Nov 11th- 15th

On Wednesday we went to the the Nou forest. No one seemed able to tell me why, including the Iraqw who live on the edge of the forest. It was nice to have a break from the hot, dry weather of the plains, and be up in the cool forest. It was actually cold at night. On Thursday, we hiked down to a waterfall. The water around the fall was very cold. I didn't go swimming it, although some members of my group did. The next day we went to the village. We got to see one of the traditional houses. It kind of reminded me of a hobbit hole. It was dark and smoky on the inside. There were some pens for the animals inside of it. Apparently that style of house has been banned because it is a breeding ground for TB. Later on we got to see them dance. Some of the guys joined in with them. In general, the houses were made of the same combination of wood and mud that the houses in Tumbe were made of. The following day we drove to the Yaida valley. The Yaida valley had the same terrain as most of the other areas we had been in except for the Nou forest: Acacias, commiphoras, candelabra euphorbias. It also had these really annoying stingless bees that were about the same size as flies. They did make good honey though.