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One of the “things to do” in Uganda is to go rafting at the source of the Nile. So early one morning I went out to Jinja to raft for the day. Most of my previous rafting experience was from Port Jervis, a place where you really need to paddle to make it down the river. These class 5 rapids were definitely going to be a big change from the class 0.5 rapids I was used to. And believe you me, they were. As we went down the first rapid our raft flipped. After swallowing some Nile water and being thrashed around a bit, I emerged and made my way back to the raft. The next few rapids were exhilarating, but I became more and more terrified as we went along. We proceeded to flip two more times throughout the day. At one point, we went down a 15 foot waterfall (but didn’t flip). The trip was awesome and was finished off with beer. I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Uganda, but I might be too scared to do it again. For those who know me well, it’s not a typical thing for me to say.
Back in Kampala for the weekend, we had to check out the nightlife. After a late night of partying and dancing, we headed out at 4am to find a taxi back to the hotel. Having been in Africa the longest, I took on the role of bargainer because I could typically negotiate the best prices. Just as I was negotiating to pay 6,000 Ush (~$3) down from 8,000 Ush, Robbie handed the guy 8,000 and said “I’ll give you 8 but let’s go now! I need to take a shit.” I guess when you have the shits you don’t have much bargaining power.
James, an employee at Red Chili Backpackers, came into our room to fix the mosquito net. After me commenting on his cool pants, and the boys egging us on, we decided to switch pants. Sadly, his were too big on me so no trade occurred.
James and I switching pants
After two days in Kampala, we left for a 4-day trek to Murchison Falls. First, we headed to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to go rhino-trekking. We got up close to these endangered animals – about 15 feet on foot – but they aren’t all that exciting. Even the fact that they could charge at you at any second didn’t quite get the adrenaline pumping. But it was cool to see them from such a short distance because they were hard to get close to when on safari in Tanzania.
The next day we drove to Murchison Falls National Park. In the afternoon we took a boat ride to the falls. It was fabulous! Hippos and crocs were within feet of the boat and we also saw wildlife on the bank of the river. We spent the night at Red Chili (backpackers) drinking beer and playing cards.
The following morning we did a game drive in the park. I fell asleep for a good part of it; it just didn’t compare to Tanzania. We then hiked around Murchison Falls, said to be one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world. It’s much smaller than Niagara, but I don’t think you could come out alive if you went over in a barrel. In the late afternoon we drove to a lodge near the chimp-trekking, and spent the night there.
Robbie and me looking over Murchison Falls
On our 4th and final day, we set out early in the morning in search of chimpanzees. It was already more exciting than the rhino-trekking. We made our way through a forest and followed the sounds we heard in the distance (well, really we just followed our guide but she was listening). We came upon them eating in a fig tree and spent the next hour and a half watching and listening to them. It was cool and exciting to be so close to them!
Chimp eating in a fig tree
After my first night in Kampala, I grabbed my bags and headed over to the Sheraton the next morning. I was to meet some friends of my sister, who I would be traveling with for the next week. Pretty random. I showed up at their hotel room and met Robbie – the guy who my sister knew. The other boys, Josh and Rob, were still sleeping so Robbie and I went down to breakfast. It was one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in 8 months (there were even waffles)! After, we woke up the boys and headed downtown. We spent the day exploring Kampala and getting to know each other. It’s funny how easily you can get along with people and how quickly you can get to know each other when traveling. Oh yeah, staying at the Sheraton was glorious. A nice break from my usual $10/night places.
Josh, Rob, Robbie and me
I refuse to take night buses in Africa, so I left Nairobi at 7am on a bus en route to Kampala, Uganda. It is a long trip – about 14 hours. By the time we were getting into Kampala, it was already dark outside. I asked the woman in front of me if the bus station was relatively safe. She immediately became concerned about me, as did the rest of the bus. The man sitting next to me helped me call the backpackers place to book a room. Then, he said he would sort out a taxi for me when we arrived. But then I added another factor to the equation – I had no Ugandan money and needed to go to an atm. The woman disagreed with the idea of the taxi driver stopping at an atm on the way to the backpackers. So before reaching the final stop, everyone decided it was best for me to get off at an earlier stop. I quickly grabbed my bags and jumped out. Mathew, a Kenyan on the bus, got off with me. Together we went to three atms before finding one that worked. After, he negotiated a taxi for me. As I got into the taxi, he got in too. I turned to him and told him I was fine. But he insisted that he escort me to the hotel and that the taxi driver would return to town anyway. I don’t know what you all think, but in my mind that was over and above the call of duty.
I was a little scared to be heading to Nairobi. While I was interested to see the “most developed” city in East Africa, it is also known to be the most dangerous. I took an early bus out of Arusha so I could arrive by early afternoon. I made my way to a guest house my friend recommended, and was pleasantly surprised. The guest house was only about 3km outside of the city center, but with its lush gardens and peaceful atmosphere, you could mistake it for a B&B in upstate New York.
The next morning, I set out for the city center to have a look around and to purchase a bus ticket to Uganda. During my walk into town, a young man struck up a conversation with me. Depending on my mood, I can be friendly or curt. But in this case, I needed some directions to the bus ticket office. He said he would show me where it was, and we started talking as we walked. We actually ended up spending the whole day together. He basically took me on a grand tour of Nairobi – including gardens, museums, the University and other landmarks.
He was a foreigner himself. He had come from Zimbabwe three months ago with his 5 sisters and 1 brother. They were escaping the oppressive regime of Robert Mugabe. They are orphans, and although he is only 25, he is caring for his 5 younger sisters. And a 3-month-old baby his 17-year-old sister had from being raped by a Zimbabwean armed official. He doesn’t have a job, because finding work in Nairobi often means paying someone off. Backwards, huh? They live in Kibera, the largest slum in East Africa. When I asked if his sisters ever come into the city, he said they are too embarrassed because they don’t have shoes. He was only in the city that day because he went to the library in the morning. When he was in Zimbabwe he was studying veterinary medicine, but he didn’t get the chance to finish. He is now hoping to find a scholarship so he can finish his studies, but he realizes it is unlikely to happen in the near future. The Kenyan police took all their remaining Zimbabwean money, and he needs to earn some money to support him and his family on a day-to-day basis.
There is so much more to say, but I’m going to stop here. Meeting people like him reminds me of how fortunate I am. It is also a reminder of why I am in Africa. And also why I love it – how often do you meet someone who is happy to spend the day showing a stranger around?
My conclusion – Nairobi isn’t that bad. But I was still too scared to pull my camera out to take some pictures. In truth, I thought the city was beautiful. I was also blown away by the infrastructure and availability of Western goods. It may just be my perspective coming from Tanzania, but I was highly impressed.
In a quick decision just before Risa left, I sent home all of my stuff except for a backpack. Including my laptop, which is why I’m so behind in blogging. I wanted to be mobile in order to travel. Right when I got back from Zanzibar, I packed up all my stuff and said goodbye to Dar, my apartment and friends.
My apartment in Dar
Tuesday morning I took a 10-hour bus ride to Arusha. I spent a day there to attend a Rotary meeting and see John, our safari guide from when my family came to visit. On Thursday I was heading to Kenya. I felt a pang of sadness to be leaving Tanzania after spending the last 8 months here. I would miss the friendly “hellos” from strangers on the street. I would miss speaking Swahili. And I would miss living in a place I had learned to understand and grown to appreciate.
Whitney, a new arrival to Dar and also my new roommate, talked me into going to Zanzibar for the weekend. Not that I was hard to convince. Sauti za Busara (sounds of rhythm), an international music festival with artists from all over Africa, was going on. And anyway, who could say no to an island for their last weekend in Tanzania (I’ll explain that later). We spent all of Saturday afternoon, evening and night at the festival. The place was packed and the music and dancing was great. Late night we headed to Starehe – the reggae club. On Sunday, Whitney and I spent the day on a beach outside Stone Town with two of my Zanzibari friends. In the evening, we headed to the festival again. We made it back to Dar on Monday afternoon exhausted from the weekend of partying. Not a bad way to spend the weekend…
Mara, Whitney, Me and Lindsey at the music festival
This blog entry will admit how behind I am. I turned 25 on February 13th. It fell on Friday the 13th so I was a little scared to leave my apartment. But Nasra and I spent a wonderful day at Kigamboni, a small island just off the mainland. At night a bunch of us met at Dar Alive – a beach bar near my apartment – for some drinks. It was a low-key birthday; the kind I like best.
Nasra and I eating lunch on the beach
Mara and I having drinks at Dar Alive
