Standing on the boundary between two watersheds, Nyengwe and Mutsidozi. Sometimes watershed boundaries are subtle and difficult to see. In this case, not so subtle.

This mountainside is in one of our target watersheds in Burundi. You can see there are a lot living barriers and planted trees. According to a local leader that we talked to, many years ago, there were local princes who promoted soil conservation and taught people how to install living barriers and plant coffee. They have continued this tradition to this day. This all apparently happened within this leader's lifetime and I am guessing he is about 70. The other interesting thing is that the other side of the valley, ie. where I am standing for this photo does not have nearly as many barriers or trees. The explanation for this did not seem as clear to me. Still, it means there is plenty of room for more planting. It is a long hike down into this valley. Nearly an hour for me to get to the bottom. I was told that I was the first white person (that people know of) to visit that village at the bottom of the valley in this photo. Hard to believe in this day and age, and only the second time in my life that I have been told that. It is not very accessible so I guess it's not out of the question.

A close up flower picture, for those of you that like close up flower pictures.

This was taken at the top of the Nyakazu canyon, which a beautiful spot, and a potential reserve of biodiversity. For all I know, this is some kind of endangered endemic. Maybe an unnamed endangered endemic. Or maybe it is just a common weed. Could be either one really.

Burundi is another one of those places that demands to have its picture taken. This is just what I happened to see over my hotel wall just now.

When we showed up here yesterday to do surveys, it felt a little bit like showing up in the set of an old western movie. One row of houses in the middle of a dusty plain, with a bunch of people, mostly men, sitting or standing in the shadows staring at us and us staring back at them.

Wow! my French is terrible. Two nights ago, I ordered a cheese sandwich for dinner. I got chunks of cheese on a plate and a piece of bread on another plate. Last night I ordered an egg sandwich. I got an omelette. Just an omelette.

Working on survey sample logistics. Figuring out who will be surveyed, who will interview them, and when is probably one of the hardest and most tedious of the evaluation tasks. So critical though to getting good information. If you read any of the analyses postelections and why election predictions were off, improper sampling is often the culprit.

Rutana, Burundi. We started our impact evaluation today. In class training of surveyors in the morning, and field practice surveys in the afternoon. Actually evening by the time we were done. It is cool here this time of year, jacket-worthy. Very comfortable by my view. Entered data from 16 surveys. Only 324 more to go!

It is not often I get to dine with a hippo. But at this restaurant in a small, reedy bay on Lake Tanganyika, hippos quite often show up to get their evening feed. It is very fun to sit at my table and eat fries while the hippo watches the customers from a (reasonable) distance. I'd say this one was probably 20 m from my table. Life delivering the unexpected. Well, somewhat unexpected. I went to this restaurant for this very purpose.

I've taken this same picture like a million times. It is just hard not too. Those hills in the background are where our project is working. Farmers are planting trees, forming community savings groups, building stronger relationships in a society that is long scarred by war and conflict. Maybe you are skeptical. I know it seems unlikely. But then, the best things in life usually are. I recommend you come here and see for yourself. You won't regret it, I promise.

This is rowe which is fermented cassava paste. It keeps for a long time. People say it is healthy too. It does not taste like chicken.

After 2008 here, there was a proliferation of Obama posters, Obama t-shirts, businesses named Obama, restaurants named Obama and apparently, Obama stationary. There is no such similar event this time.

A view from my guesthouse. The barbed wire is not that photogenic granted but is an important part of the story of this photo. These mountains in the background have seen many wars over the years, and you can see the tell-tale signs of that in the architecture here.

I had a chance this afternoon to talk to a local chief who has lived through the Belgian era, Mobutu, wars with neighbouring countries and a host of other experiences. He talked about the past with great fondness, when the forest came right down to Lake Tangyanika, wildlife was abundant, and there were so many fish in the lake that the people couldn't take them all out.

Someone like that has lived more lives than most of us could ever know.

Mexico city from the air. I don't know how someone can look at the air above cities like this around the world and not even wonder a little bit if we are having an impact on the air above us.

This is tom tom, a dish specific to certain parts of Haiti, particularly Jeremie and the North. Tom tom is commonly made from breadfruit, although it can also be made from maize or cassava, and is ground into a flour and then a thick porridge is mixed which is then eaten with a sauce. After 20 plus years of going to Haiti, I finally had my chance to try tom tom. An exciting culinary moment for me because I had always thought from the descriptions I had heard that it strongly resembled ugali or fou fou eaten throughout Africa. In fact the resemblance was uncanny. And delicious. I think I should become a food anthropologist.

After spending all week talking to nearly everyone about the elections in Haiti, I think things can be summed up in one word: disenchanted. Nothing else to say about that really.

Here's some Christmas lights in Port au Prince to cheer you up.

26 minutes 34 seconds from parking to gate. slower than usual.

Today's trip is to Haiti. Main activity is a crop yield study although so soon after the election and only a couple months after Hurricane Matthew, there will be a lot to see.

Every election changes a country a little bit. Maybe not much but a little. As a Canadian, I have been following the evolution of the US political situation with considerable but slightly detached interest. However, after spending a week here, and having had a chance to hear from a number of people from a personal level, I feel like I haven't been taking the situation seriously enough. Regardless of who had won the election, I think this represents a major societal shift. I don't know exactly what that means, and I'll continue to watch with interest as our American friends (and we too) figure that out. 

Today I think I won the transportation game. object of game is to arrive in a new country and get from one place to another using local transport without getting overcharged, scammed, pickpocketed, groped or anything else. So I visited the Intramuros area of Manila which is the old walled city built by the Spanish 500 years ago. On the way back I grabbed a local taxi which runs a semi regular route which didn't drop me right at my hotel but within 2 minutes walk: 25 pesos or about 50 cents. This compared to the taxi I took from hotel to Intramuros which cost about 5 dollars.

I had read warnings about taxis in Manila so I was a little wary so be careful.

Everywhere there are black and white images of the King honouring his memory. Many people are wearing black or dark colours. TV shows are all about him all day. Buildings are decorated in long swaths of black and white cloth. Even Google Thailand has changed their logo to simple black and white. This period of mourning will apparently continue for 30 days.