TAKE A SPIN IN THE NILE MACHINE AND COME OUT CLEAN!

In Jinja now (Uganda) and getting ready to go to the Maasi Mara. Claudia is now mostly recovered. She did revolt one more time and decide that she just didn’t want to go into grears anymore. Lucy and Jase were able to fix the problem pretty quick but still we had a 15 hour day between. She just got her big overhaul so should be find for our next trek to the Maasai Mara tomorrow morning. Hopefully we are getting all this out of the way now and she will be in good shape for the rest of my trip.

Rafted the Nile yesterday – AMAZING!!!!! Huge water but ever so fun. I think the guide’s goal is to flip us as many times as they can, although our guide only managed once. It was a great day. Water was warm, sun was out, people were great and the rapids were soooo very much fun. Just massive. Another big bonus was all that dirt that was still stuck in my toenails (don’t think I have ever needed to clean under my toenails before) washed right out as I got tumbled through the rapids. I think my clothes even got a better cleaning in the river than they had in the buckets and soap we have been using. Showers in our camp are cold but have a great view out over the Nile. They only have three walls so open up completely and look through the trees to the river. Absolutely gorgeous. Tonight we will all relax at the camp and have a BBQ and most likely a few more beers. I think I have settled on Nile Special as my favorite. Seems to have a little more taste than the others.

The photo is out of the bar area in our camp ground and that is the nile behind me.

and on we go....

Went to the North part of Queen Elizabeth park and stayed in a lovely camp ground complete with hippos and hyenas. No, really, they were wandering all over the place. It was on the Kazinga Channel. It was surprising we got there though as the roads were all mud and sand and had huge ruts and basically we drove down the side of it almost tipping over and as soon as we got out of one side, we fishtailed over to the other side and slammed against it, then drove that ditch for a while and back across. Our drive said it was the most scared she had ever been driving.

Had a nice boat safari down the channel where we saw huge amounts loads of hippos, water buffalos, crocs and some amazing birds. Even saw a pink hippo – no really. He was an albino and quite cute. After that, we invaded the five star safari lodge at the top of the hill and had a few beers while watching the sun set over the channel. At night, after a fantastic Kenyan meal made by our chef, we headed off to the local bar for a few cheap beers (vs the ones at the lodge) and some pool. Very surreal coming out of the bar when it was dark with only a headlamp on and a giant hippo walking down the road. Made me wonder what they put in the drink but very cool to see. However, those adorable little creatures can apparently be quite nasty (number one threat to the local fishermen) so we stayed clear and let the hippo walk on by before heading into the road ourselves.

BLOW OUTS and BOGG DOWNS

It has been an eventful few days for our lovely little Claudia (Truck), we have run her through the paces and she finally gave up and said she needed a rest. After the Gorillas, we went back to Lake Bunyonyi for a night of R&R – although we didn’t get much time for that as we got in around 4:00. The lake is absolutely gorgeous. I took a quick walk around part of it with Aaron (another traveler on the truck). It would have been quite peaceful but for the throngs of children who decided to join us on our walk and talk incessantly and say nice things like “give me your watch”. They are all asking for money but also tend to just simply ask for a pen or pencil and notebook so that they can use it for school. They are quite poor but still seem to smile all of the time and wave enthusiastically at us as we pass by.

After Lake Bunyonyi we got an early start (5:30am for me as I was on cook assist duty) and headed to Queen Elizabeth II National Park. It was a long drive but when we arrived at our secluded campsite, we were rewarded with several hippos bathing themselves in the stream on the side of the campground and baboons playing in the trees and running around the campsite. It was a beautiful spot and had one of the most architecturally interesting loos that I have ever seen. It was a spiral shape and once around into the center of the spiral there was a flat piece of wood stuck to a stick. Lift up the stick and well, there was your long drop. Oddly enough it was one of the more pleasant bathrooms we have had on the trip.

We arranged for a safari in the late afternoon evening so see the tree climbing lions – Godfrey was to be our guide. Lovely idea until about 20 minutes in, we hit a massive stump on the side of the road and tore a huge hole in the side of our tire. We all piled out and baked in the sun while Lucy and Jase changed the tire. Our guide, being ever cautious (Hah!) wandered around with his rifle as if a lion was just going to wander on up. I really don’t think that the tree-climbing lion does exist…or really that Godfrey had any clue what he was looking for or doing. He spent the entire time chatting and looking around. Although, we did see thousands of Ugandan Kob, very beautiful but like pigeons of the park – EVERYWHERE! Also saw quite a few water buffalo, topi and thousands of birds. The park is apparently home to over 600 types of birds.

So to finish our day, Claudia (truck) decided she wanted to get a mud bath and politely stopped herself in the middle of a bog. This resulted in around 3 hours of us squishing about in mud in the dark, swatting at mosquitoes and trying as hard as we could to find sticks and shrubs without stepping on the acacia thorns that appeared to be in such abundance. We did ultimately get her out with a tow truck and then were happily on our way back to the campground for a 9:00pm arrival. Very long day but the group is good and we all came together as a team. Mostly, I think, we were happy to wash our feet before we went to bed.

BLOW OUTS and BOGG DOWNS

It has been an eventful few days for our lovely little Claudia (Truck), we have run her through the paces and she finally gave up and said she needed a rest. After the Gorillas, we went back to Lake Bunyonyi for a night of R&R – although we didn’t get much time for that as we got in around 4:00. The lake is absolutely gorgeous. I took a quick walk around part of it with Aaron (another traveler on the truck). It would have been quite peaceful but for the throngs of children who decided to join us on our walk and talk incessantly and say nice things like “give me your watch”. They are all asking for money but also tend to just simply ask for a pen or pencil and notebook so that they can use it for school. They are quite poor but still seem to smile all of the time and wave enthusiastically at us as we pass by.

After Lake Bunyonyi we got an early start (5:30am for me as I was on cook assist duty) and headed to Queen Elizabeth II National Park. It was a long drive but when we arrived at our secluded campsite, we were rewarded with several hippos bathing themselves in the stream on the side of the campground and baboons playing in the trees and running around the campsite. It was a beautiful spot and had one of the most architecturally interesting loos that I have ever seen. It was a spiral shape and once around into the center of the spiral there was a flat piece of wood stuck to a stick. Lift up the stick and well, there was your long drop. Oddly enough it was one of the more pleasant bathrooms we have had on the trip.

We arranged for a safari in the late afternoon evening so see the tree climbing lions – Godfrey was to be our guide. Lovely idea until about 20 minutes in, we hit a massive stump on the side of the road and tore a huge hole in the side of our tire. We all piled out and baked in the sun while Lucy and Jase changed the tire. Our guide, being ever cautious (Hah!) wandered around with his rifle as if a lion was just going to wander on up. I really don’t think that the tree-climbing lion does exist…or really that Godfrey had any clue what he was looking for or doing. He spent the entire time chatting and looking around. Although, we did see thousands of Ugandan Kob, very beautiful but like pigeons of the park – EVERYWHERE! Also saw quite a few water buffalo, topi and thousands of birds. The park is apparently home to over 600 types of birds.

So to finish our day, Claudia (truck) decided she wanted to get a mud bath and politely stopped herself in the middle of a bog. This resulted in around 3 hours of us squishing about in mud in the dark, swatting at mosquitoes and trying as hard as we could to find sticks and shrubs without stepping on the acacia thorns that appeared to be in such abundance. We did ultimately get her out with a tow truck and then were happily on our way back to the campground for a 9:00pm arrival. Very long day but the group is good and we all came together as a team. Mostly, I think, we were happy to wash our feet before we went to bed.

MZUNGU IN THE MIST (or gorillas, really)

MZUNGU = White person, which is what they call us around here (but not in a negative way).

Crossed the equator the other day and into Rwanda. Went through Kilgari, the capital, and then on to Ruhengeri, which is where we are now. Yesterday we did the treck up to see the gorillas. Got up at 5:00, had a quick bite, then hopped in a little taxi/bus and off we went. Met our guide at the base of the hill and off we went on our treck up the side of the hill and through the brush. First part was mostly a wet overgrown, jungle trail but when we reached the ridge and saw the gorillas for the first time (on the other side of a ravine), the guides broke out the machetes and began to do some serious bush whacking. We rapelled down a steep slope on a vine (no, I am not kidding) and literally cut away roots and bushes to make our trail and even then still had to climb under, over and around all sorts of other things that clogged our way. Needless to say our asses were all quite black by the time we came out on the other side where the gorillas were. I think we saw about 8 of them: a silverback, three babies and the mother gorillas. The babies were crawling all over each other and hitting each other and tumbling down the hill. Think the highlight was being charged by the silverback. Think I almost had heart failure as I was about three feet from him. Of course, I was cowering in the bushes trying to blend in and the guides were telling us to stand back up. I wasn’t too keen on standing up while three feet from a massive gorilla who was staring at me.

It was amazing to be so close to them. They were literally walking around us and popping up out of nowhere, just strolling through. I cannot describe how magical it was to be up there.

On the way back, out truck broke down, actually we found out later that it ran out of gas. Apparently something that is quite common around here. A bunch of kids pushed until we could get to a hill and the driver could get the car back to town. Meanwhile us muzungu got packed into a small flatbed truck and jostled down the bumpy road back to town. Finished the day with several primus beers and lots of laughs and amazement at the day we just had.
Tomorrow we are off to Queen Elizabeth NP, which also should be quite spectacular

For Cheap Dental Work, Come to Kampala

Well, I have arrived - in Uganda that is. Luggage also arrived (intact), however my tooth did not. An old filling decided that it was time to give in. Fortunately, I managed to meet just the people to help me fix the problem. Patrick, a guy doing research in a small city near by Kampala and his friend, Craig, got a reference for me. Then Suzanna appeared out of nowhere for breakfast and low and behold, she was a dentist (she was also on the same trip as me!). She took a quick look with the ever handy flashlight and determined that I probably should do something about it given the length of my trip. That led us all to Dr. Tom at the Pan Dental Clinic. Quite a vivacious man who flirted terribly with us and made jokes about drilling the wrong tooth or possibly extracting one he shouldn't (Suzanna offered to come with and make sure things went well). Dr. Tom also happened to have studied at the same place in England as Suzanna and under a teacher she knew quite well and who was highly respected. The outcome being that I got a nice white filling for $50 and an unforgettable experience in a detal chair - a bargain by any account. Funny how you can meet just the right people at just the right times!

Two hours latter Suzanna, Patrick, Craig and I settled in for a Ungandan meal of Krest (bitter lemon drink), Matoke (mashed cooked plantains), Maharagwe (bean) and goat meat. Can't beat that now can you! Then we wandered through the old taxi park - an insaine mess off minibuses, "matatu", people selling flourescent mosquito nets and all sorts of other wares. One man had a nice collection of goodies: framed picture of a rose with "I Love You" written on it, a battery powered fly swatter, a TV remote and a pair of shoes. Guess they can actually sell the stuff as there are enough of them doing it. How we found the right matatu I am not quite sure but we did. Stopped quickly for a "Maize" treat on the way (corn grilled over an open flame and, well, hard as a rock - good jaw workout) and then relaxed in the pleasant bar oasis of the hostel. Finished the day with a phenomenal Chicken Tika Masala and several beers in the local Irish pub - Bubbles O'Leary.

This morning (Sunday), met the rest of my Drago group and we boarded our beast of a truck. Claudia is her name and she is quite the machine with the drive train of a cement truck and tires that look like they are from a tractor (hopefully I'll be able to post pictures soon). Think she is a bit out of sorts at the moment as Lucy and Jase (our fearless leaders/guides) have taken her off to get a tire replaced, and rumour has it, a clutch that won't cooperate. Thus, the rest of us, have been left to our own devices at the moment, which means tents are up, beers are in hand, internet, chatting and getting to know the 14 other people on the trip and otherwise having a lovely relaxing afternoon before heading out tomorrow for Lake Bunyonyi. Current schedule is to overnight there, then head off to see the Gorillas in Rwanda.

Off for another Club (local beer), unfortunately not quite as tasty as the local brews in the US but I imagine I'll survive), especially at the bargain price of $1.35.

almost there

think i am broke after london with that horrible exchange rate, however the pints are still tasty and that makes up for a lot. transfering in nairobi now and almost to my final destination (uganda) after over 48 hours of travel. i am thankful for having been able to upgrade to business. people here, thus far, are incredibly nice although i am wondering if my bags will make it to kampala. i had about 8 people bounce me from desk to desk not really sure how to get my bags transferred from swiss air to air kenya. while all very helpful and nice, each person seemed to have a different solution to the problem and ultimately my bags were left on the floor of the baggage claim area with a little blue sticker and a hand written note, EBB, as the final destination. we will see what happens when i land. speaking of, i am off to my flight now.