Mzungu in the mist....

So it has been a while since I’ve had a chance to write… I’m just back from Kigali, Rwanda. What an adventure the last week and a half has been!

The weekend before last, Emma and I went to the Ssese Islands, and the only way to describe it is phenomenal. Its like paradise nestled in the middle of Lake Victoria. The best part is that paradise was cheap! To stay in a thatched bandas with three full meals and beers it cost me about $15. I would’ve paid that for the perfect four hour nap I had in the hammock overlooking the bay.
We woke early on Sunday morning and took a motorcycle to the shore of Lake Victoria at dawn. Sometimes the beauty of things here gives me goosebumps. From there, since the ferry wasn’t working, we took a wooden boat to the islands. It reminded me of Canada Lake and the slow boat rides we'd take to the island, except this one was about 2 hours. Once on the main island we hired a boda to take us to Kalangala where the Hornbill Camp is (where we were staying). Don't know why we thought a 25 km boda ride on dirt hills would be comfortable... It was beautiful though. Monkeys darted across our path as we crossed through various forest reserves on the island.
At Hornbill we had a wonderful time filled with banana pancakes and loads of beers with the crazy German owners. We stayed up long into the night laughing at the outdoor bar beneath a nearly full moon.

Back in Masaka Monday we spent our time at the orphanage. In fact, Emma and I moved from Kyetume to Masaka town so we could spend most of our time here. The kids are just wonderful. Scott and Lesandro were finally able to get them to start the paving for the back area of the compound which will go a long way in keeping the place more sanitary. Wednesday I made a trip to Kampala to pick up loads of things for the orhphanage, including clothing, teething toys, cleaning supplies and a hose with a sprayer so they can easily clean the back area now that it is cemented. Hopefully in the next few weeks they'll be laying sod in the front of the house so the kids will have a soft, fun area to run and play.

Thursday afternoon I began my travels throughout the country and Rwanda... I boarded a matatu for Kabale from Masaka. 7 hour later, I arrived (should've been a 5 hour trip...). The roads are all under construction from Masaka to Mbarara so it took much longer without solid tarmac. After staying the night in Kabale and having the most amazing chipati omlette with African tea, I set off for Kisoro. Only two days until I saw the gorillas in Bwindi!

Since there weren't buses heading for Kisoro I had to hire a driver for about $50 to drive me the 2.5 hours to Kisoro and then the next morning to Nkringo where we'd trek through Bwindi to see the mountain gorillas. The ride was absolutely beautiful... They call the Kabale area the Switzerland of Africa. It's amazing how lush and mountainous the area is. The hills are covered with crops and scattered huts. Through the mountain drive, you see lake bunyoni, one of the gems of Uganda. The pictures don't do it justice... We passed babooons, monkeys, cows, goats, cameleons and plenty of forest reserves on our way to Kisoro. The driver, well, was quite frankly, strange... For starters he had a pop out DVD player blasting Ugandan music videos the whole ride. At one point he pulled the car over when we were surrounded by baboons and made a pass at me, to which I ignored and said lets continue driving please...

Kisoro is very close to the Rwandan/Congo border in Uganda and is surrounded by the dormant volcanoes. The hills are truly never ending. On the way into town we passed a UNHCR refugee camp that houses refugees from Rwanda and Congo (mostly Congo now). The area is very peaceful now, but the instability in the north of the Congo has driven people to the southern areas and borders.

In Kisoro, I met up with Arthur who took me on a tour of the volcanic caves where the pygmies used to live. The pygmies are a tribe from this area of Africa (spreads across the rainforest areas), a very short people that lived in caves and in the bush. They were supposedly the first protectors of the mountain gorillas. I had a clausterphobic moment when crawling in the caves to where the bats were... I had to slither through a crawl space as wide and tall as me for about 10 feet and freaked out and had to back track before calming down. Poor Arthur had to calm me down and convince me there was light at the end. Afterwards, I tried local bannana beer (can't say I'm a fan), and their version of moonshine.... I'll stick with Nile beer. I went out in town with Arthur and his friends and had an absolute blast. Good people with a great sense of humor.

Saturday morning I was up before dawn as me and five other mzungus packed in the sedan for the 1.5 hr trip to Nkgringo in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. As the sun rose over the volcanic hills, I just thanked god for my vision. I know I say it again and again, but no picture will ever do that view justice. We wound through all the tiny mountain roads with deep valleys and lakes beneath us. Heavenly... just heavenly. That morning I'd woken up with a swollen red eye... It had happened a few weeks ago so I'd assumed it was from a mosquito bite or spider so went ahead with the trek. After paying the hefty fee for the tracking permit there was no way I was turning back.

Once in Nkgringo, we hiked into the impenetrable forest for a few hours until we reached the family of 19 gorillas. I was really unsure of how I'd react when I was face to face with them. I watch plenty of discovery channel so was sure I was in for a real treat. When we saw the first male through the trees, I gasped. Magnificent creatures... so playful. We crawled up through the brush to where the group was feeding. The silverback was closest to us and let out a growl to let us know his presence. Just as he did that, two baby gorillas fell from trees above as they chased each other playfully. We had one hour to spend with the gorillas. They were hysterical to watch... some were just lounging with their feet in the air, siblings were playfully wrestling, the mother of the baby twin gorillas was feeding and holding them close... it was just amazing. For creatures that share almost 98% of our genetic makeup, it was fascinating to watch.

After our hour was up, we trekked out of the forest up steep hills and valleys back to our starting point, stopping for lunch. At one point, the beers from the night before caught up with me and I hurled, but felt better after having a few bananas and a liter of water. We saw a few of the pygmies on our way out, tending to their crops. Many were relocated from the forest reserves to land just outside. Some of these homes are on the top of a single hill in a valley of mountains, surrounded by crops and forest. It's truly phenomenal...

Sunday morning, we took a motorcycle ride to the border of the Congo so I could cross... just to say I had :o). It was amazing. The villages were beautiful along the way. Churches were calling people to service with beautiful drums. Later in the morning we were off for Kigali, Rwanda. While we only had a night to spend there, it was amazing. The land of a thousand hills they call it... I must say, Rwanda is much cleaner than Uganda. They have a rubbish removal system so you don't see litter everywhere like you do in Uganda. Kigali is a beautiful city set in the midst of various hills. We walked around town after arriving and visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial and the mass graves from the 1994 genocide. It was a harrowing experience to read about the history of the country and the build up to such horrific events. The photographs and tributes to the victims had me sobbing. The memorial has a section on the reconcilliation and tribunal process currently going on. It was interesting to watch some of the videos and to read about the healing that has gone on since the dark days of Rwanda's past.
Afterwards, we walked back to town and visted the actual "Hotel Rwanda" before getting some amazing Indian food. Pricy but delicious, and they had white wine! I was in heaven.

Yesterday we left and I headed back to Kampala... where I am now. Thursday I'm going white water rafting on the Nile with Emma. It should be quite an experience! Grade 5 rapids, I'll probably piss myself with fear but heck, I only live once...

Later this week I'm back to the orphanage in Nyendo/Masaka before I leave Sunday for Kenya...
I'm sad that my time in Uganda has gone by so quickly but so happy to have been blessed with so many memories and to have met so many amazing people.

Thank you for all the emails of support. I love you all!

Pictures of my time with the gorillas and other recent adventures can be found at:

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=772816022/a=708528022_708528022/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/