ROAD TRIP DAY FOUR: Hiking in the foothills of the Rwenzoris then back to Kampala

OK...I NEVER wanted to leave! What an amazing, beautiful, affordable place to stay! I am coming back...hopefully when I return to climb with friends (if I can coax anyone to join me). I might just return to stay and renew my soul and spirit...this would be the place.

We slept in until 7 AM-ish...how wonderful that felt. I was stoked for our hike though John and Bob begged out to enjoy the Lodge. I can't say I blame them. It was hard to make that decision myself...that is until we started on our way....my heart was skipping beats out of excitement (or was that the altitude?)

Starting out over 5,000 feet! 

I met the guide after breakfast but he looked rather familiar to me. I think we both realized this at the same time and both cocked our heads and pursed our lips saying "Do I know you?" Turns out Enoch remembered me first. He even knew my name! What a great surprise! He sent along another young man, Samuel, to "guide us" on our hike. Samuel was able to tell us many interesting facts about the area as we headed up the steep footpaths to get a view of the mountains.

reminds me of home

I was glad for this as he did all the talking (so that I could breathe!). Despite the fact I had not been in the mountains now for over 6 months, my very being enjoyed every breathless step! I was on a high! We were blessed with some light rain to cool us down and passed many small huts built into the side of the steep hills.

Crossing the river

Eric asked about water...turns out they have to come down to the valley several times a day for water, work, school and other things. These kids run up these paths...puts us to shame. Our guide himself grew up here and has climbed the local peaks countless times already.

houses on the hillside
(the haze is the rain we hiked through)

Samuel then lead us to a non-descript field saying "Here we are!" Unfortunately, due to the recent rain and clouds, we didn't get our view of Mt Margherita (5109 m or 16,761.81 feet). This was OK as the views were again breathtaking! Our path down, however, was thigh breaking. It was a steep sloppy, muddy mess. I took Eric's lead using a stick to help me stay on my feet. I think the women we passed in the fields thought we were pretty funny all covered with mud and using a utensil to stay afoot!

a hillside home

The trip was a perfect 3 hours and we returned just in time for lunch! The saddest part was leaving though I promised them I WOULD be back. how could I not????? OK...well, maybe the saddest thing was really the 7 hour drive home (though Eric assured us that it was only 4...only a slight underestimation). We took the northern route back home. He was a trooper....having the stamina to drive well into dark.

beauty abounds in unusual flora and fauna

Speaking of troopers.....we had a strong minded female police officer stop us to finance a lacking payroll. Eric was ever so kind and obliged not even being upset about anything other than the waste of time. He was quite compassionate to the plight of the government workers NOT being paid since January.

A sign on the path
(don't know what it says but looks like
one ought to hold up a sign here)

The funny thing about this whole thing was, when the officer was arguing her point she spotted John popping a piece of gum in his mouth. She then, without skipping a beat, said "I'll take that!" and took the rest of his bubble pack. John smiled, obliging saying "Sure, you can have it! I'll warn you though, it has nicotine in it!" He laughed and she laughed back and continued to argue the reason we need to pay the fine. I don't think she really understood. "Well" said John, "I warned her!". We all got a chuckle out of this thinking she will either be spinning or throwing up soon.

Our Lodge is down in that valley somewhere

The mountains are nowhere to be seen 

At the top

A house being built.
They will cover the walls with mud

We were all completely exhausted by the time we got back to Kampala.  Two of the four of us had to get up early for work the next morning. The guys kindly went out of their way to drop me off safely inside my gated community (Monastery). I cannot believe everything we jammed into 4 days...I felt like I was gone for a week!

L to R
(Enoch, Me, Samuel, Eric) 

I am ever so grateful to them for allowing me to tag along on this trip. I am sure I would not have ventured out on my own and I would have been hesitant spending money on myself that I needed for the kids. THANK YOU Marty and Sabrina for this much needed mental and emotional reprieve...THANK YOU Eric for planning all of this and allowing me to come along and THANK YOU John and Bob, not only for making me lunch and supper over the last few weeks, but also for taking your precious time to visit and help out at the Bethlehem Home.

I wish all of you safe journey home and blessings to you and your families for your kindness! 

ROAD TRIP DAY THREE: Queen Elizabeth Park to Mweya's boat tour, Kilembe mines and then Kasese

Again, it was an early rise before dawn to catch the night roaming creatures out in the park. Might I add  that the food at Jacana Lodge was not only beautiful but wonderful (especially after 5 months of beans and rice). I also appreciate this chain of lodges as they belong to the Eco Lodge chain. Solar, water saving techniques and eco friendly policies make it a pleasure to stay there.

We hit the gate before dawn and right away spotted beady little eyes glowing at the roadside. Turns out they belonged to a family of Hyenas! Again, too dark and too fast for pictures but wonderful to see! Things slowed waay down on the viewing scene after that...it was quite awhile driving on that road (passing safari vehicles going in the other direction) that we decided to turn around and follow them. This turned out to be a good move as on the way back we were privy to the first spotting of an elephant! It was a mother and her calf. She made it clear she did not want us anywhere near her, so we obliged and moved on.

Mom, none to happy that we were close!

We entered at another gate and managed to hook up to a ranger by following the car ahead of us (again...frugal to the end). On this near guided tour, we were privy to uganda Kob, Topi, waterbucks (all dear-like creatures). We also saw cape buffalo (what we know has water buffalo), every kind of bird you can imagine, warthogs and bushhogs, and even lions (from about a mile away seen as small specks with tails out in very tall grass)

A herd blocking the road trying to scratch on an old termite mound

A "posing" DLC

ask Bob or John

an ancient native of some sort

People, watching lions faaar faaar away!
(could have been paper cut outs as far as we knew)

We did manage to look into the Kyambura Gorge for a quick view. This is where the Chimpanzee tracking tours start. They would not allow us to even do a small hike without paying the fee, so we opted to head to lunch instead. Fine by me as it was hot and I was getting sleepy.

Looking into the Kyambura Gorge

We then headed off to lunch at Mweya Lodge...pretty fancy digs I might add! The views were spectacular looking over Kazinga channel. This is where the largest concentration of hippos resides and where our boat tour was going to take us. (on a threee hooourrr tourrrr...just kidding)

This could almost be the Columbia River Gorge! 

We finished lunch and headed down to take our 2 hour boat tour of the Kazinga Channel. We could see the elephants heading down to the water while at lunch, so we knew we would have a fabulous view of them. The channel is 36 km long, home to over 100 species of birds (most of the boat was filled with birders and their HUGE cameras) as well as the largest concentration of hippos (good because I had yet to see one...only hear one and needed to get a picture for my niece Allie who LOVES them). The channel opens up into Lake George which is about 97 sq miles in size. This is NOT included in Uganda's Great Lakes though.

A posing water buck at the boat ramp for our
viewing pleasure

For you Allie!
they were all submerged the whole time to stay cool

Cape Buffalo

More elephants!
let me tell you, even in a car, you don't feel safe. We saw many a car back up
as an elephant shoed them away to get to good eating. 

This was a fabulous trip...we also saw crocodiles, birds of every color and size, and the distant mountains of DCR Congo (from the mouth of the channel) It was now REALLY hot. Eric picked us up (he stayed back and swam in the pool instead) and off we went to head to Kasese for our last night's stay at the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains!

Eric was bemoaning the fact that he has been coming to the park for over 10 years and has never seen a leopard. Well...someone must have heard him and planted one at the roadside on our way out. It was crazy! It just sat there in the shade by the roadside panting. Eric was so overtaken, he was shouting "TAKE IT! TAKE IT!" (meaning the picture) for fear of missing this opportunity. The leopard obliged our snaps for a minute and then meandered away into the bush. THAT was the highlight, I have to say!

The highlight of the trip! 

OK. Let it be known that Eric Arts likes to jam more "activity" in a single day than even my sister Anne (now that says a LOT). We still had a few hours to go to reach our destination in Kasese. If you remember from the Jan blog, this is where I dropped off the climbers.

We were all very hot and tired by the time we arrived though the sun was setting and we were hitting the now cool mountain air. The directions (or so we thought) were, "Take a Left when you hit the main road in Kasese". We assumed this would be the road heading into the hills towards Kilembe (an elevation of just over 5,000 feet). We headed up and up towards signs saying Kilembe mines. The housing degraded into row houses reminiscent of old military bases. The people became poorer as we headed up in elevation as well.

heading up the valley

The views, however, were spectacular! There were farms on steep hillsides and green lush plants and trees. The sun was casting an orange hue into the steep valleys we were driving in and white water rivers cascaded down from distant unseen peaks.

We still had not seen any signs for the Eco Snow Lodge which was to be our next stay. We stopped to ask people but they smiled and kept going. Turns out they don't speak English or Luganda (like my simple vocabulary of "sit down", "stand up" and "walk" would help much). The road then looked like it ended (or became one of those mountain biking paths made form an old logging road). We asked a young man standing there and he nodded that the he knew the Lodge and pointed up the hill. So "UP" we went!

mining camp row houses 

AND UP AND UP AND UP...to the point the road was only wide enough for a car as well as strewn with boulders at least 2 feet high and HUGE potholes that could swallow up a wheel and axle with pleasure. It turned quickly from "Adventure" to "Holy crap, we're in trouble now!". Overlooking the edges of these drop offs would make a hight fearing person yack! (well...we were probably only about 600 feet high BUT STILL).

The poverty evident

Young men were walking down the logging road (for lack of a better term) with surprised looks on their faces....as if they were saying to themselves..."What the Hell are these crazy Muzungus doing up here in a car???" It was actually not a big deal as we ended up stuck in probably the ONLY spot big enough to turn around (with a  lot of back up, go forward, back up go forwards).

Beauty despite the poverty...such a rich country and such poor people

I can hear Eric saying "You are exaggerating!"....I say...ask John or Bob.

Turns out it didn't take long with the help of the boys, old trees and rocks thrown into the HUGE pits to avoid being stuck and lots of direction (to avoid driving off into the void). Coming down was a nice walk and Eric could navigate in peace without 3 other back and front seat drivers telling him where to go.

More beauty

I had a nice conversation with a young man in his senior year. He had to walk from his village to the mining camp to stay for school at the beginning of each week. He wanted to become a journalist. Getting any funding for University is a long shot for him and for all of these eager young people. How lucky we are in the States to have the access we do.

SOO...no luck. It was getting late and the sun was starting to sink below the tops of the hills. The drive was long and hot and we were ready to be done. We decided to chance the fact I remembered seeing the signs for this Lodge when dropping off the climbers before. This was the main road to the major peaks of the Rwenzoris. Turns out the hunch was correct and it wasn't that far out of town either!

I think I blogged about how bad this road was back in January. Let's just say, it hasn't changed much though was much easier to navigate with a Land Rover....what I mean by that is we could all stay IN the car on the way up! The Eco Lodge must not have been open when I was there in Jan. It was actually another 350 meters farther from where we stopped last time (I had no idea the road even went farther!)

We bumped our way to the gate and to a greeting party of men who carried our things up to the Lodge.
Let me just say that for those of you (like me) who LOVE mountains...this is the most ideal dream place I could EVER imagine!  It is the last stop on the road nestled in the foothills of the largest mountains in Uganda. Built on the cliffs overlooking a roaring white water river...hidden by tall old growth trees and moss covered boulders. Built with stones and timbers with an open patio restaurant and large roaring fire. The cool mountain air was also welcome and devoid of little vampire mosquitos.

My little cabin in the woods

My DIGS! complete with porch overlooking the river! 

We all enjoyed a beautiful and thoroughly delightful dinner next to a roaring fire, read on the deck at the edge of the cliff by lamp light, and then reposed to the sounds of the river below.

Cool looking shower, solar powered, hot water on demand
(after about 5 min that is) 

fireplace open to both the bathroom and living room! 

nighty night!

ROAD TRIP DAY TWO: Lake Nabugabo to Jacana Safari Lodge outside of Queen Elizabeth Park

Following a nice rest and Nescafe coffee, we were off to check out some Ugandan wildlife at the Rwonyo national Park. The goal....see as many wild beasts as we could without entering the gate! 

Mission accomplished! We managed to spot some warthogs, Topi, odd looking birds (of which John and Bob have all the names), DLC's (deer like creatures) and BEST of all....ZEBRAS! 

Breakfast to this! 

DLC (deer-like creature)
Waterbuck?

Rather large birds of prey with cool orange feet and beaks! 

I KNEW I smelled something!

"Who are you and WHAT are you doing in my
back yard???!!!" 

Having seen most of the amazing wildlife in this park (before we hit the gate) we opted to continue on to the lodge to get some much needed R&R after rising at the crack of dawn 2 days in a row! Eric, our intrepid driver, got us to our destination about 2-ish that afternoon. I must say, there is NO WAY IN H%$## that I would ever drive the roads of Uganda! I liken it to a video game dodging potholes, Bodas, cars, Matoke carrying bicycles, coal carrying bicycles, etc etc.

We had to meander down a rather long, narrow bumpy dirt road for at least 25 min before we hit a gate for the park and Jacana Lodge. A very nice gentleman informed us that we had to purchase park permits to even proceed to the Lodge. We walked to a park pavillion while colobus monkeys scrambled up into the trees (they are the long haired black and white monkeys). Sorry, moving too fast for any pictures other than remnants of leaves floating to the ground.

The Park office looked like 1/2 of a large Land Rover put up on blocks. Very interesting and good use of recycled products I would say.

Permit time! 

Walking up to the lobby.....WOW! 

Check in...a real Safari "feel"

The cabins sit on the edge of the crater lake
(where the hippos hang out making LOUD noises
ALL NIGHT LONG)hmmm...we were all thankful they didn't
knock the cabin pillars down

unbelievable DIGS...pictures do not do it
justice. 

My porch view!

CAN THIS BE REAL???

What can be better...see the hammock next to the fireplace? 

I was woken from a nice long nap with someone hollering my name from what sounded like right in front of my cabin. I looked out and found Eric there in a canoe...."wanna go for a paddle?" Heck YA! The paddles weighed about the same as a weight lifting bar which limited our distance to close to the shore. This is when I learned about the hippos. I was informed they are rather cranky with human visitors and getting anywhere close would not be a wise move.

I ended my afternoon on the veranda of the restaurant with a cold beer overlooking the lake and journaling. It cannot get any better, I thought to myself...I had not yet understood what awaited tomorrow.  John and Bob returned from their hike (on which they saw more monkeys as well as a hippo or two) Eric soon joined us all for supper.

It was soo amazing to be there in that open aired restaurant, hammock by the fireplace and soft lights contained in whicker basket covers....the crickets had a loud resounding hum that likened to the sound of wind chimes made out of broken glass. The night was inky black allowing the stars to shine through.

Every now and then, you could hear the growl like snoring-snorting sound (very hard to describe but Bob does a great impression) from the hippos. This would be all well and good save for the fact this went on right outside each of our windows throughout the WHOLE night. I think Eric was the only one who said he slept. I swear I thought they might have trained the hippos to hang out in front of each of our cabins to give us the real "feel" of Africa! 

ROAD TRIP DAY ONE: Kampala to Masaka to Lake Nabugabo

I decided to agree to a trip "away" to regroup and refresh my weary soul. Eric Arts, his Father in law (John Walker) and Uncle (Bob Walker) had already planned a road trip for 4 days to western Uganda. Given my recent experiences coupled with a lack of time off, I was told this was a "Not an option" trip. My generous brother and sister in law (Marty and Sabrina) arranged to have it funded for me to avoid any excuses I might have. 

We left early Friday 2/12/13 AM heading West along the southern route to Kasese. Our first stop was in a town called Masaka in Central Uganda to visit one of Eric and John's long time friends, Stephanie. She is an amazing one woman show running a farm and a preschool on her own at a near 70 years old. She was widowed many years back and has dedicated her life and funds to helping out the local children with education and food. 

Anyone wanting to volunteer in the peaceful, beautiful environment can contact me. You can help with farming, chores and teaching or any of 1,000 things Stephanie has to do in a day. I would love to live in  such a quiet and peaceful place as hers if I were to stay here. 

We then walked up the road to visit the primary school which was in session. We had to opportunity to meet these wonderful teachers working for very little money. It was sad to see many of the beautiful buildings in disrepair from lack of funding. 

Stephanie had us tour some of the abandoned schoolrooms and get an update on conditions from the local teachers. John and Bob plan to come back and help out before they leave for the USA.

Stephanie's compound

AHHH..peaceful (he was quiet, really) 

John checking out the coffee crop

Matoke and sweet bananas growing in
Stephanie's yard

Visiting the local school up the road

One of the abandoned classrooms in need of
funding

Stephanie, the ever talented and untiring hostess, made us a lunch of homemade pumpkin soup with all the ingredients, including spices, from her garden. We were fed and ready to head out in the early afternoon. 

We made it to Lake Nabugabo by later afternoon following a drive through winding hills covered in tea plantations. The scenery was reminiscent of a lush green patchwork quilt. This is a freshwater lake about 3 miles wide and 5 miles long. It remains quite shallow and thus was as warm as bathwater! All of us enjoyed a refreshing dunk and then a pleasing supper of talapia. 

beautiful peaceful hut at the lakeside

Bob and his Fish! (of which, I ate 1/2 of...a girl's got to eat!)