10 days already! Kenya and Uganda

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all is well here in Jinja.

I have been unable to update the blog since leaving Dubai has it is hard to find a decent fast internet when you only stay overnight in your tent in each location... As we do all ourselves we end up with not much free time: cooking, cleaning, security, fire starting... and of course setting up tent every night.

We went from Nairobi to the great rift: Massai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru where we did some game drives... Elephant, Lion, Rhino, Buffalo, Hyena, Hippos, Baboons... many photos but cannot upload anything using the local internet (think 56kbps dial-up modems...) and the trip has been eventful.

We are now in Jinja in Uganda where the Nile takes it source... went rafting and had a blast, this is the cool capital of Africa and the chilled atmosphere is comparable of the likes of Queenstown or Taupo in NZ. Just really cool to relax and chill in the same place for more than 8 hours...

The trip has been event full so far: 1 case of Malaria (our swedish member: Carolina is fine it's the least dangerous form) and 1 accident on the road... No one got hurt and I was sleeping through most of it. The truck is now repaired and altogether it was not that bad... We got to sit on the high banks of the road watching pastoral life and meeting locals while on the crash site and then at the police station. African roads are a pretty well organized mess but that is local flavor you pay for: all well we are.

I always struggle to explain or summarize the circumstances or what happens on those trips so I will just try to write down some funny stories that I can think of... Right now there is not much... I have been quite amazed at how close you to the wild herbivores... It's like walking in a zoo with no enclosure. A giraffe was on its knees 5 meters away from us it just is quite impressive that all all those animals you see in zoos are so different when they are in the wild, just not the same and worth the experience for sure.

The weather has been temperamental, rainy season has started early and it has been really cold in Kenya... 4 days of afternoon rains (2 of tropical downpours with hail stones!) my tent flipped over yesterday (i was at the bar having yet another beer after a swimming session in the Nile) and by the time it stopped we had a private swimming pool and loads of wet gear... Dorm upgrade for the night... the lightnings that followed while we were cooking (only 7 out of 17 of the group, known as team hardcore or team cheap, what ever way you look at it) were blazing those great African skies... Pure beauty.

So far the scenery has proven to be worth all the trouble and Uganda has really done it for me. Cool relaxed people that love to smile... Lush greens huge tropical plants on red dark soils that stain... The contrast, the ambiance... I never was interested in Africa before but there is so much more to it that what you see in the news or what you think you know by listening to other people's account. If you get the chance go for it! There is much more than the poverty, the mosquitoes, the illnesses... All those dangers just mask a unique gem... and for those not convinced: beer is dirt cheap too and of good quality!

Alright this is as much as I can type now. Take care! Next is 4 more days in Uganda then Rwanda.

Ben.

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Comments

[Sara]

Hey Ben, Sounds like you are having a wicked time, just been reading your blogs after your prompt on fb. Keep on enjoying your trip, will look forward to seeing your pics when you find some proper broadband. Take Care Sara x