ecocamp!

the crew at ecocamp(!)

about a week ago, whilst scrounging the internet for somewhere to stay near malindi i stumbled across this darling little place called ecocamp.  the more we perused the website and read about ecocamp, the more we were excited to stay there.

the website insisted that there were no openings, but i wasn’t willing to take that as an answer–so after searching a few more sites and doing some intense internet sleuthing a phone number was procured, and a phone call made to the wonderful people of ecocamp. and guess what!? there was space! after making the arrangements there was definitely a happy-dance moment in the living room of the-mcc uganda house.

fastforward past nairobi and mombasa to the sweaty bus ride with me continously pushing my sunglasses back up my nose…

as our bus is chugging down up the coast toward ecocamp (!) we attempt to tell the conductor of the bus where we want to be let off. he looks quizzically at housemate when she says “ecocamp”. rather than panic we utilized modern technology–the mobile phone–and sent a text to our contact at ecocamp, who shortly replied with another alternative. when housemate relayed the new drop-off point to the  conductor, a mosque whose name i can no longer remember, he said he knew it

we finally arrived at our stop (i never actually saw a mosque, come to think of it) and phoned ecocamp again so someone could come lead us through the wilderness to the camp. it was after we had stumbled off the bus, picked up our luggage from beneath the bus that it dawned on me that we had just been dropped off on the side of the road in kenya, at what was supposed to be a mosque, but there was no mosque in sight–and we were kind of in the middle of no where. great.

within seconds, however, my worries were dispelled when some ladies seated behind some banana plants shouted “ecocamp?” “YES!” was our unison reply. “you sit. wait.” she said.

so five tired, sweaty, dirty and hungry girls dragged our packs a few feet up a tiny hill and plopped down on a little bench, attempting to relax. after about a beat, someone said, “we really need of picture of us right now.!”

and so we took one:

as the self-timer was going off, our help arrived from across the road, and after a quick round of introductions and groaning as packs were put back on we began our 15 minute walk to the camp. we wound through peoples front and back yards, through a futbol pitch that doubles as a pasture for grazing cattle and through the coconut palms.

ecocamp turned out to be just as exciting as i had been hoping for–the showers were outdoor, the dining area was a large open hut on stilts, i slept in the loft of a hut and we were a stones throw from the beach. amazing fish was to be had for dinner every night for a pittance. delight!

coco the donkey was one of the major highlights of the ecocamp experience. sadly, i never had my picture taken with coco but he did come visit me one afternoon as i was sitting in the hut. he stood in the door for a few minutes and we had a nice little exchange about our days. he was upset that the guys at ecocamp picked on him sometimes, but is generally pleased with his home. we bonded.

the hut in question

coco comes by for a chat

next up: our day-trip to the ruins at gede. (a photo post…maybe about this time tomorrow. get excited!)