Good Times in Uganda

Uganda is definitely one of my favorite countries from this trip - the people are relaxed and kind, the countryside is beautiful, and there are amazing things to do here. Last weekend I went to Sipi Falls, and hiked through the village and its coffee plants, banana and passion fruit trees, and maize fields, to all three of the waterfalls, getting so close I was drenched (all part of the fun). The lodge I stayed at has one of the falls on its property, so I woke up each morning to the sound of rushing waterfall and chirping birds.

I also met a group of Uganda Peace Corps volunteers who went to Sipi for the weekend, and, despite the vast difference between Uganda and Slovakia, it totally made me reminiscent of my PCV days... cramming in with too many people into public transit to travel halfway across the country for a volunteer meet-up (i.e. party) and time to chat/complain/etc about the crazy shit from our sites. Swapping tales with the PCVs was a great addition to an already relaxing and wonderful weekend.

Tomorrow is actually going to be my last day at the school, since I need an extra day to get down to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest via public transit. There, I will trek mountain gorillas. I've heard it is an unforgettable experience, and I am hoping it will be a great way to end my time in Africa. After the gorillas, I have only a few days until I fly back to the US... I'll try to post a few more times before then, and of course there will be some serious photo uploading once I sift out my faves back home. I was hoping to add a few Uganda images to this post, but apparently this computer terminal's USB drive is just for show.

Africa pics

I've been back from Africa for a little while now. Had an awesome time with Michelle and Lindsay as we climbed a mountain, observed wild animals in their natural habitat, and evaded overzealous souvenir sellers. That's not to say it's not also good to be back in the civilized world, with its access to showers (with hot water, no less), machine washers, and other early 20th century technological marvels.

There's certain things that spring to mind when I think back on this experience. Among them: seeing the Southern Cross and the Milky Way from high up on Kili, the sky so clear it seems like you're watching from space...hearing hyena calls in the middle of the night in the Serengeti, and encountering elephants and zebra a few yards away at a camp in Ngorongoro...witnessing baboon and vervet monkey behavior that might be prosecutable were it something humans engaged in, and yet not being able to turn away...passing by Masai tribesmen in full-on traditional attire with their herd of goats or emaciated cows, mindful not to take pictures lest they start throwing rocks... watching as most of the passengers on board the Zanzibar ferry performed their own interpretation of the infamous blueberry pie scene from Stand by Me...the list goes on.

Here's a slideshow of some of the pics Michelle and I took.

(Use this link if you don't have Flash installed....)

Removing the Smell of Paint is Difficult

I have been in Jinja, Uganda for a week now, and have gotten involved in the Soft Power Education project I blogged about earlier. The organization has a great reputation in the area for all the work they have done with schools and communities. As a short-term volunteer, my duties are quite simple - help fix up and paint classrooms, as well as teaching aids onto the walls. I wish there was a bit more community involvement on our particular site, though the teachers and students are extremely grateful. Our school also has a program for deaf students, and it has been both amusing and frustrating to try to communicate with them. But they were excited to help out on a day off, as you can see in this photo (as well as the original state of things in the classrooms).



By the way, if you are able to donate even a tiny amount to Soft Power Education, I can tell you first-hand, the organization is doing some great thing here. In addition to schools, they have a community center project and health clinic, all funded by donations. http://www.justgiving.com/michellew54. :)

Monkey Mayhem

Yesterday was basically Nick's last day (he's getting on the plane in just a few moments to fly home) and we had a great day cycling through Hell's Gate NP and trekking through the park's central gorge like Tomb Raider (part of it was filmed there). All was great, except the bike seats being not the greatest, and the roads not the smoothest, left our butts a bit sore! When Nick gets home, hopefully he will have the chance to post some pictures. (not of our butts, but from his trip.) :)

After the bike tour, we were relaxing at our camp and decided to get some close ups of the vervet monkeys hanging around. After a while, they got quite accustomed to our presence and were closer and closer, until suddenly, I look and see four or five monkeys all encircling me and moving even closer all at once! They were on a mission for who knows what - perhaps my backpack, I think I had snacks in there - but my reaction was a little (maybe not so little?) shriek and to get the heck outta there. They stalked me for what seemed like forever but was probably only a few seconds. I think they were trying to steal my camera and write my blog - the only plausible explanation, really.

Later, when we sat down on the restaurant patio for dinner, hoping to watch wildlife while we ate, another little vervet monkey was up in an acacia, about 30 meters overhead, shaking branches so leaves were falling on us. We covered our drinks to avoid the falling tree bits, and lucky we did, because next thing I know, I feel what I could only hope were a few raindrops... nope. No such luck. A DAMN MONKEY PEED ON MY HEAD! We moved away from that table quickly, just before the monkey dropped a deuce on the other half of the table.

Today we have parted, each on our own matatu (minibus), me with my giant backpack on my lap for a couple hours. I am heading to Uganda tomorrow, where I will start my volunteering next week, and hope to get a chance to see mountain gorillas and/or chimpanzees!

Kili Recap

I promised a more detailed version of the Kili trek, but rather than bore you with the day to day details, Nick and I came up with a short list of the many things we feel sum up our experience:

• Going up was hard, but going back down was simply painful (lack of additional motivation, complete exhaustion, etc.). They should build a giant victory zip line for those who reach the peak!
• The final ascent image that sticks is a long, dark, steep climb, and the only way you know how long, dark, and steep it actually is, was by looking up at the trail ahead dotted with headlamps.
  
• Long drop dramas and jokes which never get old. Holes too small, floors slanted (or worse), backdrafts, and many unmentionable nasties.
• Pill popping like addicts - diamox, tylenol, malarone, immodium... you name it we probably had to take a pill for it.
• Being woken each morning by our lovely porters "Hello, hello... good morning" with a hot cup of tea delivered to us in our tent.
• "Warm water washing" twice a day.
• "You are welcome" almost always said before we got out a thank you.
• Good and plentiful food, but for a few misfires - 4-day old fried tilapia, blackened bananas, vegetable or mushroom soup with no signs of actual veg or 'shrooms.
• Thinking our guides didn't speak English too well until suddenly they did on day 4 or 5. Previously we thought we could talk about them at will and they wouldn't understand. Oops.
• Nick had some personal space issues with our guides that went unnoticed by the rest of us.
• Getting seriously annoyed at the number of people who asked if Nick was my brother. ummm... no.
  
• Learning the hard way that sleeping bag ratings are crap.

In other news, uploading photos should hopefully happen soon. Faves from Kili, faves from safari, and a few awesome photos from our delightful experience at the Nairobi Giraffe Center yesterday. We had a blast feeding and hanging out up close with the giraffes. They are hilarious animals. Nick almost got headbutted by a hungry old girl named Daisy, but in her defense, he was trying to pet her without providing any treats! We also learned yesterday that crocodile meat is nasty, but ostrich is quite nice. Now, back to plotting our escape from Nairobi, so we can head to one more Kenya site before Nick returns home. Where that will be exactly depends on the available escape routes...

Next Stop: Nairobi

After seeing lions, lions, oh, and more lions in Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, we are headed off to Kenya... I think between Nick and myself we have well over 1000 photos (no exaggeration), so posting merely a picture or two at the moment is not going to happen. Plus, we still have so many stories from Kili to share! It's a lack of quality internet blogger nightmare. ;)

Mission Accomplished!

The Pink Hippo and the Naked Pirate succeeded in conquering the beast of a mountain, Kilimanjaro. We did in fact battle cold and altitude and many a rumbling tummy to trudge to the top... the views were breathtaking and stunning, which my pictures barely capture. I ache all over, am a bit sniffly, and though I clearly won my battle to the top, I'm not quite sure if it is me or the mountain that won the war! :) A special shout out to shadoweyes - I most definitely remember and will tell you all about it in extensive detail later. We will both try to post a few more pictures and stories soon, but now it is time for breakfast and then we head to Ngorongoro and Serengeti for safari adventures. I know the others are looking forward to the animals mostly, but at the moment I'm looking forward to not walking anywhere for a while.