Lake Bunyoni and the solar eclipse!

Lake Bunyoni--definitely not beautiful

Eclipse

 After the Gorillas, we hitched a ride with some Finns to Lake Bunyoni. The drive down was beautiful, it had been dark on our drive up. Along the way a weird Italian old man who was hitch-hiking around Uganda to see the "people" joined us. He said Uganda had no culture, the people begged instead of working and the country wasn't beautiful. Right...

Goodbye Bwindi Forest

Diving down the mountain

We passed a rock-mine where men and women were hacking the rock apart with pick axes and small children were carrying huge buckets of rocks on their backs down the steep hill. I asked the Italian if this constituted not working hard. He didn't answer.

The lake at dusk

We arrived at the lake around dusk and got a motor-canoe to the island we were staying on. Friday, the manager met us and we had dinner; crayfish from the lake--amazing. There were a few others saying on the island, but it was very peaceful and quiet.

Dugouts--nonsensical vehicles

The next morning, my friend and I woke for sunrise to canoe in a dugout and find the lake otters. Friday tried to stop us, saying we should take a canoer because it was too difficult of Mzungus and we'd end up going around in cirlces; the Mzungo corkscrew. We assured him that we were lake faring people (my friend is from Ontario), and we knew our way around a canoe, as we clumsily climbed aboard. He informed us we were facing the wrong way.  Ahh, yes, well in American our canoes are slightly different, but no problem. He smiled and informed us we were holding the paddles backwards. What? But it scooped, how can the concave side go in front? "It is the way it is."

Two and a half hours later, we had made it around the (tiny) island and were exhausted. After much frustration and going around in circles, we determined that whoever is in the back should just steer, and leave the hard work to the person in front. Also out canoe liked to go left, all the time. In the end our course was many little circles in one big circle.  A few locals flew by us on the way. One guy tried to get in for a lift, we assured him there were better boats than ours. We tried to ask a fisherman where the otters were. He held out a bottle of water to us. No lake otters, not water. "Mzungus cannot drink the lake water!" F**k it.

 

We hung by the lake the rest of the day, and part of our group left for home. I wandered round the island and came across some interesting signs. I also found Friday, the manager picking mushrooms in the woods, so helped him (for 2 hours). A my mother knows, once I start doing something (cleaning, reading), I find it hard to stop, so after 2 hours we had harvested every single damned mushroom on the island. Friday told me these mushrooms only came once year, and we were lucky to have caught them. He also told me some legends about the lake, the most interesting of which was about the island next to us, which was used to maroon disgraced young women who had sex or got pregant before marriage. If they were lucky a poor fisherman too poor to afford a wife would come and take them. If not, they died. When I asked when this stopped, he said the 80s. 1880s? No, 1980s. 

Oh dear

I'm pretty sure this sign is backwards

My friend and I decided we would hike up to what we "told" was a fancy lodge for a drink and to catch the eclipse. A guy from the island canoed us to the shore in a flash. We were in the same dugout from the morning and we warned him about it's tendency to veer left. He laughed. He also helped us find a rout up the hill to the lodge. He said it would take us 2 hours. No way we said! We may not be able to canoe, but Mzugus are not that weak. Ok, so it took us an hour and a half. We were (as always) accompanied by kids. When we finally reached the top, we found our lodge was not the one we thought. In fact it was an abandoned old hotel staffed by a man in a cap and wellies waving at us from the entrance. Surely this was the Ugandan Shining.

The Shining

 The man's name was Amos, and he enthusiastically greeted us and then showed us around the hotel, every single room, which was being renovated. He said we were his first "customers." Well, since the rooms were larger than my entire house in Kampala, we said we couldn't afford it. He gave us a discount and so we promised we would come back and stay, so long as he let us bring 20 friends to put in one room. He was truly a lovely man, and one who proclaimed he knew a lot about whites, since he lived with whites in Kenya (the same small town my friend had lived in).

Amos

Once our extensive tour had finished and we had christened the visitor's log, Amos offered to show us the way to the lodge we were seeking, since he knew the owner and a (trespassing) shortcut. Along the way we discussed, of all things, family planning. Amos had only 3 children, because he spent so much time with white, and he regretted this. He said he didn't understand why white people who were healthy with so much money could not want as many children as possible. He told me that I, as a young, beautiful, intelligent woman, should "produce" as many children as I can. The way he said this was not as offensive as it sounds here and he never brought up God's plan as so many of the mothers had in Malawi. He seemed genuinely confused, and to be honest I had a hard time answering him. I said as a doctor I would have little time, I wanted to have enough time for my children. "Time is nothing--time we make up," he replied.

We parted with Amos and arrived at the fancy lodge, where we dropped Amos's to the bartender and the owner came out to greet us like long-lost family members. Drinks on the house. We were sure we had missed the eclipse, since I was meant to be at 4pm and it was 5. Oh well, the place to be was Gulu in the North of the country anyway, we were in the farthest southwest part right by Rwanda. Most of my friends were in Gulu (along with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie).

A glimpse of one of the volcanic peaks

Then, it started to get dark. It was 5:30pm, but it was definitely getting dark. I looked a the sun, which fortunately was behind the clouds, and there it was! Not total, but still dramatic.

It really got very dark

Well, nothing like a surprise (because you don't research anything) solar eclipse! Satisfied we headed back (in the rain) to our island, where Friday had saved some of mushroom soup for me.  The next morning, my friend went on to Rwanda and I bussed back to Kampala. Along the way I was offered some crickets by my neighbor-- they actually taste better roasted than boiled. At one point my neighbor was looking on the ground, I asked if she could help and she said "I lost me pen." I looked around and picked up a pen for her. "No, my hen." Ohh...10 seats back her hen was passed up. Damn it I hate that smell. But I arrived in one piece in Kampala.

Gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Looking out over the Forest from our tent

WARNING: LOTS OF PICS OF GORILLAS...I just couldn't choose

Another amazing weekend in Uganda! A group of four of us set off to track Gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. I had not intended to do this because it is expensive ($500 for a permit, and Uganda is the cheapest). However, I had heard everyone raving about it, even those who "weren't into monkeys and shit," and since it's low season the permit was $350. I figured that is the lowest it is ever going to be, anywhere, ever. Plus the Impenetrable Forest? Got to do that. So I went to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (conveniently next to my house), forked up 900,000 shillings and found a group of people that were as cheap as me. Don't regret it for a second. 

One of the silver-backs and the first gorilla I saw

My favorite gorilla

 Before you get worried, the Impenetrable Forest is too high up for mosquitoes, so no yellow fever here. Just amazing scenery and Gorillas.

Another silver-back

 We took the 8am Posta bus from Kampala. It's longer than the other buses because of all the stops for post, but it's generally more comfortable and safer (aka slower) with less chickens. That's key--the smell of chickens on a bus is god-aweful. I had a bus-besty named Steven, a Ugandan student who pointed out crops and quizzed me. "Do you still have plantations in America?" " No! Wait, what do you mean?" "Fields where they grow things to eat" "Oh, Yeah." "What is your staple food?" "Erm...wheat?"  I said I lived in Minneapolis and he exclaimed "Ah. Twin Cities! Apparently he learned that in Geography class--I'm not sure how many people in Minneapolis know where Kampala is...

The Forest--can see the demarcation line

Yet another silverback--the leader

We arrived in Kabale, the last stop at 5pm and were accosted by various private hire drivers, who said 2.5 hours to the lodge in the mountains. But we knew better--the lodge said 45 mins. We grabbed a bite to eat before the hiked park prices. 1.5 hours later our food arrived...oh we never learn Africa time. Luckily a particularly persistent driver, Davis, had been stalking us at the restaurant and had dropped his price.

Bwindi impenetrable forest

Almost 4 hours later we arrived at the lodge.

To be fair, Davis's car was not built for the steep, rocky mountain roads, especially in the pitch black and we had a few adventures on the way. When we reached the park entrance gate, a ranger greeted us and told us that there were Forest Elephants on the road and they were very dangerous at night, so we must take an armed ranger with us (for 10k). We suspected this was a ruse to get a lift, but figured for $4 we wouldn't risk it. 15 minutes later a ranger with a rifle crammed into the car. We hadn't even set off when we heard a hissing noise. My immediate thought was "elephants." Then one side of the car started sinking and I realized we had a flat. Armed rangers with torches materialized from the forest and with help, we changed the tire. It was rather tricky on the steep uneven hill and at one point the car fell off the jack and started to roll away. 30 minutes later, a rifle in my face, we set off again.

elephant clearing in the forest

We wound up through the bamboo zone. We didn't see any elephants, but we saw their destructive paths through the Forest and at one point had to maneuver around a tree they had knocked over. Near midnight we finally reached our lodge; safari tents on a hill overlooking the forest.

 The next morning we walked to the meeting point for 7:30am. 1.5 hours later we left for the trek. Our group was the "young" group and we were told we'd be tracking the K-group, with 4 silver-backs and an infant, we lucked out. In addition to the 8 Mzungus, we had Israel, our guide, 2 armed rangers and an unknown number of trackers. The trackers were ahead of us radioing in the position of the family. We had hiked for about 1 hour, the rangers hacking away undergrowth with machetes in front of us, when Israel dramatically informed us that the family had run into some forest elephants and had run off in a different direction. We were to sit tight until they settled down again. During that time Israel told us it could take anywhere between 1 and 14 hours to find them. I got comfy (like this guy)

Poser

one more pic...he's my favorite

ok one more

sorry

last one I promise...

 We asked if there is anything we should know--like how not to piss off a silverback. Israel laughed, "I tell you if you do something wrong." Wonderful. He assured us nobody had ever been killed by a silverback. It's the forest elephants you have to worry about. Finally we set off (back the way we came) and headed down a steep hill. I wore my rain jacket and waterproof bottoms tucked into my hiking socks for ant prevention and style of course. No matter how good your hiking boots are, they don't grip wet trodden down undergrowth, so I fell on my ass a lot. Our rangers were in wellies--don't know how they did it.

Monkey see...

 Suddenly we were upon the Gorillas. I spotted a dark shape in the undergrowth and the rangers noncholantly started hacking away so we had a better view. At one point a young Gorilla lazily ambled out of a bush our ranger was hacking at--they all laughed.

haha...almost beheaded a Gorilla

  We had an hour with them, but it flew by. A silver-back was guarding the baby, which is a shame because the babies are known to be friendly and will come up to humans. We were told that if that happens, we must not react, or pick up the baby. I said I'd try...

It's like a cuter version of baby Harry

 It's amazing just how human-like they are. Especially the way they carry their babies.  Even the way they brush off flys etc--it's not like chimps, who pick at it. I can't explain it--just very very human. A young male was looking out across the vista, then lay back, threw his arms behind his head and gazed at the canopy, smiling.

Chillin

At one point I realized we were completely surrounded by gorillas. There was one in the tree above, 4 silver-backs on either side of us and the rest of the family intermixed. It crossed my mind that if they suddenly decided to become violent, 2 guns wouldn't be fast enough to stop them. As I was thinking this (and plotting my course of action), suddenly the gorillas started screaming and ran off into the forest. We all instinctively jumped and were told to stay still. Then Israel said they were fighting over a female and it was OK. We scampered off after them.

The lead silverback--just massive

Later, I was sitting there when the lead silver-back ambled over and sat in front of me, then turned around slowly and deliberately and looked at me in a very human way. I lowered my camera. Israel told me to back away (difficult when sitting on a hill) and look away (even more difficult with those eyes looking at me). I wasn't really scared, Israel says he wasn't threatening me, just sizing me up. I did have goosebumps though.

I was told to back away and look down...

When they finally managed to drag us away from the Gorillas (2 more minutes!), we ambled back to the meet point, all reminiscing about what had just happened a few moments ago. We also saw Okapi (weird pig/deer) and other primates.

L'Hoest's Mountain Monkey I think...

I asked Israel why they use such difficult methods of tracking the Gorillas, can't you just put a tracking collar on them? They do it for lions... He gave a vague answer about not wanting to disturb them, but I suspect it's because of all the jobs this brings. I think it's best this way. Because of the money idiots like me bring in, they've managed to save the Gorillas from the brink of extinction. Gorillas brings in more money than the poachers or (more importantly) the farming. These hills are rich volcanic farmland, and the Gorillas have been marooned on them surrounded by terraced farmland growing "Irish" (aka potatoes).

Growing Irish

Leaving the Forrest

Wow. I have to say being with the Gorillas is right up there as the most amazing experience I've had.

Fort Portal

Rwenzori foothills

I'm blaming my black lung on the Kampala smog, so this weekend I escaped the city and headed to the Fort Portal area in the foothills of the snow capped Rwenzori Mountains--the highest mountain range in Africa.

One of the crater lakes with Rwenzoris in the background

Our group of six hired a 4-wheel drive camper van which we creatively named Herbie and drove the 4.5 hours to Fort Portal. Like everything else in Uganda, it was more beautiful than my google image search showed.

We camped by one of the many crater lakes in a campsite overrun with monkeys. Please excuse all the monkey pics, they are my new favorite animal.

Yogi Monkey

That night as I walked to the toilets, I heard a deep guttural growl from the dark forest. My immediate irrational thought was tiger, but of course there are none in Africa...In any case I ran back to the tent.

On the sunroof

Saturday morning I woke around sunrise and sat by the lake. The lake was completely still, but there were bits of bamboo floating in it. Around 6:30am a man came to the shores and got in a boat, which was just bamboo roped together with a log for him to balance on. Then he went to the bamboos and pulled them up, bringing up nets with fish and crayfish stuck in it.

Our crater lake

I brought a book, but was completely entertained by watching the monkey’s daredevil antics. Also the book was “Guns, Germs and Steel.” As I sat there listening to the jungle sounds of monkeys crushing in the tree tops, birds, drums (maybe I was imagining that), all of a sudden that load, deep guttural sound came from deep in the jungle. A reply came from the trees behind me, and then another joined in across the lake. Lindsey and I debated nervously—frogs? birds? Suddenly a voice behind me said “monkeys” and I turned to see a man standing there laughing. Apparently the colobus monkeys make a racket. 

We fed the monkeys the scraps of pineapple from breakfast and, around 8am, roused the troops to leave. We headed to “the 3^rd largest village market in Uganda” where we were to meet Ramadan, a local who had led Lindsey around before. However, on the way there our trusty camper van started making scraping noises. We pulled into a gas station and were told it was broken underneath and would need a welder. This would take another 2 hours, so we entrusted it to the local car shop and got a local hire (taxi) to the market. 

Injured Herbie at the car shop

 Being the only Muzungus, Ramadan soon found us and organized some bodas to take us to the base of the hike. This was a hairy 30 min ride up the side of the mountains. I rode with my french friend our boda went first by about 15 mins so there was a while where we were sat in the base village with an unpaid boda driver and no money, water or food.

Base village

Base Village and Muzungus arriving on Bodas

A brief history of how we found this hike: friends of ours had googled “hot springs Uganda” but could only find some in national parks with fees. However, my roommate found a sentence about how a Buganda chief had to be carried to hotsprings once a year for the healing waters near present day fort portal. So, they headed of to fort portal and asked along the road until they were pointed in the general direction. Then, on the side of the road they found Ramadan, who knew exactly where it was and offered to take them.

Coffee

Casava

More villages on the way

 The hike was beautiful, up through the villages, but I found I was breathing twice as fast as normal. Ramadan was a wonderful guide, though he insisted he was our friend. He warded off the numerous village elders that greeted us at each village and asked for money. Since he was on the local council as the head of water supply, he quickly refuted their claims that we had to pay anything. He was also a great conversationalist. Our conversation varied from religion, water engineering, child sacrifice and of course, football. Ramadan was born a Muslim, converted to Christianity and then back to Islam again. When asked what he called God, he replied, “God is luck.” I’ve never heard that before. We also discussed child sacrifice, a sad fact in Uganda where it is estimated 100 children are sacrificed each year for wealth. He told me that when babies are born in the villages they leave them in the sun to turn black, I wondered if this is for jaundice but he said “no, they just only know black skin and don’t see white skin.” This was proven when at a spring, a child screamed at Lindsey, who is Chinese.

The river we bathed in with the Japanese Hospital (green) and snow capped peaks--can't really see the snow here

This bike pretty sums up Ugandan policy

 Did not know plenipotentiary was a word

On the way, we passed a hospital built by the Japanese, where, as always, we were asked to sign the visitors book. There were no doctors or nurses but we were told they are there during the week.

The hot springs were next to a river. There were many people there and lots of children, who scrambled to put on clothes when they saw us. Since we’d been hiking in the equatorial sun for the past 3 hours, the idea of sitting in a 100F pool did not appeal to us, so we opted instead for the brisk mountain river. The locals were very puzzled at this.

The hot springs were dammed pools with a mix of the hot spring water (very very hot) and the river water. The pools were at least 100F and the heat coming from the source was unbearable! There were rather large women dressed in clothes fancier than any of the villagers. Ramadan informed us theses were women from President Mouseveni's "pride" here to bathe in the healing waters. I asked how they got here (because it was a steep hike down to the river) and he said they were carried.

Extremely hot source

Hot spring pool

On the way back, I got out of breath and fell behind the others. There were many forks in the path and I relied on locals to point me in the right direction “other muzungos?” “aye aye muzungos (laughter at my wheezing).” At one point, a group of  children were less than completely honest, but I soon figured it out when I found myself in a village surrounded by giggling kids. A kind old woman took pitey and led me back to the proper path.

Brick ovens

Ramadan running to catch up after warding off a village elder

 After the nerve-racking downhill boda ride, we picked up Herbie (all welded together) and headed to the fancy lodge for a beer, because that is all we could afford there. Then back to camp for a bonfire, whisky (cures pneumonia I have decided) and guacamole.

View from the fancy lodge at sunset

 On Sunday the rest of the group headed off the track chimps at 4:45am. I didn’t accompany them (Mum)--something about yellow fever, but I woke up anyway...let’s just say I no longer have any amoebas in my GI tract (or anything else).  

Dawn over the forrest

Instead I swam in the lake and decided I wanted a better look at the Colobus monkeys, so followed a sign “Forrest Walk” in my flip flops and scrub pants. About 30 minutes later I glimpsed black fur in a branch and scrambled after what I was sure was a baby Colobus, or perhaps a bush baby. Finally I tracked the squirrel to it’s lair. A “Dwarf Scaly Tailed Squirrel” according to Wikipedia--Emily know how I feel about squrrels. Wet, muddy, hungry and cursing fluffy rodents, I went back to my tent where a family of Colobus monkeys were happily playing. Gits.

Colobus monkeys at the campsite with the lake in the background

Quote odd looking really

After breakfast, I walked an hour to the fancy lodge again. On the way, I passed the view of the 20K shilling note, which was voted the 3rd most beautiful currency in the world.   

Fancy Lodge with another crater lake

Boys selling tomatoes on my way

The 20K shilling view

I had planned on swimming in the pool but they wanted to charge 15K and were unimpressed by my friends-chimp-trekking-I-have-pneumonia-cough story. So I hung by the pool anyway and acquired a map. 

I met up with the others at the campsite for a last swim in the lake and amazing guac. Then we packed up camp and set off home, passing through the beautiful rolling hills of tea that we hadn’t seen in the dark on the way.

 We reached Kampala around 10pm, having come close to running out of gas on the way home and then accused the gas station of ripping us off because the tank took a while to show it had filled. All in all it was an amazingly trip and I want to go back to do more exploring of that area.

Please enjoy more pics of baby monkeys.