Blogs from Uganda, Africa - page 147

Writing from Kampala. We made it here about 10:00 last night and slept this morning until about 11:00 am. Sarah (Marie's daughter) and her husband, Nate, picked us up at the airport and drove us to their place. They have a great house with lots of room, and nice walled in yard with trees and shrubs, etc. and lots of birds. Last night we had quite a storm. Marie and I were so zonked out that we just thought it was rain and some thunder. But, when we awoke we saw that it blew furniture off the back porch and brought down a branch from their big palm tree. About 11:00 am while eating breakfast, all of a sudden there was a loud crash and sound of breaking glass ... inside the house. It turns out ... read more

It's two days until we leave for Africa ... running around frantically getting ready. Really nervous about taking a computer to Africa. We've heard that even cameras get stolen all the time. We've had our shots (Yellow fever, DPT boosters, cholera, tetanus, etc.). We were given a antimalarial prescription for Malarone, but at $190 for each of us we decided to use Doxycyclene ($9 total for the both of us). more later. ... read more

The moment we landed in Entebbe, the main airport in Uganda, we realized that we were in a tropical country. The landscape is so verdant, with plenty of banana and sugar plantations everywhere. The first morning, we took a matuta ride - a local shared minivan, into the city centre. We realized our ATM cards don't work here and our US 100 bills are not accepted ! Apparently, only $100 bills dated 2000 and above are accepted - to reduce conterfeit money. Bottom line: We had to scamper to get money using cash advances on our credit card... After a long day, we had some excellent Indian food at Haandi. As many of you know, there is a sizeable Indian community that has come back after Idi Amin had kicked them out in the 1970s. Most ... read more

Greetings from Uganda! For those who don't know, I (Gerry) am here for 6 months working with our great old friends, Sam and Eva who run an organisation called 'Uganda Family Resource Link'. They have done wonders here (the project in the village is called 'Bushfire'), within 2 or 3 years they have built 4 homes for 60 children-at-risk (mainly orphans), staff houses, a huge community-cum-church hall, a farm, a medical clinic and they are half way through building a primary school! It has grown so quick Sam feels somewhat overwhelmed and was keen for me to come and help organise things and give some management advice. I like the idea of being a management consultant and charging thousands of pounds per week for my services! But then that would be slightly unethical given that lunch ... read more

12-13 octobre 2005 Jinja (Ouganda) to Nakuru (Kenya) Une journée complète sur la route. 16 heures! C’est brutal mais c’est la vie « d’overlander ». On visite le Lake Nakuru National Park. Une région dotée de plusieurs lacs peu profonds appelés les « soda lakes » qui par leur acidité attirent des flamants roses par milliers ainsi que des pélicans. On y trouve aussi des rhinocéros blancs et noirs. Nous avons vu seulement les blancs. Il y en avait plusieurs et on nous a dit qu’en fait Nakuru a été déclaré sanctuaire pour protéger les rhinos en 1987. Voilà pourquoi nous avons eu la chance d’en voir plusieurs. C’est impressionnant en tout cas. Nous avons aussi vu des antilopes, des girafes et de buffles d’eau pendant notre safari. Au retour il pleut averse mais malheureusement il ... read more