Day 7, 8, 9 : Weekend Safari

I never know where to start. There's so much to say. The weekend safari was amazing. Everything I imagined it would be and more, totally worth the 400$ US.

I have to begin by telling you the 3 hour bus trip took us 6 hours, it was the most uncomfortable 6 hours ever. If it wasn't the pot holes we hit every two minutes, it was speed bumps or an ox in the middle of the road.

Finally after a long 6 hours of popping gravol we arrived to our lodge, The Sambiya River Lodge. What a beautiful retreat in the middle of nowhere. It was so quiet, and peaceful. We slept in little straw huts. I'll show you pictures when I get back. The food was amazing, and by 3 o'clock we were starving so anything at that point would've been good even the fried liver they try to sell us on sticks. After the well deserved lunch, we drove up to Murchison Falls where we watched the syn set, what a view! Later that night we went for a swim back at the lodge and went to bed early. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention there was no network for my cell phone and no electricity all day except between 7-10 pm. So anything that had to be recharged had to be done between those hours. You really start to appreciate electricity a lot more when you only have it for 3 hours a day.

The next morning our wake up call was a knock on the door at 5:45. Way to early but if we wanted to catch the ferry and the animals feeding it had to b done at that time. For those who know me well, I'm not a morning person and anything before 8 a.m is impossible to do.

Once we got accorss by ferry, it was time to meet our guide and satrt our game drive safari tour. All the guides carry big large guns, this ade me a little uncomfortable in the bus when it was pointing directly on me, I let it go, i figured it was needed if we were attacked. The first animal we encountered were the baboons. Friendly creatures, one jumpd right into our bus when he smelled the packed lunches.

Finally, we were off to see the animals. It was like visiting Parc Safari or Granby zoo but on a much larger scale. We encountered, Ugandan Kobs (like deers), wart hogs, Giraffes, Elephants, Buffalos, Water Bucks (like Moose), many different kinds of birds...

The most interetsing thing I saw well actually there were two, a sausage tree which literally looked like a tree which bared hanging sausages. I was told it was a fruit that the elephants like to eat and get drunk on. I guess they too need a break sometime. The second was the ant hills. At first they looked like large mounds of earth, but as we drove they got bigger and more craftier. Their heights varied between 1-6 feet tall, and so majestic looking. I know you must be wondering why I spent my time on ant hills, but if you knew how detailed and tall they were you would understand my need to find the biggest one in the park and take a picture next to it. The best way to describe them is by saying they looked like giant sand castles.

The tour lasted 3 hours, no luck finding the lions, but on our way to the elephants we of course got stuck up on a hill. We all got out and had to push ourselves of this hill, and the of course out of the ditch we then rolled into . Many people walked by and pointed to us, but no one came to our rescue, all I heard was Mzungo, Mzungo (white people). The good samaritan law definitely does not apply in this country. The strong will survive and the Mzungo's well....

The tour ended at 12 o'clock and I was starving so I broke into the packed lunches and of course who appeared out of nowhere the baboons. They basically ripped the sandwich out of my hands, and ran off with my egg, cookies and drink. I watched them unwrap my sandwich and drink my water a if they had done this before. Needless to say, I was still hungry. The afternoon was nice, we sat by the pool and I finally got smoe color.

The next morning we took a boat cruise on the Nile and saw crocodiles, hippos, more elephants, and many exotic birds whose names escape me because they each have 3 words in them. One I do remember was the White Crested Heron, Uganda's mascot.

We were off again on the terrible road but tis time I didn't sit in the back I sat by the window which I thought was a smart move till the river stopped the bus on the side of the road and handed me a chicken. Yes a live chicken he bought for supper. Of course after the long 6 hour drive I had named him Tony and adopted him. I gave him water, and some cookies the tour guide and driver laughed and said that Tony was going to be supper and I shouldn't get attached. I don't think I'll ever eat chicken again.

I'm off to supper now, and dying to find out if Livingston, our maid/gardener/janitor did my wash. We all try to give him work so that he can bring back the money to his mother. She has cancer and her medicine costs 800,00 shillings a year.

Till tomorrow, big hugs and kisses from Uganda xoxoxo...

Sandra