Baboon & A Flat Tire

Buddy, the Baboon Bandit
Remember Buddy, the Baboon Bandit of Nakuru Game Park? (See 2/18/10 post.) He found out we were in Tana River and paid a visit!

Late one afternoon as I returned to the banda alone, there Buddy was . . . looking into the banda ! I backed away quickly and shouted to anyone who might care, “Baboon! Baboon! There’s a baboon at the banda!” The Kenyan workers nearby stopped and looked at me like, “Yes. So?”

Ken, my knight in shining armor, was off site! But thankfully, Louis was nearby. As I walked toward him, I repeated, “Baboon! Baboon! There’s a baboon at the banda!” Louis dropped was he was doing and came to my rescue. But by the time we returned to the banda, the baboon had crawled over the brush perimeter and was sitting there watching us. He stayed there for a few minutes before moving to a clump of nearby trees, where he sat for a half hour or so and watched us before giving up and leaving the site.

Sorry, I didn't get his picture this time!


Flat Tire
We arrived after dark the day we hauled the lumber from Mombasa to the Tana River site. Sharon & Howard and Louis were in the van, which Pastor David Mwakesi was driving. Ken was following in Pastor David Mwakesi’ car. Both vehicles had just stopped at the police check near World Vision, where we were staying.

Finally, we were cleared to go through. As we followed the van through the check point, I said to Ken, “It sounds like we have a flat tire.” Ken continued following the van through the check point. As the soldier pulled the spiked bar back across the road, he yelled, “Stop! Stop!” I wondered why he was telling us to stop when I heard him yell, “You have a flat tire.”

By this time, the van was already turning at the corner. I called Sharon to let her know that we had a flat tire. She said they would unhook the trailer and be right back to help us. In the meantime, Ken had the spare tire out and was looking for the jack, which he could not find. So, we waited for the van to return.

Both the Kenyan policeman and the soldier introduced themselves to us and told us that it’s not good to be out on the road after dark, but that we were safe there with them. They told us that a lion had been spotted the night before in the village behind World Vision. We knew a lion had been in the area, as the guard at the Basket of Hope site had found a lion print at the site two weeks earlier.

While we waited, we enjoyed the cool breeze and the beautiful night sky. It’s amazing how many stars, including the Milky Way, can be seen when there are no city lights interfering with the view!!!