1. 48 garden hoes, 90 flour sacks, and 10 watering cans- All this and more was purchased to get ready for my last big training which was held this past weekend. I trained 40 plus 5th-7th grade teachers this weekend! This was the second time that I had trained this particular group of teachers. We had a great time learning new activities that they could incorporate into their teaching. The highlights of the weekend included a tour of the Bigodi Wetland, a presentation by the Community Conservation Warden of Kibale National Park, and learning to make learning aids from local materials.
I love taking teachers on a tour of the Biogdi Wetland, most have never been on a tour because they think there is nothing special there. However, after the tour they are always amazed at the variety of primates, plants, birds, and tree species. It is our hope of course that they will pass on this knowledge and respect for the local environment to their students.
This week the teachers from Green Circle (a school in Fort Portal that is trained in Montessori methods) taught us how to make posters and charts for classrooms out of empty flour sacks! Using a flour sack and a few magic markers the classrooms at Green Circle are covered with diagrams of the digestive system, water cycle, geographical features, and many others. Our teachers had a great time making their own flour sack charts for their classrooms!
2. Elephant ball- I always intersperse games into my trainings to keep things fun and lively. All of the games can also be done with students so it’s great for teachers to experience them. Speed ball, one of favorite name games is always a hit with the teachers. Last week we all learned a new game that the teachers loved. Jamaal, the Canadian who was staying with us for a few days taught us how to play elephant ball. Everyone stands in a large circle with their feet wide apart and their shoes touching their neighbors. Players than bend over and make a trunk with their arms. The object is to keep the ball inside the circle by using your “trunk”, if the ball goes though your legs than you are out. The teachers had such a great time playing this game; I can’t wait to see students playing it!
3. Repeat customers- I’ve enjoyed getting to know all the teachers though these trainings. Many teachers have had such a good time that they have come to 4 out of 5 of the trainings (they only ‘had’ to come to 2). Somebody even told me that they didn’t expect the trainings to be so much fun!
4. Thank you- In addition to receiving lots of great packages for me while I’ve been here many of you have sent things for the teachers and students that I work with. The teachers were so very grateful for the volleyballs (netball is very popular for girls here), playground balls, sanitary pads, girls underwear, children’s books and educational games that you sent. They wanted to make sure that I told all my American friends and family thank you!!
5. Free range chickens – At Tinka’s we have five goats, two dogs, and lots of chickens. The chickens are literally free range roaming around finding food wherever they can. I know it’s good for them and produces yummy meat however; I don’t like it when they graze off my dinner plate!
6. An elephant break-in- Our housemate, Tiffany went on safari to Queen Elizabeth this weekend and an elephant broke into to their vehicle. She evidently used her trunk to get into the car and get the snacks!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Week of June 15th-22nd
1. 45 teachers and me- This past weekend, I spent two days training 45 p1-p4 (1st-4th grade) teachers from nine area schools on how to integrate conservation education into their classroom teaching. It was the second time that I had trained this particular group of teachers and we had a fantastic time learning new activities that they could incorporate into their classes. I am always amazed at the turnout we have for these trainings as many teachers come from over an hour away. None of the teachers have cars so they either walk/bike very far distances to get here or have to hire a boda boda to carry them over bumpy poorly maintained “roads”.
One of UNITE’s goals and my personal mission’s is to teach teachers hands on ways of teaching. We want to help move teachers away from chalk and talk to more interactive ways of teaching. Even without text books or classroom resources there are many things you can do to make a lesson interactive and engaging for students. The teachers learned many new methods over the course of the weekend that they can use when teaching conservation education and other subjects.
In addition to learning new methods of teaching, we invited the Community Conservation Warden from Kibale National Park to come and talk to the teachers about the park’s school conservation programs. Saturday afternoon, we took all the teachers on a guided tour of the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary. Only one of the teachers had even been on a tour there. They had no idea what types of primates or birds live in this area. If the teachers don’t know about their local environment than how can we expect them to teach is to their students! It was great to see their reactions to seeing baboons up close and learning about the different types of birds and trees.
2. What can you make from a handful of beans and rice? - Since schools here do not have money for teaching materials most of the classroom walls are bare. However, there are many teaching aids that can be made from locally found materials. I invited the staff from a Montessori trained school in town to come a lead a workshop during our training on making learning materials. The teachers loved it and they all got to make a learning aid to take back to their schools. I can’t wait till I can post pictures so you can see the creativity of these teachers.
Using different types of beans, rice, plywood, and glue made from cassava flour: they were able to make a diagram of the human eye so students could clearly see the pupil, iris, and other parts of the eye. A chart of the different types of soil was created from just a piece of plywood, beans for the lettering and borders, cassava flour glue, and soil. Many teachers chose to make a fish so their students could learn the different parts of the fish; it was made from just paper, beans, and cassava flour glue. My group used banana fibers (from the trunk of a banana tree) to make a large sheet of paper on which we than painted a colorful map of Uganda!
I wish I had time to more of these workshops as there are so many things that can be made for the classrooms with just a little time and creativity! Unfortunately, my time is starting to run out – I leave Bigodi one month from tomorrow. I do have one more training next week for the p5-p7 teachers that I am looking forward to.
3. I will miss…- There are many things that I will miss when I head back to the states in just about a month. I will miss kids running down their driveways to say “Mazuga, mazuga how are you?” as they see me jogging past. I will miss running into my friends in the local bar. I will miss healthy natural food prepared by someone else. I will miss working with this amazing group of teachers. I will miss seeing the beautiful Renzori Mountains from the porch of my little house. I will miss the fact that since there is “no hurry in Africa” in five months, I haven’t been late to a single function. I will miss my little village of Bigodi where it seems like almost everyone knows me. I will miss feeling like I am making at least a small difference in the world. And of course I will miss Leon.
4. New housemate- Last week we got a new housemate. Tiffany is from the UK and will be staying with us till mid July. She is an undergrad studying biology/conservation and is volunteering at KAFRED for the month. For the last five days, a University student from Canada has been staying with us as well. Jamaal is on a three month field placement in Uganda studying community development. They are both great fun and it has been a real treat for me to have English speaking company! Both even attended my training over the weekend and seem to really enjoy it.
One of UNITE’s goals and my personal mission’s is to teach teachers hands on ways of teaching. We want to help move teachers away from chalk and talk to more interactive ways of teaching. Even without text books or classroom resources there are many things you can do to make a lesson interactive and engaging for students. The teachers learned many new methods over the course of the weekend that they can use when teaching conservation education and other subjects.
In addition to learning new methods of teaching, we invited the Community Conservation Warden from Kibale National Park to come and talk to the teachers about the park’s school conservation programs. Saturday afternoon, we took all the teachers on a guided tour of the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary. Only one of the teachers had even been on a tour there. They had no idea what types of primates or birds live in this area. If the teachers don’t know about their local environment than how can we expect them to teach is to their students! It was great to see their reactions to seeing baboons up close and learning about the different types of birds and trees.
2. What can you make from a handful of beans and rice? - Since schools here do not have money for teaching materials most of the classroom walls are bare. However, there are many teaching aids that can be made from locally found materials. I invited the staff from a Montessori trained school in town to come a lead a workshop during our training on making learning materials. The teachers loved it and they all got to make a learning aid to take back to their schools. I can’t wait till I can post pictures so you can see the creativity of these teachers.
Using different types of beans, rice, plywood, and glue made from cassava flour: they were able to make a diagram of the human eye so students could clearly see the pupil, iris, and other parts of the eye. A chart of the different types of soil was created from just a piece of plywood, beans for the lettering and borders, cassava flour glue, and soil. Many teachers chose to make a fish so their students could learn the different parts of the fish; it was made from just paper, beans, and cassava flour glue. My group used banana fibers (from the trunk of a banana tree) to make a large sheet of paper on which we than painted a colorful map of Uganda!
I wish I had time to more of these workshops as there are so many things that can be made for the classrooms with just a little time and creativity! Unfortunately, my time is starting to run out – I leave Bigodi one month from tomorrow. I do have one more training next week for the p5-p7 teachers that I am looking forward to.
3. I will miss…- There are many things that I will miss when I head back to the states in just about a month. I will miss kids running down their driveways to say “Mazuga, mazuga how are you?” as they see me jogging past. I will miss running into my friends in the local bar. I will miss healthy natural food prepared by someone else. I will miss working with this amazing group of teachers. I will miss seeing the beautiful Renzori Mountains from the porch of my little house. I will miss the fact that since there is “no hurry in Africa” in five months, I haven’t been late to a single function. I will miss my little village of Bigodi where it seems like almost everyone knows me. I will miss feeling like I am making at least a small difference in the world. And of course I will miss Leon.
4. New housemate- Last week we got a new housemate. Tiffany is from the UK and will be staying with us till mid July. She is an undergrad studying biology/conservation and is volunteering at KAFRED for the month. For the last five days, a University student from Canada has been staying with us as well. Jamaal is on a three month field placement in Uganda studying community development. They are both great fun and it has been a real treat for me to have English speaking company! Both even attended my training over the weekend and seem to really enjoy it.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Marriages, burials, and chickens-My 19th week in Uganda
I’m a little late posting this due to lack of computer availability and a good internet connection this week. This is for the week of June 6th-14th.
1. Good to be back- After traveling throughout much of Uganda on Safari, it was great to be back in Bigodi and in my normal routine last week. I will miss my little African village when I head back to the states in late July!
2. Attending an introduction- Last week I got to attend the introduction of our neighbor’s cousin. An introduction here is sort of like an engagement party, it’s where the bride’s family accepts the bride price or dowry from the husband to be and the two families are officially introduced. The actual marriage will occur at a church ceremony a month or so later. In this case as with many marriages here the couple had actually lived together for the last seven years and had two children together! The official wedding and introduction are often put off for many years due to the expense of these celebrations.
There were well over two hundred in attendance at this introduction. It was a very formal affair with the men in suits and the women in their best traditional dresses.
3. Losing one of the oldest members of the village-Last week the oldest woman in Bigodi passed away. While everyone knew she had three generations of grandchildren no one knew exactly when she was born. Tinka did know what king she was born under so he was able to look that up on the internet and at least narrow it down to a decade. The decision of the village elders was that she was 113!!! She even cooked for Tinka’s Grandfathers wedding so many years ago!
4. Month long birthday celebration- I’ve always loved birthdays and while this year’s birthday was a little anti climatic, I’ve continued to get packages and cards for the last five weeks! This week two birthday packages arrived, one from my sister and one from my old high school friends. My sister obviously knows me well because not only did she include books, balls for the kids (she is a PE teacher after all), but there was also chocolate for me!! The package from my friends was gigantic and must have cost a fortune to send. They included lots of books, assorted magazines including Bass fishing, volleyballs for the kids (netball is very popular here), and lots of snacks for me! I am very blessed to have such a supportive group of friends and family.
5. Twelve secondary teachers and me- Last weekend, I trained 12 teachers for the local Secondary school. I hadn’t worked with them yet so it was a joy to get to know them. Since they teach at the secondary level they were all fluent in English, which made the training at lot easier on me. We had a great time learning conservation activities that they could incorporate into their teaching. There were two surprising things for me: one was that while the schools mission is “We conserve to develop” they were actually doing very little in the way of conservation education. The second was none of the teachers at the school had ever been on a tour of the Bigodi Wetland which is less than a mile from the school! None of the teachers had any idea of how many birds’ species live in the swamp or could name the different types of primates. We took a guided tour of the wetland and by the end of the weekend; all knew that there are 200 different types of birds and eight species of monkeys living in the wetland!
6. 26 pounds gone- One of the great side effects of living and working in Uganda has been losing weight by sampling eating natural foods and walking a lot. So far I have lost 26 pounds!!!
7. I’ve heard about chickens coming home to roost but this is nuts- I had two incidents involving chickens last week. While napping, I felt something jump up on my bed at first I thought it was Leon but no it was a chicken. Tinka thought maybe she was looking for a place to lay her eggs! Later in the week, I was getting my “juice bucket” from outside as it was drying upside down; when I picked it up I heard a loud squeak and there was a small chicken. Evidently, she had been missing and trapped under my bucket for two days as I was out of town!
1. Good to be back- After traveling throughout much of Uganda on Safari, it was great to be back in Bigodi and in my normal routine last week. I will miss my little African village when I head back to the states in late July!
2. Attending an introduction- Last week I got to attend the introduction of our neighbor’s cousin. An introduction here is sort of like an engagement party, it’s where the bride’s family accepts the bride price or dowry from the husband to be and the two families are officially introduced. The actual marriage will occur at a church ceremony a month or so later. In this case as with many marriages here the couple had actually lived together for the last seven years and had two children together! The official wedding and introduction are often put off for many years due to the expense of these celebrations.
There were well over two hundred in attendance at this introduction. It was a very formal affair with the men in suits and the women in their best traditional dresses.
3. Losing one of the oldest members of the village-Last week the oldest woman in Bigodi passed away. While everyone knew she had three generations of grandchildren no one knew exactly when she was born. Tinka did know what king she was born under so he was able to look that up on the internet and at least narrow it down to a decade. The decision of the village elders was that she was 113!!! She even cooked for Tinka’s Grandfathers wedding so many years ago!
4. Month long birthday celebration- I’ve always loved birthdays and while this year’s birthday was a little anti climatic, I’ve continued to get packages and cards for the last five weeks! This week two birthday packages arrived, one from my sister and one from my old high school friends. My sister obviously knows me well because not only did she include books, balls for the kids (she is a PE teacher after all), but there was also chocolate for me!! The package from my friends was gigantic and must have cost a fortune to send. They included lots of books, assorted magazines including Bass fishing, volleyballs for the kids (netball is very popular here), and lots of snacks for me! I am very blessed to have such a supportive group of friends and family.
5. Twelve secondary teachers and me- Last weekend, I trained 12 teachers for the local Secondary school. I hadn’t worked with them yet so it was a joy to get to know them. Since they teach at the secondary level they were all fluent in English, which made the training at lot easier on me. We had a great time learning conservation activities that they could incorporate into their teaching. There were two surprising things for me: one was that while the schools mission is “We conserve to develop” they were actually doing very little in the way of conservation education. The second was none of the teachers at the school had ever been on a tour of the Bigodi Wetland which is less than a mile from the school! None of the teachers had any idea of how many birds’ species live in the swamp or could name the different types of primates. We took a guided tour of the wetland and by the end of the weekend; all knew that there are 200 different types of birds and eight species of monkeys living in the wetland!
6. 26 pounds gone- One of the great side effects of living and working in Uganda has been losing weight by sampling eating natural foods and walking a lot. So far I have lost 26 pounds!!!
7. I’ve heard about chickens coming home to roost but this is nuts- I had two incidents involving chickens last week. While napping, I felt something jump up on my bed at first I thought it was Leon but no it was a chicken. Tinka thought maybe she was looking for a place to lay her eggs! Later in the week, I was getting my “juice bucket” from outside as it was drying upside down; when I picked it up I heard a loud squeak and there was a small chicken. Evidently, she had been missing and trapped under my bucket for two days as I was out of town!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Back from Safari part 2
** Please forgive the length of this entry but there was so much to write about!
Saturday May 30- Jinja
After spending an amazing day rafting the Nile, we spent the evening at a fantastic lodge called the Nile Porch. The Nile Porch over looks the Nile as it approaches the falls. According to my guide book “the tents are spacious yet cozy, with inner mosquito netting and verandas facing the river”. It definitely lived up to our expectations; our luxury permanent safari tent was literally on the edge of the bank over looking the Nile. We had an incredible view of the Nile! For the first time in days we had our own ensuite bathroom. Even the bathroom had a view of the Nile! It was incredible to fall asleep listening to the mighty Nile. We awoke to a thick wall of fog over the river so we couldn’t see the Nile at all. It was awesome to watch the fog slowly break and reveal the beautiful river.
After living on “local food” for the last four months, which while it is healthier than my typical American diet tends to be a bit bland. It was such a treat to eat such great food on this trip. The Black Lantern at the Nile Porch was no exception, we had two amazing meals in the restaurant that overlooked the Nile. I’m looking forward to returning to this hotel someday.
Sunday May 31-Leave Jinja for Lake Mburo
Our driver (who is a friend of Tinka’s) picked us up from the Nile Porch in Jinja and was with us the rest of the trip. We drove back though Kampala than west to Lake Mburo, it took about six hours to make the trip. Along the way we stopped to take pictures at the equator! There was a lovely café there as well where we had lunch.
My main reason for wanting visiting Lake Mburo is that it is the closest park with zebras. I couldn’t go on an African safari and not see zebras! When we arrived in the afternoon we did a game drive where we saw my first zebra, lots of impala, buffalo and warthogs.
The entire time we were on our game drive we didn’t see any other visitors. I knew that this was not one of the busier parks but I didn’t expect it to be empty! We were suppose to stay in a safari tent but since that part of the park was completely isolated, we opted to stay in a cottage at another lodge. The cottage was very cute and had its own bathroom though no electricity or running water! We were awoken at about 2am by the sound of something outside our window. It sounded like a warthog or larger animal grazing but every time I looked outside I couldn’t see anything. That kept us awake for awhile for fear it was going to start grazing on the cottage which wasn’t really very study. Just when we were relaxed enough to go back to sleep, we heard lots of scurrying in the ceiling, which was probably just a rat or lizard but was unsettling. I got to sleep about 4am and I think Sharon was up the rest of the night!
Monday June 1- Arrive at Queen Elizabeth
We awoke at 6am so that we’d have time for breakfast before our game drive and the four hour to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The game drive was great as I got to see lots of zebras !! We got fantastic pictures of them. I don’t know whey they fascinate so much though I did grow up in horse country in northern Virginia and never saw a stripped horse!
We arrived at Queen Elizabeth National Park a little after 1pm which gave us some to check in to our lodge for the evening and have lunch before our 3pm boat ride on the Kazinga Channel. We splurged for this and stayed at the luxury Mweya Safari Lodge. According to my guidebook and everyone I know this is one of the most beautifully situated lodges in Uganda. Some have described it as a Sheraton in the bush. After staying there I totally agree and it was worth every penny! As soon as we arrived we were greeted by a butler with hot washcloths and fresh glasses of passion fruit juice. The entire lodge offers amazing views of the bank of the Kazinga channel. We could see elephants and buffalo grazing as we were eating our lunch. The food in lodge was fantastic, as good as any four star restaurant back in the states! We both had salads for lunch which is a real treat for me as we can’t eat raw veggies in Bigodi.
After lunch we went on the boat ride which was wonderful and unlike our last boat ride, we didn’t get caught in a storm this time. It was about two hours long and we saw tons of elephants, buffalos, waterbucks, water birds, and hippos. In comparison to the other two parks that we visited this week, we saw more of everything here at Queen. Instead of seeing a family of three elephants we’d see a heard of more than twenty! Instead of a handful of buffalo, there would be twenty-five or more on the bank of the channel. We passed a small island that was full of at least six different species of water birds!
When we returned to the lodge from our boat ride, we went to the spa and had massages! Oh what a treat and they were only $20 per person! I consider a real shower a luxury these days so this was blissful. Afterwards, we had pre-dinner cocktails in the bar that reminded me so much of the Grove Park Inn with its large fireplace and stone accents. Instead of a view of the mountains, we had an amazing view of the channel. The drinks had great names like hippos delight! Dinner was phenomenal, I had fried corn fritters to start and Sharon had the most amazing spinach/mushroom soup I’ve ever had. For the main course, I had chicken cordon blu that was out of this world and Sharon had pork that was also amazing. We both had the chocolate cake for desert-who’s going to say no to chocolate cake!
Tuesday June 2-Queen Elizabeth day 2 and drive to Bigodi
On the one day on this trip where I could sleep in, at about 5:30am I was awoken by the sound of elephants. Sharon questions how I knew it was an elephant and not another African animal but since a large heard was gathered on the other side of the channel; I say it was likely that it was an elephant! Whatever it was, it was very cool. Since I was already up, I went outside on the veranda to catch up on my journaling. While I was there, I witnessed the most amazing sunrise over the channel. It was absolutely breathtaking! It seemed like we could see for miles in ether direction.
We had an incredible breakfast buffet complete with fresh passion fruit juice and nutella for my pancakes! I’ll admit having banana’s, bread, and tea day in and day out for breakfast gets a bit old so this was a real treat! I didn’t want to leave this incredible hotel any earlier than we had too, so we didn’t check out till after 10:30am. This is definitely a place that I want to come back to some day.
We did our last game drive as we departed Queen Elizabeth. On our way out of the park we saw elephants, antelope, warthogs, and lots of birds! We stopped at another equator marker, a salt lake, and a sign post saying DRC is 27 km to take pictures. The stop at the salt lake was a little dramatic as I fell, reinjured my left leg and broke my camera! I think I was more upset about my camera than my leg as the camera was a bon voyage gift from my NC friends. Our driver loaned me his camera for as long as I need it and Sharon took the camera back to the states where it will be fixed!
It was about a 4 hour drive back to Fort Portal and than it’s only 45 minutes to Bigodi my home away from home. As we got closer to Fort Portal, the landscape gradually changed from the tall grasses and scraggly trees of the savannah that we saw at Queen Elizabeth to the lush green foliage and mountains that signal that I’m getting closer to home. I can truly say after traveling a good portion of this amazing country that my favorite area is the one where I live. I am blessed to live on the outskirts of a lush tropical forest and at the foot of the Ruwenzori Mountains!
In Fort Portal, we stopped at the post office where I had three packages waiting for me! One had been mailed on April 8th, so I was thrilled that it had arrived safely. I have been so blessed on this entire journey to be supported by such amazing friends and family. If you have mailed a package, please don’t lose hope –I’m sure it’s on it’s way but the mail can be very slow here.
This evening, we stayed in the tree house in Kibale National Park just a few miles from where I live. The tree house is deep in the forest (it’s a little less than a mile trek to get to it) and has a great view of a swamp that is often frequented by elephants. While we didn’t see any elephants, it was very cool to wake up to the sounds of the forest.
Wednesday June 3- Chimp Trekking
In the morning, we set off on our 3 three hour trek though Kibale National Park to see the famed chimpanzees. I had gone chimp trekking in February and after four hours of very difficult trekking though the forest we had failed to find the chimps. Luckily, this time was different. Within just about 30 minutes, we found over 30 chimps eating high up in a fig tree. It was amazing to watch them eat and play high up in the trees. After watching for over an hour, we followed a few as they came down to the ground and was able to watch one male chimp while standing only about five feet away. It was fantastic!
Afterwards, we took a boda-boda (my favorite means of transport) back to Bigodi and had lunch at home. In the afternoon, Sharon decided she wanted to get her hair braided. We sat outside Betty’s hair shop and attracted half the women in the village as they watched the muzuga get her hair braided! The women were having a workshop on making paper beads so as Sharon was getting her hair done I got to learn how to make beautiful beads out of paper.
Thursday June 4-Bigodi
The original plan had been to leave Bigodi this afternoon and stay in Fort Portal for the evening. However, we were having such a great time in Bigodi and at Tinka’s that we decided to stay another night. In the morning, we went on a guided walk of the Bigodi wetland (this was my eighth visit to the wetland). We had a great walk and saw so many of the animals that live in the wetland, including five different primates, the great blue turraco, and other wonderful birds! We were able to see four different species of monkeys playing in the trees! The only bad part was nearing the end of our walk I was stung by a wasp! I hadn’t been stung in over 25 years. Our guide wanted to put kerosene on the sting which is a local remedy however I refused as I had a first aid kit back at my house with western medicine.
Sharon got to experience a traditional Ugandan meal at lunch. There were three other American’s at the house for what I call “tourist” lunch. Tinka gives a presentation on traditional Ugandan customs and afterwards everyone feats on a traditional meal. We had spinach/carrots, fried cassava, mattoke, groundnut sauce, posha, rice, beef stuff, sesame sauce, and pineapple for dessert-yum!
After lunch, we walked to Bigodi primary school and visited the p4 class which is taught by my friend Alex. Due to the kids break and my safari, I hadn’t seen most of them in well over a month so it was great to get back in the classroom. We talked to the kids about our trip and quizzed them about animals found in each park. Afterwards, they sang traditional songs and preformed dances. As usual it was very touching. I love those kids!
In the evening, we walked around the village and met some of my friends. We visited Irene who operates the local restaurant near my house. Irene is always great for getting the local gossip though sometime she tells me gossip about my self! Our next stop was to see Helen who is Irene’s mom, she who founded and runs the Bigodi peanut butter project. Over ten years ago Helen started buying groundnuts ( peanuts) from the local women and making peanut butter. The project now supports over 40 families in the area! Helen went to NC in 2000 and even named her last born after my boss at the NC Zoo! Our last stop was to visit Alex in his store in the trading center. Alex has been a member of UNITE for years and got to visit NC on one of our teacher exchange programs. He currently teaches p4 at Bigodi primary. After school, he comes to the trading center where he operates his store for a few hours every afternoon. Every time, I come in Alex insist on giving an avocado or a bunch of banana’s because as he said everyone in NC treated him so well!
Friday Jun 5- Trip to the airport
It’s hard to believe this amazing trip is coming to an end. We left Tinka’s at 7am and drove the 6 hours to Entebbe airport. After having lunch at the airport and saying goodbye, our driver and I headed back to Bigodi.
This was an absolutely amazing vacation!
Saturday May 30- Jinja
After spending an amazing day rafting the Nile, we spent the evening at a fantastic lodge called the Nile Porch. The Nile Porch over looks the Nile as it approaches the falls. According to my guide book “the tents are spacious yet cozy, with inner mosquito netting and verandas facing the river”. It definitely lived up to our expectations; our luxury permanent safari tent was literally on the edge of the bank over looking the Nile. We had an incredible view of the Nile! For the first time in days we had our own ensuite bathroom. Even the bathroom had a view of the Nile! It was incredible to fall asleep listening to the mighty Nile. We awoke to a thick wall of fog over the river so we couldn’t see the Nile at all. It was awesome to watch the fog slowly break and reveal the beautiful river.
After living on “local food” for the last four months, which while it is healthier than my typical American diet tends to be a bit bland. It was such a treat to eat such great food on this trip. The Black Lantern at the Nile Porch was no exception, we had two amazing meals in the restaurant that overlooked the Nile. I’m looking forward to returning to this hotel someday.
Sunday May 31-Leave Jinja for Lake Mburo
Our driver (who is a friend of Tinka’s) picked us up from the Nile Porch in Jinja and was with us the rest of the trip. We drove back though Kampala than west to Lake Mburo, it took about six hours to make the trip. Along the way we stopped to take pictures at the equator! There was a lovely café there as well where we had lunch.
My main reason for wanting visiting Lake Mburo is that it is the closest park with zebras. I couldn’t go on an African safari and not see zebras! When we arrived in the afternoon we did a game drive where we saw my first zebra, lots of impala, buffalo and warthogs.
The entire time we were on our game drive we didn’t see any other visitors. I knew that this was not one of the busier parks but I didn’t expect it to be empty! We were suppose to stay in a safari tent but since that part of the park was completely isolated, we opted to stay in a cottage at another lodge. The cottage was very cute and had its own bathroom though no electricity or running water! We were awoken at about 2am by the sound of something outside our window. It sounded like a warthog or larger animal grazing but every time I looked outside I couldn’t see anything. That kept us awake for awhile for fear it was going to start grazing on the cottage which wasn’t really very study. Just when we were relaxed enough to go back to sleep, we heard lots of scurrying in the ceiling, which was probably just a rat or lizard but was unsettling. I got to sleep about 4am and I think Sharon was up the rest of the night!
Monday June 1- Arrive at Queen Elizabeth
We awoke at 6am so that we’d have time for breakfast before our game drive and the four hour to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The game drive was great as I got to see lots of zebras !! We got fantastic pictures of them. I don’t know whey they fascinate so much though I did grow up in horse country in northern Virginia and never saw a stripped horse!
We arrived at Queen Elizabeth National Park a little after 1pm which gave us some to check in to our lodge for the evening and have lunch before our 3pm boat ride on the Kazinga Channel. We splurged for this and stayed at the luxury Mweya Safari Lodge. According to my guidebook and everyone I know this is one of the most beautifully situated lodges in Uganda. Some have described it as a Sheraton in the bush. After staying there I totally agree and it was worth every penny! As soon as we arrived we were greeted by a butler with hot washcloths and fresh glasses of passion fruit juice. The entire lodge offers amazing views of the bank of the Kazinga channel. We could see elephants and buffalo grazing as we were eating our lunch. The food in lodge was fantastic, as good as any four star restaurant back in the states! We both had salads for lunch which is a real treat for me as we can’t eat raw veggies in Bigodi.
After lunch we went on the boat ride which was wonderful and unlike our last boat ride, we didn’t get caught in a storm this time. It was about two hours long and we saw tons of elephants, buffalos, waterbucks, water birds, and hippos. In comparison to the other two parks that we visited this week, we saw more of everything here at Queen. Instead of seeing a family of three elephants we’d see a heard of more than twenty! Instead of a handful of buffalo, there would be twenty-five or more on the bank of the channel. We passed a small island that was full of at least six different species of water birds!
When we returned to the lodge from our boat ride, we went to the spa and had massages! Oh what a treat and they were only $20 per person! I consider a real shower a luxury these days so this was blissful. Afterwards, we had pre-dinner cocktails in the bar that reminded me so much of the Grove Park Inn with its large fireplace and stone accents. Instead of a view of the mountains, we had an amazing view of the channel. The drinks had great names like hippos delight! Dinner was phenomenal, I had fried corn fritters to start and Sharon had the most amazing spinach/mushroom soup I’ve ever had. For the main course, I had chicken cordon blu that was out of this world and Sharon had pork that was also amazing. We both had the chocolate cake for desert-who’s going to say no to chocolate cake!
Tuesday June 2-Queen Elizabeth day 2 and drive to Bigodi
On the one day on this trip where I could sleep in, at about 5:30am I was awoken by the sound of elephants. Sharon questions how I knew it was an elephant and not another African animal but since a large heard was gathered on the other side of the channel; I say it was likely that it was an elephant! Whatever it was, it was very cool. Since I was already up, I went outside on the veranda to catch up on my journaling. While I was there, I witnessed the most amazing sunrise over the channel. It was absolutely breathtaking! It seemed like we could see for miles in ether direction.
We had an incredible breakfast buffet complete with fresh passion fruit juice and nutella for my pancakes! I’ll admit having banana’s, bread, and tea day in and day out for breakfast gets a bit old so this was a real treat! I didn’t want to leave this incredible hotel any earlier than we had too, so we didn’t check out till after 10:30am. This is definitely a place that I want to come back to some day.
We did our last game drive as we departed Queen Elizabeth. On our way out of the park we saw elephants, antelope, warthogs, and lots of birds! We stopped at another equator marker, a salt lake, and a sign post saying DRC is 27 km to take pictures. The stop at the salt lake was a little dramatic as I fell, reinjured my left leg and broke my camera! I think I was more upset about my camera than my leg as the camera was a bon voyage gift from my NC friends. Our driver loaned me his camera for as long as I need it and Sharon took the camera back to the states where it will be fixed!
It was about a 4 hour drive back to Fort Portal and than it’s only 45 minutes to Bigodi my home away from home. As we got closer to Fort Portal, the landscape gradually changed from the tall grasses and scraggly trees of the savannah that we saw at Queen Elizabeth to the lush green foliage and mountains that signal that I’m getting closer to home. I can truly say after traveling a good portion of this amazing country that my favorite area is the one where I live. I am blessed to live on the outskirts of a lush tropical forest and at the foot of the Ruwenzori Mountains!
In Fort Portal, we stopped at the post office where I had three packages waiting for me! One had been mailed on April 8th, so I was thrilled that it had arrived safely. I have been so blessed on this entire journey to be supported by such amazing friends and family. If you have mailed a package, please don’t lose hope –I’m sure it’s on it’s way but the mail can be very slow here.
This evening, we stayed in the tree house in Kibale National Park just a few miles from where I live. The tree house is deep in the forest (it’s a little less than a mile trek to get to it) and has a great view of a swamp that is often frequented by elephants. While we didn’t see any elephants, it was very cool to wake up to the sounds of the forest.
Wednesday June 3- Chimp Trekking
In the morning, we set off on our 3 three hour trek though Kibale National Park to see the famed chimpanzees. I had gone chimp trekking in February and after four hours of very difficult trekking though the forest we had failed to find the chimps. Luckily, this time was different. Within just about 30 minutes, we found over 30 chimps eating high up in a fig tree. It was amazing to watch them eat and play high up in the trees. After watching for over an hour, we followed a few as they came down to the ground and was able to watch one male chimp while standing only about five feet away. It was fantastic!
Afterwards, we took a boda-boda (my favorite means of transport) back to Bigodi and had lunch at home. In the afternoon, Sharon decided she wanted to get her hair braided. We sat outside Betty’s hair shop and attracted half the women in the village as they watched the muzuga get her hair braided! The women were having a workshop on making paper beads so as Sharon was getting her hair done I got to learn how to make beautiful beads out of paper.
Thursday June 4-Bigodi
The original plan had been to leave Bigodi this afternoon and stay in Fort Portal for the evening. However, we were having such a great time in Bigodi and at Tinka’s that we decided to stay another night. In the morning, we went on a guided walk of the Bigodi wetland (this was my eighth visit to the wetland). We had a great walk and saw so many of the animals that live in the wetland, including five different primates, the great blue turraco, and other wonderful birds! We were able to see four different species of monkeys playing in the trees! The only bad part was nearing the end of our walk I was stung by a wasp! I hadn’t been stung in over 25 years. Our guide wanted to put kerosene on the sting which is a local remedy however I refused as I had a first aid kit back at my house with western medicine.
Sharon got to experience a traditional Ugandan meal at lunch. There were three other American’s at the house for what I call “tourist” lunch. Tinka gives a presentation on traditional Ugandan customs and afterwards everyone feats on a traditional meal. We had spinach/carrots, fried cassava, mattoke, groundnut sauce, posha, rice, beef stuff, sesame sauce, and pineapple for dessert-yum!
After lunch, we walked to Bigodi primary school and visited the p4 class which is taught by my friend Alex. Due to the kids break and my safari, I hadn’t seen most of them in well over a month so it was great to get back in the classroom. We talked to the kids about our trip and quizzed them about animals found in each park. Afterwards, they sang traditional songs and preformed dances. As usual it was very touching. I love those kids!
In the evening, we walked around the village and met some of my friends. We visited Irene who operates the local restaurant near my house. Irene is always great for getting the local gossip though sometime she tells me gossip about my self! Our next stop was to see Helen who is Irene’s mom, she who founded and runs the Bigodi peanut butter project. Over ten years ago Helen started buying groundnuts ( peanuts) from the local women and making peanut butter. The project now supports over 40 families in the area! Helen went to NC in 2000 and even named her last born after my boss at the NC Zoo! Our last stop was to visit Alex in his store in the trading center. Alex has been a member of UNITE for years and got to visit NC on one of our teacher exchange programs. He currently teaches p4 at Bigodi primary. After school, he comes to the trading center where he operates his store for a few hours every afternoon. Every time, I come in Alex insist on giving an avocado or a bunch of banana’s because as he said everyone in NC treated him so well!
Friday Jun 5- Trip to the airport
It’s hard to believe this amazing trip is coming to an end. We left Tinka’s at 7am and drove the 6 hours to Entebbe airport. After having lunch at the airport and saying goodbye, our driver and I headed back to Bigodi.
This was an absolutely amazing vacation!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Back from Safari- part 1
Wow, what a trip! Sharon and I had an incredible time touring four of Uganda's National parks, rafting on the nile and other grand adventures!
I have posted a few pictures that can be viewed at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97753&id=572152211&l=0573b5d2bb. You do not need to have a facebook account to view the pictures.
Wednesday May 27- After spending Tuesday evening at the Red Chili hostel in Kampala eating great food and meeting people from all over the world including Durham NC, we left early Wednesday morning for their "Big Five" trip. I had heard great things about this trip from another American so I was very excited. In the upcoming three days we were going to have an opportunity to view the "Big Five"- leopards, lions, elephants, hippos, and rhinos.
It was about a seven hour drive to Murchison Falls National Park from Kampala. Once we arrived, we took a guided walk around the falls. Having left for Safari with bronchitis, being an asthmatic and walking during the hottest part of the day- I'll admit the walk was challenging to say the least. However, it was so worth it!! There are actually two falls and they are both amazing. It reminded me of my many visits with my father when I was younger to Blackwater falls in West Virgina, expect so much bigger. My dad would have loved this trip.
In the evening we stayed at Red Chilli rest camp in the park. We had a wonderful safari tent with two real beds, luxury camping! The canteen for food and drinks over looked an incredible veiw!
http://www.uwa.or.ug/murchison.html
Thursday May 28- By 6:45am we were loaded in the safari van with our packed breakfast ready for our first game drive. We took a fery to cross the Nile for a 4 hour game drive around the Nile Delta area of the park. This is where the most big game gathers and where there are spectacular views across Lake Albert towards the Blue Mountains of the Congo and northern Uganda.
We saw lion, buffalo, elephant, giraffe, babbons, monkeys, a phython, many types of antelope, hippos, and lots of differnt birds! One babbon even climbed up the back of our van and into top to grab one of the girls breakfast sandwich! It was truly amazing to see all of these incredbile animals in their natural haibatats.
After lunch we departed for a 3 hour afternoon boat launch trip up-stream towards the base of Murchison Falls. We were able to see more hippos, Nile crocodiles, more buffalo, elephants and lots of birds. It was a little nerve wrecking when it started to thunder and lightening while were were on a boat in the Nile!
We spent another night at the rest camp- enjoying the food, great view and company.
Friday May 29- By 8am we left Murchison Falls for the trip back to Kampala. On the way back we stopped off at a Rhino sanctuary where we tracked Rhinos! The trek wasn't long, we did the first 15 mins in the van than the last 15 mins by foot though 5 foot tall grasses. It was amazing to see the rhinos- they were gigantic!
http://www.rhinofund.org/
Saturday May 30- Jinja- At 7:45am we were to leave Red Chilli Hostel in Kampala where we spent Friday night for Jinja where we were to go white water rafting. Being the ever pone acciedent one, while carrying my 40 pound back pack up the hill towards the bus, I fell and twisted my right ankle while skinning my left leg pretty bad. Sharon went and haltled the bus while I got bandged up and back on my feet. Thankfully, I had my first adi kit with us so I was able to take of my leg and my ankle.
We than rode about an hour and a half to Jinja, where we rafted the mighty Nile. Given the excitement of the morning and the beating sun, we opted for the half day trip. Even so we rafted eight rapids, three being class five! It was an incredible experince. The company we went with was fantastic and provided the free shutlle from Kampala, breakfast, fresh pinapplle on the river ( there is nothing like Ugandan pineapple), and a barbeque dinner! My only regret is that we couldn't have our camera's on the river so I couldn't capture the incerdible bird life and people on the banks of the river washing their clothing.
.http://www.raftafrica.com/
http://www.nileporch.com/
I have posted a few pictures that can be viewed at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97753&id=572152211&l=0573b5d2bb. You do not need to have a facebook account to view the pictures.
It was about a seven hour drive to Murchison Falls National Park from Kampala. Once we arrived, we took a guided walk around the falls. Having left for Safari with bronchitis, being an asthmatic and walking during the hottest part of the day- I'll admit the walk was challenging to say the least. However, it was so worth it!! There are actually two falls and they are both amazing. It reminded me of my many visits with my father when I was younger to Blackwater falls in West Virgina, expect so much bigger. My dad would have loved this trip.
In the evening we stayed at Red Chilli rest camp in the park. We had a wonderful safari tent with two real beds, luxury camping! The canteen for food and drinks over looked an incredible veiw!
http://www.uwa.or.ug/murchison.html
Thursday May 28- By 6:45am we were loaded in the safari van with our packed breakfast ready for our first game drive. We took a fery to cross the Nile for a 4 hour game drive around the Nile Delta area of the park. This is where the most big game gathers and where there are spectacular views across Lake Albert towards the Blue Mountains of the Congo and northern Uganda.
We saw lion, buffalo, elephant, giraffe, babbons, monkeys, a phython, many types of antelope, hippos, and lots of differnt birds! One babbon even climbed up the back of our van and into top to grab one of the girls breakfast sandwich! It was truly amazing to see all of these incredbile animals in their natural haibatats.
After lunch we departed for a 3 hour afternoon boat launch trip up-stream towards the base of Murchison Falls. We were able to see more hippos, Nile crocodiles, more buffalo, elephants and lots of birds. It was a little nerve wrecking when it started to thunder and lightening while were were on a boat in the Nile!
We spent another night at the rest camp- enjoying the food, great view and company.
Friday May 29- By 8am we left Murchison Falls for the trip back to Kampala. On the way back we stopped off at a Rhino sanctuary where we tracked Rhinos! The trek wasn't long, we did the first 15 mins in the van than the last 15 mins by foot though 5 foot tall grasses. It was amazing to see the rhinos- they were gigantic!
http://www.rhinofund.org/
Saturday May 30- Jinja- At 7:45am we were to leave Red Chilli Hostel in Kampala where we spent Friday night for Jinja where we were to go white water rafting. Being the ever pone acciedent one, while carrying my 40 pound back pack up the hill towards the bus, I fell and twisted my right ankle while skinning my left leg pretty bad. Sharon went and haltled the bus while I got bandged up and back on my feet. Thankfully, I had my first adi kit with us so I was able to take of my leg and my ankle.
We than rode about an hour and a half to Jinja, where we rafted the mighty Nile. Given the excitement of the morning and the beating sun, we opted for the half day trip. Even so we rafted eight rapids, three being class five! It was an incredible experince. The company we went with was fantastic and provided the free shutlle from Kampala, breakfast, fresh pinapplle on the river ( there is nothing like Ugandan pineapple), and a barbeque dinner! My only regret is that we couldn't have our camera's on the river so I couldn't capture the incerdible bird life and people on the banks of the river washing their clothing.
.http://www.raftafrica.com/
http://www.nileporch.com/
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