Capturing the Moment

Drills at MTTC   Being thrown off a little bit by the teachers strike this year Baseball4Africa has been able to direct its resources outside of the secondary/highschool age groups here in Kenya. One of the schools that we have been working closely with this season is on the outskirts of Machakos town called the Machakos Teachers Training College, or MTTC. What is so different about teaching baseball to these students, is that they will actually carry the game with them into different schools around Kenya once they graduate and become teachers. Coach Joe teaching the grip   They have picked up the game very quickly, and have greatly benefited from having four coaches working with them. Coach Jim has been here every year for the past 12 years teaching, it is my 3rd time helping out, Coach Jack just graduated university and flew out from NY to help, and Coach Joe recently wrapped up a baseball teaching program in Ethiopia and is now here for Baseball4Africa as well. So...

Whale Sharks in the Philippines Photos and Experiences   In the sleepy little town of Oslob in the southeast corner of Cebu Island, whale sharks ( Rhincodon typus) congregate close to shore for a feeding bonanza. But there is something unique about the feeding activity of these gentle giants slurping in sea water and filtering out all the tiny plankton. The method they suck in and filter out the plankton is the same here as it is throughout the tropics where whale sharks can be found. It is where the food is coming from that is different. These young whale sharks are being lured into this near shore water by fishermen tossing in huge handfuls of the sharks favorite food, brine shrimp. Now the fishermen are charging money to take people out to swim with the whale sharks. I talked with a lot of people in the Philippines about this area called Oslob and the impacts of these tours. There is a lot of debate about how the local fishermen are changing the whale sharks behavior an...

                 Thresher Sharks of Monad Shoal    When we started researching our dive trip to the Philippines we started hearing about a site near Malapascua Island where divers frequently encounter thresher sharks. Before this I had never heard of any scuba divers encountering this shark before. They usually live offshore and stay very deep in the water. The more I read about this place called Monad Shoal, the more I wanted to go see it for myself. I am a huge shark fan, and seeing one in the water is always a dream come true. This would be the 21st species of shark that I have swam with if I am lucky enough to see one. It turns out I did see a thresher shark here in Malapascua, but not just one, I saw 5 thresher sharks and had some incredible close encounters. Now the thresher shares a place on my list alongside an oceanic white tip, great whites, hammerheads, and whale sharks. Only about 360 ...

  In between all the adventures it's good to slow down and soak in your surroundings. This night the high winds and cloudy skies made for some great sunset viewing. This is why its always good to have your camera with you just in case.