in this beautiful hotel. And man, it felt nice to dip into that pool. After couple of refreshments by the pool we were back on our feet again. We headed back to the research station, ate dinner, and went to sleep. The day was exhausting because of the heat and all but I think we all felt happy when we went to sleep. It was eventful and great day all in all! 🙂

Fun facts learned in third day:

🪳 Termites have approximately 40-day lifespan

📊 It’s believed that termites produce 5 percent of global emissions

🔥 To avoid sunburns one must apply sunscreen multiple times to wrists, they sweat a lot!

🥲     If you have too much fun by the pool you might forget your hiking shoes under your sunbed and lose them…

📸     Elephants fear flashes