tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52151330132702213812024-02-07T10:44:47.622+03:00Mbarara 2009This Blog shows our adventures in Mbarara, UgandaAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-87345200713428492262011-03-07T21:36:00.002+03:002011-03-07T22:16:37.133+03:00Two Years On - And Our Final Blog Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Since we got back to the UK (in June 2010) we've been meaning to do a final blog-post to update you on our last few weeks in Uganda, and on what we've been doing since we got home. I know it's a bit late, but things have been very hectic since we got back to Liverpool.<br />
<div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last few weeks in Uganda were pretty busy as we had our friends Craig and Marianne over to visit us, as well as exams to write, invigilate and mark, a flat to pack up, and lots of loose ends to tie up before we left Mbarara. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was lovely to see Marianne and Craig, who made it over to Uganda despite all the flight disruptions caused by Eyjafjallajökull deciding to erupt and BA staff deciding to go on strike. We travelled to Lake Bunyonyi, Kalinzu forest (to try and see chimpanzees), Queen Elizabeth National Park and Lake Mburo National Park, as well as spending a few days in Mbarara.</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGYACE1ElsctXy7ZhlVH7iMVrX0TXcvQD-0OAscHoqwqihkHipkAuzevU8kI6vuYpcF3ha45Ufff1OdQRnAkagcH3O9DkbpF0rhXA7YyhXdbTpqZUYdp-8hyphenhyphenkuoflrdCDW1ton2juFI0/s1600/P1000381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGYACE1ElsctXy7ZhlVH7iMVrX0TXcvQD-0OAscHoqwqihkHipkAuzevU8kI6vuYpcF3ha45Ufff1OdQRnAkagcH3O9DkbpF0rhXA7YyhXdbTpqZUYdp-8hyphenhyphenkuoflrdCDW1ton2juFI0/s320/P1000381.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Herbert and the Herb-Mobile on the way to QENP</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Our trip to Kalinzu forest was not as successful as we'd hoped, as the chimps led us on a mighty trek through the forest and didn't even come and say hello! I managed to fall head-first into a ravine, although miraculously, I didn't break anything ( I knew my extra padding would come in useful one day!). </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Queen Elizabeth National Park was fantastic as per usual - we even saw a leopard, but didn't manage to get any photos as it was dusk at the time. We saw tree climbing lions, and a pride of lionesses with cubs in the savanna, which was amazing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Lake Mburo was great, and we managed to persuade Herbert (our friend and driver) to come quad biking with us, which he absolutely loved.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiso2l3GheLgjz2JK0PHeJXDFPLXB4Qz04nN1gSQVEfXDPkLlCQI5r9mrZfzynX9RTx5Pk2myFmyzOGKdms-Iu79JcFHtkc-P3aLPO_i_8AbZY7NDOJREcCfb2QTaBQsILZMkmq1NA_hdg/s1600/DSC00493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiso2l3GheLgjz2JK0PHeJXDFPLXB4Qz04nN1gSQVEfXDPkLlCQI5r9mrZfzynX9RTx5Pk2myFmyzOGKdms-Iu79JcFHtkc-P3aLPO_i_8AbZY7NDOJREcCfb2QTaBQsILZMkmq1NA_hdg/s320/DSC00493.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quad Biking with Herbert</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">After an enjoyable day's quad biking, we set off on our journey back to Mbarara. On the road out of the National Park, we came to a massive puddle. Herbert was worried that our 4x4 would get stuck in the puddle, so he waded through the puddle (nearly up to waist height) and thought it would be okay for the vehicle.....unfortunately the vehicle had other ideas, and got stuck in the middle of the puddle! This caused much hilarility for the nearby villagers, who came out to try and help us, to no avail. Eventually, after about an hour and a half (and Jason falling over in the puddle) we had to be towed out of the puddle by a UWA vehicle.</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAogeM8G5EEFaUZU8V0tu1auS0ZFpaunHI5acIG9_DMTTyee_-1AjeAioy1E-KbuKdcISykSOfVUvVAK7DKRc3zrt7B4YQuYTj6Jwcok_rHyjQ8AZX_21SA_WPQPhnVHXnyQ7yFh7rVAE/s1600/30045_435112395308_544785308_6268147_5549917_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAogeM8G5EEFaUZU8V0tu1auS0ZFpaunHI5acIG9_DMTTyee_-1AjeAioy1E-KbuKdcISykSOfVUvVAK7DKRc3zrt7B4YQuYTj6Jwcok_rHyjQ8AZX_21SA_WPQPhnVHXnyQ7yFh7rVAE/s320/30045_435112395308_544785308_6268147_5549917_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The villagers tried to help us</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OLmxyeKJ0bS9pQIRj-KShpML_O7RNspLJHdtZpwKBNBt-P76YBZ76_ENfoO3cmJ2HAE2ZoINTPsnFGUlskB04V1q2-_lbkRO6n4vKZYoOnIEZd6XkKAEoNLG7cHHVPtZUZ5pjEYhvkU/s1600/30045_435112425308_544785308_6268152_6231990_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OLmxyeKJ0bS9pQIRj-KShpML_O7RNspLJHdtZpwKBNBt-P76YBZ76_ENfoO3cmJ2HAE2ZoINTPsnFGUlskB04V1q2-_lbkRO6n4vKZYoOnIEZd6XkKAEoNLG7cHHVPtZUZ5pjEYhvkU/s320/30045_435112425308_544785308_6268152_6231990_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pondering what to do!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">During the time that Craig and Marianne spent with us in Mbarara, Jason's colleagues from the Institute of Computer Science threw a farewell party for him at the Lakeview Hotel. It was quite informal, and (thankfully) speeches were kept to a minimum - it was great to see how much Jason's colleagues appreciated the work he had done for the department. There was a really nice buffet, lots of beer and soda, and dancing afterwards. A good time was had by all!</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtX95aW3GyUgXEACNDx1Z6UumYmgfv-8NWqR4UaElzEd2F8kvupbP8vj-Q614Ye1kWP-vRmlI2Ir5f0uVkNferq7BEyNBlYKfWE-nkYn5hxLtyaxpIapjHCHlwPhvGpmmj6i6mR2djiTE/s1600/30045_435102885308_544785308_6267837_391122_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtX95aW3GyUgXEACNDx1Z6UumYmgfv-8NWqR4UaElzEd2F8kvupbP8vj-Q614Ye1kWP-vRmlI2Ir5f0uVkNferq7BEyNBlYKfWE-nkYn5hxLtyaxpIapjHCHlwPhvGpmmj6i6mR2djiTE/s320/30045_435102885308_544785308_6267837_391122_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason receiving a gift from Theodora Twongyirwe, Director of ICS</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIApxRCD8ILwUQ5-QtyZ6NTjV08GXQtkFsNaPI3u_vBknw1MAcWmbBqvhVACTycC8MiqIHpIaCfgSysCRDb34lsKGcAxpViUZKytQv0DnH13J3yBhNFtQkpA53Y8m5o2K9q5lObyMHeaQ/s1600/30045_435102940308_544785308_6267841_2138949_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIApxRCD8ILwUQ5-QtyZ6NTjV08GXQtkFsNaPI3u_vBknw1MAcWmbBqvhVACTycC8MiqIHpIaCfgSysCRDb34lsKGcAxpViUZKytQv0DnH13J3yBhNFtQkpA53Y8m5o2K9q5lObyMHeaQ/s320/30045_435102940308_544785308_6267841_2138949_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason and I at the ICS Farewell Party</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpbxFYqeDsIykyY6ftwHsbLNnQ7Pu2lcCbzX3srIsgsyC8AT9DZ19nQhbMFbfZ2AF_3TjsalnJ4CEVsXUVLKGJDUMtG-JctLXuNWQ_dxVcc3mUotakyJEa6Sfe5wgrDXSldfybluBKPQ/s1600/30045_435102980308_544785308_6267845_1111407_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpbxFYqeDsIykyY6ftwHsbLNnQ7Pu2lcCbzX3srIsgsyC8AT9DZ19nQhbMFbfZ2AF_3TjsalnJ4CEVsXUVLKGJDUMtG-JctLXuNWQ_dxVcc3mUotakyJEa6Sfe5wgrDXSldfybluBKPQ/s320/30045_435102980308_544785308_6267845_1111407_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason and Evarist enjoying the party</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Our next 'goodbye party' was organised by the Pharmacy Department and Faculty of Medicine, and held at the Agip Motel in town. It was a lovely evening, and I was touched by the effort people from my department had made to organise it. More gifts were given to us, including several more wall plaques and some very unusual cow-horn drinks coasters. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the dinner as our camera had given up the ghost by this point!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The final party we had before we left Mbarara was organised by ourselves, to say thanks to all the wonderful people we met during our time in Uganda. We invited colleagues, friends from the area, and fellow VSO volunteers from our 'Cluster'. My colleague Lawrence and his wife Kate had kindly given me a bolt of brightly coloured African fabric as a leaving present, and arranged for their tailor to make me a traditional outfit for the party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdpbi88M0PNf9gSckj948v-TgoAlRZxYMOlnNC_k8eQrNz5eUiP5UHzISdTaU69lbupd_DHvhZU39ZHkdUZk5if39VyZUWCz08UqglGn7wpbY7_MK2eEU6yKxZX09_Do5oNb_R2N2j-A0/s1600/DSC00503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdpbi88M0PNf9gSckj948v-TgoAlRZxYMOlnNC_k8eQrNz5eUiP5UHzISdTaU69lbupd_DHvhZU39ZHkdUZk5if39VyZUWCz08UqglGn7wpbY7_MK2eEU6yKxZX09_Do5oNb_R2N2j-A0/s320/DSC00503.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with Lawrence and Kate in the traditional outfit they kindly had made for me</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">We had a goat-roast (the goat was thankfully already slaughtered and chopped up before it arrived at our compound!), and asked the 'Mzungus' to bring a side dish each. We spent all afternoon making chapattis by hand, as well as vegetable kebabs and lots of guacamole from the huge avocados available in Uganda. Jason had to go to a 'Pork Joint' to buy some pork, as the men who were coming to cook the goat were muslim and wouldn't cook pork (luckily, Shivaun had another barbecue we could borrow to cook the pork on). We thought we had far too much food, but it all got eaten.</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHtD8XbnIn2XnGM9usdPbDmxXxdfRfZf0etigArHEEz2REPcHpcLrjxXqGZMeyI07DD6lXjb1m1QetEnWbc4seD1FpFUQwvByokmav1l1-ZsVSbizXN6nTgv-vvNkLpJ-n_hX10Mljdw/s1600/DSC00527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHtD8XbnIn2XnGM9usdPbDmxXxdfRfZf0etigArHEEz2REPcHpcLrjxXqGZMeyI07DD6lXjb1m1QetEnWbc4seD1FpFUQwvByokmav1l1-ZsVSbizXN6nTgv-vvNkLpJ-n_hX10Mljdw/s320/DSC00527.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The meaty BBQ</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVTIWbMTe-2Zyx9LQPp4W8W59E9SM8EkdCC8hPDW_RvFq7KJGJONqQi7IjUifpBgecHWo0nQ9_mOVlMjXyJtzHvS7kgdvY3PzNYxbLadmccya1eXvQ1apAEkCO9vK_uDc3wjRTrObmy4/s1600/DSC00530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVTIWbMTe-2Zyx9LQPp4W8W59E9SM8EkdCC8hPDW_RvFq7KJGJONqQi7IjUifpBgecHWo0nQ9_mOVlMjXyJtzHvS7kgdvY3PzNYxbLadmccya1eXvQ1apAEkCO9vK_uDc3wjRTrObmy4/s320/DSC00530.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anyone Hungry?!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEt2rMILuvDsZ72uKga43Ynb5H8lvVTVyZlcGz_MnQYAxMVmJ3d6HrAn1rk-IO84t-H8bbz51c7wB0QPdwEuGxsOrd5Ai2u4kUMO5MbIvtX38N-Yc0Q56IEhF5clTgvTwD_sEj4jLMMU/s1600/DSC00535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEt2rMILuvDsZ72uKga43Ynb5H8lvVTVyZlcGz_MnQYAxMVmJ3d6HrAn1rk-IO84t-H8bbz51c7wB0QPdwEuGxsOrd5Ai2u4kUMO5MbIvtX38N-Yc0Q56IEhF5clTgvTwD_sEj4jLMMU/s320/DSC00535.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason with Christine (one of his students)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">After the food, we all moved inside the flat (the Ugandans were freezing sitting outside!). Our VSO friend Shivaun, who also lives in town, had baked us a spectacular chocolate cake - complete with sparklers. We also introduced the Ugandans to barbecued bananas, with melted chocolate inside (not sure what people made of them though!). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We got presented with even more gifts, and it was pretty emotional saying goodbye to all our friends and colleagues. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPxReHz2LxrnxhWZafSm6A2UEPiGuPHTWA-fs9zxC3CGLQxYh5t1qlwGc4jbJRGCgpy0t07E-o210vL1MubGtzpjzzyS5i3DojruO-YoEcuhfydynxkBfzcogA2dyAwr71BgN_QJBcis/s1600/DSC00567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPxReHz2LxrnxhWZafSm6A2UEPiGuPHTWA-fs9zxC3CGLQxYh5t1qlwGc4jbJRGCgpy0t07E-o210vL1MubGtzpjzzyS5i3DojruO-YoEcuhfydynxkBfzcogA2dyAwr71BgN_QJBcis/s320/DSC00567.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason with the plaque presented to him by his students, Martin and Phaisal</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMe4DB8LOh_JrG6Q79aY5mMe4pd2tfIvUu7W4QUILHQ7neC5VGlgzWsmllXfbxMKPgN4cO3TpYtBbRYGFfz2vynxcb3Sr_EdAl4FxN8WDng6sSgpdR-PgsiNWWxf9ERCRudgmqUd6w6dI/s1600/DSC00568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMe4DB8LOh_JrG6Q79aY5mMe4pd2tfIvUu7W4QUILHQ7neC5VGlgzWsmllXfbxMKPgN4cO3TpYtBbRYGFfz2vynxcb3Sr_EdAl4FxN8WDng6sSgpdR-PgsiNWWxf9ERCRudgmqUd6w6dI/s320/DSC00568.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lawrence liked the book we gave him</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6bTjhgD9qjxUTLf-2ZaOXf1LmRn95JHX7ywcq0JxvFyePxGXHoUNb-drnd59dQqOZ813TcH8d-SMCPgN8ZCpBGM6KzngAgZTPNh5LQXgAkVs6HnKJGItSi0zwLWbDdNprZkzQFZvef8/s1600/DSC00560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6bTjhgD9qjxUTLf-2ZaOXf1LmRn95JHX7ywcq0JxvFyePxGXHoUNb-drnd59dQqOZ813TcH8d-SMCPgN8ZCpBGM6KzngAgZTPNh5LQXgAkVs6HnKJGItSi0zwLWbDdNprZkzQFZvef8/s320/DSC00560.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christine gave Jason and I a Hat and Bag made from Banana Leaves</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLxhQjQSQDZUc6fYv2eNVmKbq_GTpa5RlEXme7Flf2pporQGRiogkoS8MLwEoo5HMNYRZvvOUPGsb-40H6GeWZ_P4HyMTpHQbWF6fpZE_Ctpki7-QPNit_J1b7ARRFfWKjZKU11xaIboY/s1600/DSC00582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLxhQjQSQDZUc6fYv2eNVmKbq_GTpa5RlEXme7Flf2pporQGRiogkoS8MLwEoo5HMNYRZvvOUPGsb-40H6GeWZ_P4HyMTpHQbWF6fpZE_Ctpki7-QPNit_J1b7ARRFfWKjZKU11xaIboY/s320/DSC00582.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason with the ICS Guys</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> A couple of days after our party, we reluctanlty left Mbarara and set off on our journey to Kampala. We said our goodbyes to the wonderful staff at VSO Uganda, and headed to the police station to do 'fingerprints' to prove we had committed no crimes during our time in Uganda (I somehow doubt the efficacy of this though, due to the smudging of fingerprints, and the lack of computerised records!). Our flight plans were changed slightly, due to the British Airways strike, so we ended up flying home with KLM. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I felt numb when we left Uganda - really sad to be leaving everyone there, but looking forward to seeing family and friends back in the UK. We had to change planes in Amsterdam - it was so surreal to be in Europe again...I couldn't remember how to use a self-service restaurant, and was slightly overwhelmed by the choice of things to eat and drink (and the extortionate prices!). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We were met at Heathrow by my wonderful parents, who came armed with a bag of treatsize Cadbury's chocolate bars for the car journey home....yummy! It was nice, if a bit bizarre, to be back in the UK, and we spent a couple of days in Northampton before going back up to Liverpool. We had some really upsetting news a few days after we got home - my lovely Gran passed away, at the age of 97. We managed to see her in hospital a couple of days before she died, and she went peacefully. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUvE_82xosJbZcjDBaMpi_9tkFgyAeKjNcFRSMl4nclZarNiLz-UUmMUraI02JLZj4_k6JukGwauQE1OoLM3QWgN09fNfCco1gprfUoH0fdCGge7m07pCVLeWAEx6rMyi_NJycnFyP-g/s1600/BAR271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUvE_82xosJbZcjDBaMpi_9tkFgyAeKjNcFRSMl4nclZarNiLz-UUmMUraI02JLZj4_k6JukGwauQE1OoLM3QWgN09fNfCco1gprfUoH0fdCGge7m07pCVLeWAEx6rMyi_NJycnFyP-g/s320/BAR271.JPG" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Gran, Cecilia Windram, at our Wedding in Feb 2009</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> Obviously, our first couple of weeks back in the UK were pretty stressful. Along with the upset of losing my Gran, we both had new jobs to start. Jason had been lucky enough to land a job as a Deployment Consultant with iSoft, via a phone interview, which started the Monday after we arrived home. I started work as a Locum Pharmacist a week after we got back. In hindsight, we should have given ourselves a couple of weeks to settle in before we started working, but we were stony-broke so didn't really have a lot of choice! It was very strange to be back at work, and after a few days, our time in Uganda seemed like a distant dream. We soon realised that most people weren't particularly interested in what we'd been doing in Uganda, which we found quite disheartening.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Life carried on as normal for a while, and then we had some more horrible news in October. Jason's Dad, Ron, got rushed into hospital and passed away a couple of days later. It was a terrible shock for everyone, especially as Ron was still relatively young at 64. It's still difficult for everyone to come to terms with.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxCACYOzQjUqJw06l48Xu_9wBTgvKpHqVX3qIR2I1Ho3ZL7Aaw0AbTcgltUxce3XTELI7Nwa4Iu8gA4EDpcWuKNkIOo0V2bEk0QVSXR75mTsp8PT7KHu9eczgMLAd-ja5Nl3Za5VfEQs/s1600/BAR245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxCACYOzQjUqJw06l48Xu_9wBTgvKpHqVX3qIR2I1Ho3ZL7Aaw0AbTcgltUxce3XTELI7Nwa4Iu8gA4EDpcWuKNkIOo0V2bEk0QVSXR75mTsp8PT7KHu9eczgMLAd-ja5Nl3Za5VfEQs/s320/BAR245.JPG" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason's Dad, Ron, at our Wedding</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">We've been back in Liverpool for nine months now, and we are so glad that we took the plunge and went to Uganda with VSO. It's certainly given us both a different outlook on life and broadened our horizons. Although life in Uganda for us could be frustrating at times, we miss it a lot. Life back in the UK is so hectic, and there seems to be so little time to get things done. Everyone has such busy lives, and meeting up with friends, and even family members, can take months of planning. We feel a lot more tired after a days work here, but are enjoying our new jobs on the whole. Gone are the days of a two-minute walk across the road to work - Jason frequently works away in Barrow-in-Furness, which is a two-hour drive away. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One thing that has struck me, as a pharmacist, since we got back is how ungrateful people in this country are about the health-care they receive. Doctors and hospital care are free of charge to everyone, as are all drugs for the majority of people (apart from people who work, who have to pay £7.20 per prescription item). But I hear people complain every day that the health-service is terrible in this country, and I have been sorely tempted on many occasions to give people a piece of my mind and remind them that many people in the world do not have access to even the most basic healthcare - but I think it would go in one ear and out the other!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We miss Uganda so much, and the friends we made there. We still keep in touch with some of our old colleagues, and are hoping to go back to Uganda for a holiday early next year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We would definitely tell anybody who gets the chance to do something like we did to JUST GO FOR IT!! It's so easy to make excuses not to do it, and it is a daunting thing to do, but at least we will not spend the rest of our lives regretting not doing it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We have the most amazing memories of Uganda, and those are absolutely priceless.</div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-8348151669280476502010-05-14T11:34:00.000+03:002010-05-14T11:34:47.260+03:00Nearing the End of our Ugandan Adventure :-(It's now less than four weeks until we fly back to Heathrow - Volcanoes and BA strikes permitting. I'm feeling a mixture of excitement and sadness at leaving this wonderful country. <br />
<br />
Work-wise, there's not much left for me to do here - all the teaching finished last week, and the students have sat my 'Solid Dosage Forms' exam...believe me, that subject is even duller than it sounds! I've even finished all my marking, as I wanted to make sure I had everything organised well before we left. So I've got a fair bit of time to reminisce about the 15 and a half months we've spent in Uganda. <br />
<br />
<br />
Here are some of my thoughts....<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Things I'll Miss About Uganda</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
1. The fantastic people we've had the chance to get to know since we've been here<br />
<ul><li>Especially our colleagues, the students, the other VSO volunteers in our area, our friends from the compound we live on, Gertrude our cleaning lady, Peter the taxi-man (who always cheers me up with his insane banter) and so many others</li>
</ul>2. The wonderful climate<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Who can complain about having warm sunny weather all year round?!</li>
</ul>3. The amazing fruit<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Pineapples never tasted so good</li>
</ul>4. The stars<br />
<br />
<ul><li>The complete lack of street lights mean you see thousands of stars in the sky at night</li>
</ul>5. The rain!<br />
<br />
<ul><li>I will miss the way the rain just starts like someone has turned on a huge power-shower in the sky</li>
<li>I'll also miss people not bothering to go to work, lectures etc when it rains!</li>
</ul>6. The stunning wildlife<br />
<br />
<ul><li>It’s an amazing feeling to wake up in the morning when you’re on holiday and see hippos and elephants right outside your room</li>
</ul>7. Swimming in lakes without getting hypothermia<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Lake Bunyonyi has to be one of our favourite places in the world</li>
</ul>8. Rolexes (not of the watch type!)<br />
<br />
<ul><li>For those of you who have not been introduced to the humble rolex, it is an omelette rolled up in a chapatti, and is very tasty indeed</li>
</ul>9. Cheap beer and muchomo (Jason told me to put this one!)<br />
<br />
<ul><li>We really enjoy going to Peers Bar after a hard (!) day at work and having a few cold beers (for about 60p each) and barbecued goat or pork (or omelette for me) </li>
</ul>10. Not having to commute in slow traffic to get to work<br />
<br />
<ul><li>As we live just across the road from the university, it only takes us a couple of minutes to get to work in the morning - no excuse for being late then....</li>
</ul>11. The very relaxed pace of life<br />
<br />
<ul><li>We've both been significantly less stressed since we've been in Uganda - everything is so relaxed it's almost horizontal...</li>
</ul>12. Boda-bodas<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Also known as motorbike taxis</li>
<li>Probably the quickest, easiest and cheapest form of transport, and great fun (unless you fall off like Jason did once...)</li>
</ul>13. The amount of free time we seem to have<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Possibly due to the fact that we have no TV!</li>
</ul><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Things I won't miss about Uganda</span></strong></div><br />
1. Being shouted at every time we walk down the street<br />
<br />
<ul><li>While the word ‘Muzungu!’ is not offensive, it does get a little bit tiring when you hear it day after day, wherever you go</li>
</ul>2. Nearly getting run over every time we cross the road<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Especially on the zebra crossing outside the university</li>
</ul>3. The insects<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Nasty little cockroaches…</li>
</ul>4. The power cuts<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Very inconvenient, especially as we can’t heat water for showers (leading to a grumpy Anna)</li>
</ul>5. The terrible roads and complete lack of pavements<br />
<br />
6. The long, drawn-out meetings<br />
<br />
<ul><li>People arrive at least 30 minutes late, then you have to have an opening prayer before scrutinising the minutes for punctuation errors etc., then the long meeting begins where everyone feels they have to say something (no matter how irrelevant it is)</li>
<li>Example: The curriculum review meeting where a doctor stood up and proceeded to tell the Nursing Department that all their students were old and miserable…..I wanted to punch him!</li>
</ul>7. The rigmarole of ‘pasteurising’ the milk we buy<br />
<ul><li>Pasteurised milk not available here, and the UHT is expensive and vile, so we buy fresh milk in town</li>
<li>When we get home, we have to sieve it (to remove cow hairs), boil it (to make it safe), leave it to cool, sieve it again to get rid of the skin, then finally pour it into a bottle and stick it in the fridge (about 4 hours later)</li>
</ul>8. Ordering food in a restaurant and having to wait hours for it<br />
<ul><li>And the waiter may tell you after an hour that what you wanted is ‘finished’, so you have to re-order and wait another two hours….</li>
</ul>9. Going shopping in town, and feeling completely uninspired by the choice of stuff to buy<br />
<br />
<ul><li>So, dinner’s going to be another variation on a theme of onions, green peppers, tomatoes with pasta/rice/potatoes then?!</li>
</ul>10. Hand washing clothes<br />
<ul><li>Well, we have someone to wash most of our clothes for us, but they end up stretched out of shape, faded and holey</li>
</ul>11. The lack of decent chocolate<br />
<br />
<ul><li>The chemicals they put in Cadbury’s to stop it melting in hot countries really makes it taste horrible</li>
</ul>12. The trauma of travelling to places by public transport<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Overcrowded, smelly buses that go far too fast on really bumpy roads</li>
</ul>13. Our horrendously uncomfortable sofa and armchairs<br />
<ul><li>Numb bums!</li>
</ul><br />
I've just realised that I have put far too much in the ‘Things I won’t miss’ list – as you can see, most of them are just petty little things (compared to the huge fantastic things on the first list), and we really will miss this lovely country.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-16352263493509981112010-04-24T17:15:00.000+03:002010-04-24T17:15:22.833+03:00Fantastic Pharmacy Students!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the Second Year Pharmacy students came to see me this week, to tell me that the students were arranging a farewell tea party for Jason and I - I have to say I was very touched. Sometimes it's easy to think you haven't achieved much in your time as a volunteer, but when the students show they appreciate what you've done, it makes it all worthwhile.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's never an easy decision to move to a completely different country and work there, especially when the information you've had about the job is quite vague, and you don't really know what to expect. You arrive at your new place of work and are shown your office in the department, your colleagues are lovely but aren't always around, as they have to supplement their incomes with other jobs - at first I found it quite lonely, as I was used to being really busy all the time as a pharmacist in Liverpool and interacting with customers and other staff members.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I began to teach, I realised that the students here are absolutely FANTASTIC - they have made these past 15 months so memorable for me. I was assigned the task of teaching Pharmaceutical Technology to the students (i.e. how tablets etc are made) - and I was terrified, as I hadn't looked at any of that stuff since I was at university myself (where, if I'm being totally honest, I didn't particularly enjoy the subject anyway). However, I understood how important it was to teach the students to the best of my ability - I have spent so many hours making notes from textbooks, finding things out on the internet, and preparing lecture notes. Practical sessions have been more or less impossible, as we have neither the laboratory facilities nor the equipment to conduct pharm tech practicals. I have felt sorry for the students at times, as it is quite a dry and boring subject, and I have enormous respect for the ability they have to learn and understand theory without seeing any of it in action. They are all super-intelligent students, who will make brilliant pharmacists, and I am proud of all of them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At the start of the tea party, some of the students did speeches to thank Jason and I for our efforts in the pharmacy department. Although Jason is in the Institute of Computer Science, he has helped my department by facilitating a presentation skills workshop, rolling out the Learning Management System for pharmacy students, and many other things. The speeches were moving, and often humorous - one student recounted the day he got thrown out of a lecture by me for being 25 minutes late (fair enough, if you ask me!). I had a tear in my eye during most of the speeches, as it suddenly dawned on me that we're going home in 6 weeks, and I will really miss Uganda, especially the pharmacy students at MUST.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We got presented with certificates from the Pharmacy Students Association and the Medical Students Association, to recognise our efforts - they'd even been signed by the Dean of Medicine. Then the students presented me with a plaque to display on my wall - you can see it in the picture below:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKkUw6S-B_wkOxVkgCJXCfyz9xClR_nknlVJxcaPXuE8SojY-z_QneQy9gR-_uerInYj_lSzKnQ7Mi-FAFq2h3fdB3VFWDtd5DcmJTCQ08dtOfkwv-JWcYuhbpqMiGKICDtVocDRAtTE/s1600/Farewell+Tea+Party+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKkUw6S-B_wkOxVkgCJXCfyz9xClR_nknlVJxcaPXuE8SojY-z_QneQy9gR-_uerInYj_lSzKnQ7Mi-FAFq2h3fdB3VFWDtd5DcmJTCQ08dtOfkwv-JWcYuhbpqMiGKICDtVocDRAtTE/s320/Farewell+Tea+Party+042.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The wall-plaque the students presented to me</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the 'official' bit of the party (you have to remember that most Ugandan functions are extremely formal), it was time for tea, chapattis, and bananas, followed by group photos:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9xI1ISzbLrLhnf2opop_HLwhgcaC2MW_ilVv8VPx2xY9It1-vc1nxR4gBWH2P6-PbDT9sNAJFM-PDdHpfzTCj3e-VAqt7xulQi6fsTMHiFuex9U8rmkFtUJkljkm7dviD03ydUbeClQ/s1600/Farewell+Tea+Party+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9xI1ISzbLrLhnf2opop_HLwhgcaC2MW_ilVv8VPx2xY9It1-vc1nxR4gBWH2P6-PbDT9sNAJFM-PDdHpfzTCj3e-VAqt7xulQi6fsTMHiFuex9U8rmkFtUJkljkm7dviD03ydUbeClQ/s320/Farewell+Tea+Party+071.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>All the Fantastic Pharmacy Students</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmI1OKQsypCFSdWpl8xm_qggxTXuLJP7Wu_mQ-tHct4Jple-ccJvFuJINpWrHsmaT2lHsAOCMEUUsxR9mmI1hIy6K-9mpItAROKV1ntqIDJ2VOz8AgwKLR27fiWkY24K9w80vVe0ur3M/s1600/Farewell+Tea+Party+072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmI1OKQsypCFSdWpl8xm_qggxTXuLJP7Wu_mQ-tHct4Jple-ccJvFuJINpWrHsmaT2lHsAOCMEUUsxR9mmI1hIy6K-9mpItAROKV1ntqIDJ2VOz8AgwKLR27fiWkY24K9w80vVe0ur3M/s320/Farewell+Tea+Party+072.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The Third Year BPharm Group</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHcbbnZSc7NyBoeixLBsaHyYtaId_p1hCK6HZ1oAEQx7bKBo3LQe_wHun5wsUZNRk4V72B-Y9D4XqDTA762fRmjT2OwPWkzxygn74V7PS8BvRM0_nARVdSb7WHETFxR_8aPu_dHhQEcQ/s1600/Farewell+Tea+Party+075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHcbbnZSc7NyBoeixLBsaHyYtaId_p1hCK6HZ1oAEQx7bKBo3LQe_wHun5wsUZNRk4V72B-Y9D4XqDTA762fRmjT2OwPWkzxygn74V7PS8BvRM0_nARVdSb7WHETFxR_8aPu_dHhQEcQ/s320/Farewell+Tea+Party+075.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>My Tutor Group - Second Year BPharm</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNDpkJ7Q1bCpBUbLHNjAdQoAEq18Pq8Cxioy-psT9nDARnyu2wNMEJ1oy4bJ7aGYIQLIXUtoLkqvlGvzQqMoJ5s_RnTWP1qNwl7lT8kWa4xbvUZFT6CoX-R_lOBf7IL5ncQ3iLIvyG4k/s1600/Farewell+Tea+Party+078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNDpkJ7Q1bCpBUbLHNjAdQoAEq18Pq8Cxioy-psT9nDARnyu2wNMEJ1oy4bJ7aGYIQLIXUtoLkqvlGvzQqMoJ5s_RnTWP1qNwl7lT8kWa4xbvUZFT6CoX-R_lOBf7IL5ncQ3iLIvyG4k/s320/Farewell+Tea+Party+078.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The Second Year Girls</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqneXTW_w6-5JpnDsTOQ_cmnBIs8Qn6S0qF7G0NV_QpkcSYrT1EFJi0ZYq453N4Rea0ZhaARjF2IebWoy_7dDyVhYKXRK2AfuTiNWVj7IFI2GWl-Og1pohgIek5Lb3iWnkysCjJWWq1k/s1600/Farewell+Tea+Party+079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqneXTW_w6-5JpnDsTOQ_cmnBIs8Qn6S0qF7G0NV_QpkcSYrT1EFJi0ZYq453N4Rea0ZhaARjF2IebWoy_7dDyVhYKXRK2AfuTiNWVj7IFI2GWl-Og1pohgIek5Lb3iWnkysCjJWWq1k/s320/Farewell+Tea+Party+079.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The Second Year Boys</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPdLI_eoBZY6UHEQ5NEqmtcvwxQxi5ZWo7dQbgU-rnPMCsMlo0MFw36C6_2rziHmKRj9iImA2mK1PDZ_1peC9AChn-lE99QhPMffeaTPUOh6Gd6RB0mzq56iaASM1p3cO3ySplSPfzdI/s1600/Farewell+Tea+Party+082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPdLI_eoBZY6UHEQ5NEqmtcvwxQxi5ZWo7dQbgU-rnPMCsMlo0MFw36C6_2rziHmKRj9iImA2mK1PDZ_1peC9AChn-lE99QhPMffeaTPUOh6Gd6RB0mzq56iaASM1p3cO3ySplSPfzdI/s320/Farewell+Tea+Party+082.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>A few of the Fourth Year BPharm Students</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I still can't believe how much effort these students went to to organise a party for us; we really enjoyed it and I will miss them all. </div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-44189041778733961542010-04-23T11:17:00.002+03:002010-04-23T11:19:10.338+03:00How to NOT chop down trees...Many people believe that our lives in Mbarara are simple and uneventful. Thankfully we have a number of people in the locality who sympathise and strive to provide us with entertainment.<br /><br />Today it was the turn of our friendly lumberjacks, who decided to chop down all of the big trees in the compound. Indeed this is a complex task, there are a lot of houses, telephone lines and power cables.<br /><br />This of course did not worry our intrepid lumberjacks who thought that ransacking the compound was a great days work. Other people in the compound found the events so interesting they neglected work, made a cuppa and proceeded to watch the man with his chainsaw and rope, climb trees, hack at them from above and saw them until collapse in a "controlled" manner. This meant that the power lines at one end of the compound were felled, plus the phone lines and finally one tree fell on top of the security guards hut. Thankfully the hut (with Ascari inside), survived the impact...<br /><br />Arriving home at lunch time, I had to climb over the newly created assault course (even though maybe the place should have been cordoned). Following lunch I took up my grandstand seat in my office as I knew it was soon time for the big trees near the guest houses.<br /><br />As can be seen from the picture below, we had an electricity pole outside our flat, which passes by the guest houses:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyB-3R5Wxn2FXYG2T7t6e7Pr_If-HGunJjuvz7hiaROLS2MWXBBYdQ-IjsQNCQ-dYZ_PLQQtQzXUfBNrOLzH8NHaaWCV7q6HR089w4vejfwiUOYHYKBcQ2bXnqYmc0MlBs_vhgTDIVo2Sf/s1600/DSC00849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyB-3R5Wxn2FXYG2T7t6e7Pr_If-HGunJjuvz7hiaROLS2MWXBBYdQ-IjsQNCQ-dYZ_PLQQtQzXUfBNrOLzH8NHaaWCV7q6HR089w4vejfwiUOYHYKBcQ2bXnqYmc0MlBs_vhgTDIVo2Sf/s320/DSC00849.JPG" border="0" width="320" height="240" /></a></div><br />Now felling trees in close proximity to power cables in dangerous, and most of the time you would expect whoever is felling them to maybe take the cables down. Indeed this did happen and fast as two trees took out three electricity poles and also nearly smashed the guest houses into tiny pieces too.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwrNwnZu91d4eQNxL3NWW6pRaXtIpYPadeLELOvnnzOR-M-_1VFRx6e9rSL3cubENvRGbKGBKH_DyyQU4ANsenHmLr3aa4XLuOsAJ0MV5wwB9XCf2S4nMqXg1EW9ydnSXbFQSVvnf6L-hf/s1600/P4200030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwrNwnZu91d4eQNxL3NWW6pRaXtIpYPadeLELOvnnzOR-M-_1VFRx6e9rSL3cubENvRGbKGBKH_DyyQU4ANsenHmLr3aa4XLuOsAJ0MV5wwB9XCf2S4nMqXg1EW9ydnSXbFQSVvnf6L-hf/s320/P4200030.JPG" border="0" width="320" height="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i> Tree and cables after the felling<br /><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEzJXAk_lxUUPfDPwU2NZSdWTnckWjTbqf4Ksg4hKexpUsMDkB9yClpJfmQKmJZp4mhX_8r6Sl_-F4HuoIpX4fwgCcDz-Gb5j6bRfNhzYrk6WG8zqZzl4ws9vWPTqc48DfdJAIoJgHG6j/s1600/P4200048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEzJXAk_lxUUPfDPwU2NZSdWTnckWjTbqf4Ksg4hKexpUsMDkB9yClpJfmQKmJZp4mhX_8r6Sl_-F4HuoIpX4fwgCcDz-Gb5j6bRfNhzYrk6WG8zqZzl4ws9vWPTqc48DfdJAIoJgHG6j/s320/P4200048.JPG" border="0" width="320" height="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Our electricity pole </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The event was very entertaining to watch, although I did stop laughing when I realised we could be without power for days on end!!! I was also concerned for Anna's safety as she was at home and they were felling trees near the flats. Thankfully they missed but from the photo below you can see why we were a little worried...<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxkORWoR5VooIz20_mm7xh_3_WxNAALYvWx-0hGdPC8ruC4zW3bYF5KQRnUMft2wSu-WHC9ASb-Fjnhyphenhyphenj500iSEVlzVjf77xGi8jFYUCUcn8Z4oVIXOTW6ycxCsz7_W2O0xDVLQEmwPUF/s1600/P4200038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxkORWoR5VooIz20_mm7xh_3_WxNAALYvWx-0hGdPC8ruC4zW3bYF5KQRnUMft2wSu-WHC9ASb-Fjnhyphenhyphenj500iSEVlzVjf77xGi8jFYUCUcn8Z4oVIXOTW6ycxCsz7_W2O0xDVLQEmwPUF/s320/P4200038.JPG" border="0" width="320" height="240" /></a></div><br />Thankfully we only suffered two days power loss but and we were entertained for a few hours by these calamities....<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676850323395097101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-16427710942025737792010-04-18T15:03:00.000+03:002010-04-18T15:03:45.504+03:00Easter Weekend in Rwanda<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We'd been wondering what to do over the long Easter weekend, as there is never much happening in Mbarara, and we eventually decided to make the trip to Kigali in Rwanda. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It turned out to be a much more pleasant journey than the one to Kampala; The bus, which was air-conditioned and had comfy seats, picked us up outside our house and we travelled in relative luxury for 4 hours to Kigali (the trip to Kampala takes about 5 hours, and is always a bit traumatic!). The owner of the hotel we'd arranged to stay at picked us up at the bus park, and drove us to 'Hills View Guesthouse'. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Some of the things that amazed me at first in Kigali were:</div><ol><li><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nearly all the roads were tarmacked</div></li>
<li><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There were proper pavements (i.e. not just mud at the side of the road)</div></li>
<li><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There were traffic lights (which people obeyed)</div></li>
<li><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There seemed to be a sense of order about the place (which I am no longer used to after the chaos of Uganda!)</div></li>
</ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The guesthouse was on the outskirts of the city, on the top of a hill. It was pretty near the airport, but we didn't get disturbed by the noise of planes. There were lovely views of the surrounding area.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeJnaQWBg-JnHsarxy2CdmYNrG9FqA6nU3-yAg3L9wYQ8zp9WZVpfidj-e5-knpA2FPf0OBl-9nX3i-m8l5dzjqdS9ljt_VQAU88jC1tfn_9SwsfT6R9nU2RzGv-_KcVObrhXeZ0MuQA/s1600/Rwanda+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeJnaQWBg-JnHsarxy2CdmYNrG9FqA6nU3-yAg3L9wYQ8zp9WZVpfidj-e5-knpA2FPf0OBl-9nX3i-m8l5dzjqdS9ljt_VQAU88jC1tfn_9SwsfT6R9nU2RzGv-_KcVObrhXeZ0MuQA/s320/Rwanda+012.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View from our Hotel</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We relaxed for a few hours, then set off to explore Kigali. It's a pretty small city really, and it was raining, so we sought refuge in a lovely coffee shop. It was so nice to have some decent coffee!!! We've never really understood the reason why, even though Uganda produces amazing coffee, there are no decent coffee shops in Mbarara (the best you get is instant Nescafe). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Kigali is a lovely city, very clean and well-organised. Our taxi driver, Joseph, told us that the government brought in a law where one member of each household has to go out and clean their local area one Sunday every month. Apparently there are big fines if people don't turn up (and laws are actually enforced in Rwanda). Seems like a really good idea to me, maybe I should mention it to the powers-that-be in Uganda...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTSE9NOyu0KGwSHBtLkvG0c1m529XATjXXTFH8XZ1469A4F8JwNvX_I_26y6YVMe4dTosvQXa2nQ8TjTyw-ES2NRYOaXG5AAVF2sh7N04C7-7VRNGNt4hgM0Is-ZggRfnPNGJeUh4-HM/s1600/IMG_1082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTSE9NOyu0KGwSHBtLkvG0c1m529XATjXXTFH8XZ1469A4F8JwNvX_I_26y6YVMe4dTosvQXa2nQ8TjTyw-ES2NRYOaXG5AAVF2sh7N04C7-7VRNGNt4hgM0Is-ZggRfnPNGJeUh4-HM/s320/IMG_1082.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Kigali seems a lot more well-kept than Mbarara!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We didn't do much on Friday, as it rained and rained all day. We walked down to the local shops from the guesthouse, and got caught in a huge downpour. We were forced to shelter under a tree with some local women and a goat-herder who couldn't have been more than nine years old. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Saturday's weather was a bit more promising, so we headed into town on a Moto (Rwandan boda-boda), which was a nice experience - they actually provide you with a helmet! We decided to visit the Genocide Memorial Centre, which was a moving experience. Walking around Kigali it's hard to imagine that, only 16 years ago, more than a million people were killed in 100 days. By the end of the genocide, 85% of the Tutsi population were dead. To quote from the website <a href="http://www.kigalimemorialcentre.org/">http://www.kigalimemorialcentre.org/</a> <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">In 100 days, more than 1,000,000 people were murdered.</div><div style="text-align: center;">But the genocidaires did not kill a million people.</div><div style="text-align: center;">They killed one, then another, then another......</div><div style="text-align: center;">Day after day, hour after hour, minute by minute.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Every minute of the day, someone, somewhere was being murdered,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Screaming for mercy.</div><div style="text-align: center;">And receving none.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglpr259E0ucomlDZ2Vf9uKzs7w3zcsFGVXcMGNFchUhwTnOoXcUcL0cTJQ40YxOO9W6OWnpFpX9jPKhDROJTkGniN-Ei3PotdYSeq4geuZKROAmTH7STUSreTg5deUhfcExjG6Rbv16DA/s1600/IMG_1108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglpr259E0ucomlDZ2Vf9uKzs7w3zcsFGVXcMGNFchUhwTnOoXcUcL0cTJQ40YxOO9W6OWnpFpX9jPKhDROJTkGniN-Ei3PotdYSeq4geuZKROAmTH7STUSreTg5deUhfcExjG6Rbv16DA/s320/IMG_1108.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View of the City from the Genocide Memorial Centre</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The centre contains three exhibitions: the genocide in 1994, a children's memorial, and the history of genocidal violence around the world. It was very interesting, but harrowing at the same time. I still wonder how a country can ever recover from something like that; nearly everyone we met in Rwanda had been affected by the events of 1994. The centre also has memorial gardens, containing the mass graves of over 250,000 victims of the genocide. When we visited, Rwanda was about to start its period of national mourning for the genocide, so there were many Rwandans visiting the gardens to pay their respects. We didn't want them to feel that we were intruding on their grief, so we didn't stay for very long. Something that will haunt me for a very long time is the sound of a Rwandan woman in the memorial gardens screaming and wailing uncontrollably.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On Easter Sunday, we decided to visit a town called Gisenyi on the shores of Lake Kivu. We took an express bus, which was very comfortable, and were there in about 3 hours. Gisenyi is walking distance from Goma, in Democratic Republice of Congo, and we considered going there just to get stamps in our passports but didn't think it was worth paying the price of a visa. Gisenyi is a beautiful town, and seemed a world away from the rest of Africa - it actually reminded us of being at Lake Como in Italy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Qx_2GYVU4efI0-P7dSQtKe2PZjrWFQ4lE0b8OnztODp7vnRD7tbEZQ3hsIWKgkrZPDPhdr8iISCEUIHG5KmfTNuHOSuE_U4nF1yk0yIKra3yPkG9FKUC79u0wzZrZnZN3g1rt9buk_E/s1600/Rwanda+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Qx_2GYVU4efI0-P7dSQtKe2PZjrWFQ4lE0b8OnztODp7vnRD7tbEZQ3hsIWKgkrZPDPhdr8iISCEUIHG5KmfTNuHOSuE_U4nF1yk0yIKra3yPkG9FKUC79u0wzZrZnZN3g1rt9buk_E/s320/Rwanda+015.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Lake Kivu</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqyTR_Y8QwyoX52RwZwOeTt8xrHXnkT261mb1A5wKbV_SpartlDzOjCq_v5lgFz2TCST-v2FceN5pRapgXwUIUNpiSJTZkjs62dfKwK6FG7EOp6jWUiVYNyev9DKC-1_cqmi1sCDfj6w/s1600/Rwanda+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqyTR_Y8QwyoX52RwZwOeTt8xrHXnkT261mb1A5wKbV_SpartlDzOjCq_v5lgFz2TCST-v2FceN5pRapgXwUIUNpiSJTZkjs62dfKwK6FG7EOp6jWUiVYNyev9DKC-1_cqmi1sCDfj6w/s320/Rwanda+017.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em> Fancy a Swim?!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQO3cZORbD1TPkl9eCAbd9i3LPr7zL_p6XFka4V3Wle-IfHNIHfs5QHjalGx5GqNCzYWOYclTxuD76PDvNC0uZu7tZTaPgTcCeS9HTv5dByFZwr3dGiavK0O6f6VQegPXPC-tsq_M_0g/s1600/Rwanda+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQO3cZORbD1TPkl9eCAbd9i3LPr7zL_p6XFka4V3Wle-IfHNIHfs5QHjalGx5GqNCzYWOYclTxuD76PDvNC0uZu7tZTaPgTcCeS9HTv5dByFZwr3dGiavK0O6f6VQegPXPC-tsq_M_0g/s320/Rwanda+020.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Is this really Africa?!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It soon became very clear to us that there is a lot of money in this part of Rwanda - some of the villas by the lake were truly spectacular.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPTmfz7GWg3vYXE3Ygrq7glPO8hcjwIoNeVeE9h3kGPYsaYLPgGEn5tZVIUqTqUCKVS0KQ-eWqI6CTMz54sMi-AenGw2IfvKna5gMH7YLWLOun6RS09Ouuantmqqn5r0kHFsRhabDCuQ/s1600/Rwanda+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPTmfz7GWg3vYXE3Ygrq7glPO8hcjwIoNeVeE9h3kGPYsaYLPgGEn5tZVIUqTqUCKVS0KQ-eWqI6CTMz54sMi-AenGw2IfvKna5gMH7YLWLOun6RS09Ouuantmqqn5r0kHFsRhabDCuQ/s320/Rwanda+021.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Amazing Lakeside Villa</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After a nice lunch and a walk alongside the lake it was time to get the bus back to Kigali. We weren't so lucky this time as there was a toddler sitting near us on the bus who was vomiting for more or less the whole journey...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We were really glad that we made the trip to Rwanda - who knows when we'll get the chance again. We would definitely love to go back some time in the future, maybe to see the gorillas in the Virunga Mountains -the journey would definitely be smoother than going to Bwindi in Uganda!</div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-72308118010082422602010-04-18T14:49:00.003+03:002010-04-18T15:11:54.733+03:00Mbarara Rally 2010 - Boma Grounds<p align="left">Uganda has its own Rally series and local drivers (who typically fund themselves) take part in a number of rounds around the country.</p><p align="left">Each year Mbarara stages a rally, usually however the cars go to outlying villages and pit themselves against each other there. This year was no different and they even added a night stage. Without transport we couldnt get to see these stages but thankfully for the first time ever they did a stage around the Boma Show Grounds which make up the golf course and its local area.</p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKasos7mn7ihk641LHfn05QxgfbgdEX8lkEymN_a4wf7gTMCcPX7LmYA7_0em0XLJ8og7H573wQOsAj3s2zJka0XoL-50IlVW-qyT8_ALFlbf3agvdYDPE0GIPWsVM0ttYlzcwZvpoUED/s1600/P3060028.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461446431919442930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKasos7mn7ihk641LHfn05QxgfbgdEX8lkEymN_a4wf7gTMCcPX7LmYA7_0em0XLJ8og7H573wQOsAj3s2zJka0XoL-50IlVW-qyT8_ALFlbf3agvdYDPE0GIPWsVM0ttYlzcwZvpoUED/s320/P3060028.JPG" /></a></p> The turnout was immense and the driving very good indeed. It was suprising to see some very new cars too including that latest Imprezas and Evo's.<br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjc2J-bTBEt27xbpu2A7x4XMpyZr__x4w-dnLGZbnpl2bA_peOAHS-SQnG7Nwf6WBSeO2t1mhKeXq6DHdzYfw8TnndMuH9D_ptHPOAIfVa9nHd1BE5CE_OBl7N-FW_fn1acxgqKOFfQOiE/s1600/P3060024.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461446427160255266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjc2J-bTBEt27xbpu2A7x4XMpyZr__x4w-dnLGZbnpl2bA_peOAHS-SQnG7Nwf6WBSeO2t1mhKeXq6DHdzYfw8TnndMuH9D_ptHPOAIfVa9nHd1BE5CE_OBl7N-FW_fn1acxgqKOFfQOiE/s320/P3060024.JPG" /></a></p> Everybody was in their element and although the local hero (a mechanic) broke down all of the drivers got loads of cheers and it was as well organised as any motor racing I have seen in blighty.<br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXWM5p3AJP0wLTRp7GbBOo7KWERjs2az5mTWn1UWqN1RRDf-123gajZBoJAdNMcK4xgmKli6Iam8RR6mgHB-sMRoWP3z9Qo_VpGAjazpn7nybTYLuzwbQYWFrjDbPsJWmtbnQCD37_k3m/s1600/P3060010.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461446416298328930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXWM5p3AJP0wLTRp7GbBOo7KWERjs2az5mTWn1UWqN1RRDf-123gajZBoJAdNMcK4xgmKli6Iam8RR6mgHB-sMRoWP3z9Qo_VpGAjazpn7nybTYLuzwbQYWFrjDbPsJWmtbnQCD37_k3m/s320/P3060010.JPG" /></a></p>Unfortunately there were no spectacular crashes but as there were a lot of spectors to be fair it was probably for the best. As usual things were running very late and the special stage began at 4pm when it was supposed to begin at 1pm. We of course had tried to get in at 1 but as there were no cars we went for lunch and luckily bumped into a Boda driver who knows more about what is going on in the town than anybody else important. So he thankfully advised us to go at four and hey presto it started on time.<br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_FYUXw0voBkgJ6OrS8ewlaBsmDssMS0A42LxqsZ3dMqZq1O-uwqp1myr_GuSZizcBg5tVBbntp_U19rnZxFhgr7JWBQ9mNrPrbnj8QESxM8CTL07jUwnEZjN0LuXSG6L9FMist987Qxy/s1600/P3060008.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461446406230519186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_FYUXw0voBkgJ6OrS8ewlaBsmDssMS0A42LxqsZ3dMqZq1O-uwqp1myr_GuSZizcBg5tVBbntp_U19rnZxFhgr7JWBQ9mNrPrbnj8QESxM8CTL07jUwnEZjN0LuXSG6L9FMist987Qxy/s320/P3060008.JPG" /></a></p>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676850323395097101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-73359231658283504882010-04-12T21:54:00.031+03:002010-04-18T14:48:50.849+03:00Graduation 2010 & ICS and Pharmacy Dinners<div align="left"><strong><u>Graduation 2010</u></strong></div><br /><p align="left">Although it has been a very long time since we posted on the Blog, it is not because we have actually been slacking! It is because we have been enjoying ourselves and also getting ourselves too sun burnt to actually appear in pictures!<br /><br />A very long time ago, back in January we had the privilege to attend the 2010 MUST Graduation. Having a big mouth I volunteered to help with taking pictures and videos of the event.<br /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461413680183229282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFYQFqx4xOAZRnLfkUwSb0BZyriMKyFKrfsNg9Q7V21UDrLmUwqNx9fP4TVHivRAVpuEqi6jBxXrffaDK5hXOcuJUAzNGoY7N5koj96xBObCoQ-GzEhQWhgv6wLRGqvXQdNuxwXZUtHZi/s320/P1300001.JPG" /><br /><p align="center"><em>The Graduation Grounds - Before people started to arrive en-mass<br /></em></p><br />It was a gloriously hot day and Mbarara was awash with Graduands. The event began with the Academic procession, which I thankfully avoided being official "press" and Anna had to suffer a 20 minute delay in the searing heat!<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461414922058743794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFk5EtAjmJVtF83G_qOpNHssTuYCmmVLPZPYA4UPXLWwHaxNkvLawrXrcZxoVnkoBqjUBa9nyIuS2JGZv1Ts7zNNJxsr4hK6EDsijMaF4qHYE3Gkk23FK9APd_DBf9Abd3fQ3wH3qpevK/s320/P1300014.JPG" /> <p align="center">Anna waiting for the procession to start <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAIME01snsYqhLlPWnQGetcWo5VREGmbsP958_neKiakhBcHpONdp_2SyABJXvUIxsv8CH5Azib2F76FhM3AT56fqDB9hWjq4VBdEFsGrQTtvPtphxk-IgcB5QyqFvRL91od-DblGtacqK/s1600/P1300018.JPG"></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461419333430074386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAIME01snsYqhLlPWnQGetcWo5VREGmbsP958_neKiakhBcHpONdp_2SyABJXvUIxsv8CH5Azib2F76FhM3AT56fqDB9hWjq4VBdEFsGrQTtvPtphxk-IgcB5QyqFvRL91od-DblGtacqK/s320/P1300018.JPG" /> </a><em>The Chancellor & Vice Chancellor</em><br /><br /><p align="left">Following the procession, the Vice Chancellor welcomed all of the guests and gave an outstanding speech which although long was actually not bad at all. Other speeches followed and the Graduation began.<br /></p><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461419343118183458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsh4oiTTruNiGoMIk_nwF-KKwYW73_2DEvfq7sD6jsO6HqTXFBHSBlKagwHf19HagBYMJPhypSVOz69oH9g-nSKrrj0o-GbjHUl5HtFq6dFWafhyphenhyphenpZdXoAPy1lI-FEpLQHl-59ZcF6Rv5n/s320/P1300058.JPG" /> <em>The Vice Chancellor giving his speech</em><em> </em></p><p align="left">Unlike in the UK, the students names are read out as a class and they graduate together in one go with the blessing from the VC.<br /><br /></p><p></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461419350517246322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOcUNFUon9kS0cVft9lVyaxMdzuChbiUPAwShn-ghEk_NXmXTEgbIbzZuc1IlKnrKE-l-3fcwJ-ZW4c4NuairL9cuAsPU7I__s2KugjyTjnXKX0qAL5aapBzMgYiwfyMSWlBoBN-UOAOA/s320/P1300177.JPG" /> <p align="center"><em>Pharmacy students Graduating<br /></em></p><p align="left">The event was of course quite long and me being stupid I did not put sun tan lotion on! This therefore meant that for the next week I was the colour of beetroot and was peeling all over the place... whoops.<br /><br />More pics of the graduation can be found here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.must.ac.ug/gallery_view.php?gallery_id=17">http://www.must.ac.ug/gallery_view.php?gallery_id=17</a><br /><br /><strong><u>The Pharmacy Dinner</u></strong><br /><br />Anna and I had argued before the event whether the Pharmacy dinner would be more boring than the ICS dinner. Lets be fair we should have chosen careers in subjects much more interesting shouldnt we?<br /><br />As usual it was a black tie event at Lake View hotel. The problem was my suit is no longer well a suit as the trousers went awol (for example in the pictures of us at the film premier people with a keen eye will see the disparity in the colours of the jacket and trousers). Anna definately didnt have a posh frock, so we decided to get stuff made.</p><p>I had bespoke suit created and Anna a dress and top. Now for 150,000 Uganda Shillings (£50) I suppose you can expect much can you? Well yes you can, top quality material, fully fitted, a cool lining and the only problem being that the tailors could not understand that I wanted trousers that didnt go up to my armpits! </p><p>On trying on the suit, I did look like I was attempting to be an R&B star with the trouser crotch nearly dragging on the floor... The tailor pulled up the trousers to where he believed my waist is and hey presto super comfy grandad trousers!! They look fine with the jacket but you cant remove it!!!! I am returning to get a pair of trousers in the style I desire and just so that they dont get confused shall be taking a pair of my own trousers they can model the new ones from!</p><p>Annas new outfit was modelled loosely on her bridesmaid dresses (well the colour was the same), and managed to get it made in record timing! Although my suit is a little large it is definately value for money and the best suit I have ever purchased!</p><p>Anyway, the Dinner...</p><p>It was a very enjoyable occasion with speeches an auction and weirdly poetry.<br /><br /></p><p align="center"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461429318540010674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhAwHXZccLrcICAN5lZl2DkjWWiPwgKWrqSlguROAtOLJDp7vWois-g6DhxW_vlUf-cS4eYnVaFJsKqK07AVNiMwygeV3q9-CAwQ1qFKSSluRst8PnxHL2pD4hUBbF9wi0F7r3sM80_rv/s320/MBUPSA+Dinner+27-2-10+015.JPG" /><br /></p><p align="center"><em>Students at their tables</em></p><p>Two events during the dinner stood out, the first being a poetry rendition from one of the students. The content was of course Pharmacy which yes is a very dry subject but thankfully the student entertained by pretending he was auditioning for one of those horrendous stage schools in England.</p><p>This of course meant he proceeded to do exagerated actions, crawl around on the floor and generally do insane things. We were not sure whether the students thought it was a funny as myself and Anna.<br /><br /></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-h7G9OY4pYNgZJDwI9HkhDL3dHnmOR0m2S9oe0HMMha3DJP5y9QyYIbdSQLMCM3LdftdLJEndaO9BW06f1MU9MqoPLeB7nz2DIE7PSXSt8vofS8piuH_YTJ5_mygBkg7EQCiLJkET9C3J/s1600/MBUPSA+Dinner+27-2-10+040.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461429330719343186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-h7G9OY4pYNgZJDwI9HkhDL3dHnmOR0m2S9oe0HMMha3DJP5y9QyYIbdSQLMCM3LdftdLJEndaO9BW06f1MU9MqoPLeB7nz2DIE7PSXSt8vofS8piuH_YTJ5_mygBkg7EQCiLJkET9C3J/s320/MBUPSA+Dinner+27-2-10+040.JPG" /></a></p><br /><p align="center"><em>Anna enjoying her chicken wing</em></p><p>The other event which was interesting / confusing was the auction. As we have mentioned previously there seems to be a habit of not choosing the highest bidder. Instead it seems as if you big an ammout and even pay it, the next person must outbid you, but somehow there is a remainder and another person must bid to knock out the remainder and so on. In the end somehow it then changes to a bid between two people and others add money on their behalf. Suffice to say I am still confused but somehow myself and Anna won some bed sheets... Of course we donated them the next day to one of the students and still dont even understand how we won. </p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgXJgXO-neUJRcTHk9ah1zh9xiRsbIsA7fvJ2LwjNnx42IUH6KD1ARiPMH57nrj4xPblatjUZ7q64C9YVw-tnQegYeoWmPQ33jPsAAaUxHnpUTMeP-UaEjtpKmTcPGcVRsS-9-EajPy83/s1600/MBUPSA+Dinner+27-2-10+131.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461429325157011458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgXJgXO-neUJRcTHk9ah1zh9xiRsbIsA7fvJ2LwjNnx42IUH6KD1ARiPMH57nrj4xPblatjUZ7q64C9YVw-tnQegYeoWmPQ33jPsAAaUxHnpUTMeP-UaEjtpKmTcPGcVRsS-9-EajPy83/s320/MBUPSA+Dinner+27-2-10+131.JPG" /></a><br /></p><p align="center"><em>The cutting of the cake, a tradition during formal dinners</em><br /></p><br /><p>All in all we had a good time and indeed Pharmacy students can be a little be geeky but I think they did a very good job.</p><p><strong><u>The ICS Dinner</u></strong></p><p>Now ICS is much bigger than Pharmacy so instead of having the dinner is a conference room, the organisers decided to have it pool side. I think they did a great job as it was very nice indeed. Of course in the UK this would not have been allowed as Health and Safety would have stopped the pool side fun!</p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivt061Ovuj-yT35712naubkQsxdWtCEpwwAiJhJ8zPmz0sKXPmH4Pb8-NC3IPELKLFaKngBlglsfGq7fJivRStwvuQVx9hw5orQvXnxg8gsFPO6WQlx9FSzRb_bDIccltMWdq2XtIXv89X/s1600/Rwanda+002.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461437404811146322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivt061Ovuj-yT35712naubkQsxdWtCEpwwAiJhJ8zPmz0sKXPmH4Pb8-NC3IPELKLFaKngBlglsfGq7fJivRStwvuQVx9hw5orQvXnxg8gsFPO6WQlx9FSzRb_bDIccltMWdq2XtIXv89X/s320/Rwanda+002.JPG" /></a></p><p align="center"><em>Pre-dinner drinks</em><br /></p><p align="left">Now there is of course a reputation for things starting late here so we did the usual trick of looking at what time the students were supposed to arrive and adding an hour on for ourselves. Unfortunately I think most of the students added at least an extra two hours on for themselves so we had ample time to have drinks before people started to arrive. Therefore instead of starting at the alloted time of 7.30 we began around 9.30.</p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWHY5tYE0eKi3gKayetz1R3nWT4PUHLzH7Wo33LBGjwsR4hzKDJy4633YIDaRJVn0VvRU7_5hgeSi8U-g5rpJB0xu3JXLcIrwzXs-m7wcXwWWmh7FVVwT8Dbuqi4Qn_Gsn0CAc0yrdyuj/s1600/Rwanda+008.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461437418538494578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWHY5tYE0eKi3gKayetz1R3nWT4PUHLzH7Wo33LBGjwsR4hzKDJy4633YIDaRJVn0VvRU7_5hgeSi8U-g5rpJB0xu3JXLcIrwzXs-m7wcXwWWmh7FVVwT8Dbuqi4Qn_Gsn0CAc0yrdyuj/s320/Rwanda+008.JPG" /></a></p><p align="center">Our t<em>able poolside<br /></em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLDBFK7kbKBzwiGR513G-QXyWhDxuF8k9pnfu5uoh-ek6SiUb0PiQEj9MlE_a_OmwridQqkIqfqxLwB9u01VasLezx4VAvLSsupe-qTrNOnHCJnvdOdA1mrIcHrvrv0kq0E-J31RaZ5fR/s1600/Rwanda+006.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461437410471272674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLDBFK7kbKBzwiGR513G-QXyWhDxuF8k9pnfu5uoh-ek6SiUb0PiQEj9MlE_a_OmwridQqkIqfqxLwB9u01VasLezx4VAvLSsupe-qTrNOnHCJnvdOdA1mrIcHrvrv0kq0E-J31RaZ5fR/s320/Rwanda+006.JPG" /></a></p><p align="center"><em>The pool side even with float tea lights </em></p><p align="left">By starting so late, we had taken a few more beers than expected and then sitting down to dinner, there being no alchohol we proceeded to doze a little. Lasto my colleague actually slept through the speeches which eventually began after dinner at 11.30pm. </p><p align="left">All went well however, we had another mad auction and thankfully we didnt win this time although the item was mobile phone from Orange so much better than bed sheets! </p><p align="left">The guest speaker from Orange was also very good indeed although his speech was wasted on many people as they we fast asleep due to the time. Unfortunately he was the last person to speak and the gentleman before him, supposedly an events co-ordinator and prospective politician had a great ability to lull people to sleep.</p><p align="left">A very good evening, if a little late running, so sadly we decided to go home instead of staying for the after party.<br /><br /><br /></p>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676850323395097101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-45789370912792449312010-03-10T11:29:00.002+03:002010-03-10T11:47:19.972+03:00First Wedding Anniversary: Lake Bunyonyi (5th - 7th February 2010)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We spent a couple of days at Lake Bunyonyi to celebrate our first wedding anniversary last month - can't believe it's been a year since we were celebrating with all that snow outside. We stayed on Byoona Amagara island, so had to get a boat over. Peter, our taxi driver insisted on coming in the boat with us, but he was terrified because he can't swim. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We'd booked to stay in one of the Geodomes on the island, which are really unusual - it felt a bit like being in an upside down wicker basket! The dome is completely open at the front, and you get an amazing view of the lake from your bed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3c6T5pGtKCl22LZx4CGeV_pSN0oa9zstYsRNAXkt2-3HoGaGOCz1scOdPmTN3cte9z-Gj4eIGGb8KuOhAHTh8IUgIuRWQaCy8zmJK38O_DIfsTp6XJh3_3HF4B6IviF0VgYIj_fgOcY/s1600-h/126+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3c6T5pGtKCl22LZx4CGeV_pSN0oa9zstYsRNAXkt2-3HoGaGOCz1scOdPmTN3cte9z-Gj4eIGGb8KuOhAHTh8IUgIuRWQaCy8zmJK38O_DIfsTp6XJh3_3HF4B6IviF0VgYIj_fgOcY/s200/126+-+Copy.JPG" vt="true" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8LdUq7haL_XeV6JSbb76wMUB9gVX8nr6M9Lwf8solsfhnvuUTjzSS1ycDWirhU54dfZKjHdj3-MkOs0fpRXSgubFWkqq9m-9YAPcWrgkCa7XAYRIvUn5lp92tzxSSUwLXg001103yII/s1600-h/125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8LdUq7haL_XeV6JSbb76wMUB9gVX8nr6M9Lwf8solsfhnvuUTjzSS1ycDWirhU54dfZKjHdj3-MkOs0fpRXSgubFWkqq9m-9YAPcWrgkCa7XAYRIvUn5lp92tzxSSUwLXg001103yII/s200/125.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Our Geodome</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rTjnriEcwgl0OOh6RDjo3UY3wlLhOQsL400t1i7I6DU7drQC2YkqLsyKw18uYzGafeRcOFuL_yvjvLrRyEo66hewU0Mntfs0eDJKNwCdJlJYFU8MXPIqyGqvlfb_OPavJe33f35sA6g/s1600-h/132+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rTjnriEcwgl0OOh6RDjo3UY3wlLhOQsL400t1i7I6DU7drQC2YkqLsyKw18uYzGafeRcOFuL_yvjvLrRyEo66hewU0Mntfs0eDJKNwCdJlJYFU8MXPIqyGqvlfb_OPavJe33f35sA6g/s200/132+-+Copy.JPG" vt="true" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJi5JURDK9v2nIwik4OfCWA3EFlaMCfNqY_1rjP0-bbA0FVaqGlIY_AqB-nKx0M6HhGkdCFDgzwRaqGOLBC2LWmswQo9LZ5YDm4zz3ueNY6234ifkj9KQHUy0Ob4NScXCIoM2k3WoAZ0/s1600-h/128+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJi5JURDK9v2nIwik4OfCWA3EFlaMCfNqY_1rjP0-bbA0FVaqGlIY_AqB-nKx0M6HhGkdCFDgzwRaqGOLBC2LWmswQo9LZ5YDm4zz3ueNY6234ifkj9KQHUy0Ob4NScXCIoM2k3WoAZ0/s200/128+-+Copy.JPG" vt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Fantastic View of the Lake from our Private Terrace at the Geodome</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We always enjoy going to Lake Bunyonyi, it's very tranquil there - the perfect place to relax. It's really nice to be able swim in the lake as, unlike most other Ugandan lakes, it is free of Bilharzia (some nasty disease you wouldn't want to catch!). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's nothing better than watching the sun go down over the lake after a hard day of relaxation, and drinking a nice cold bottle of Ugandan beer (Club for me, and Nile Special for Jason).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUyIVZtzJyGZKepAdaq2qT-JtVh6fWqzQVLWVv0nZXRJS4oSd3hLpuD8xOYXWPM0hi0-p0TS6X64_F4TLVxLKZy6jDYmtEbMkYX5msBl8DflNoXC5nr5RQzarHElb76snbxSusIgu_dc/s1600-h/134+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUyIVZtzJyGZKepAdaq2qT-JtVh6fWqzQVLWVv0nZXRJS4oSd3hLpuD8xOYXWPM0hi0-p0TS6X64_F4TLVxLKZy6jDYmtEbMkYX5msBl8DflNoXC5nr5RQzarHElb76snbxSusIgu_dc/s320/134+-+Copy.JPG" vt="true" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFclv5P3nJ-3T97l4evJpGhOrZjlYpwHUxXZUF_1608qglxQL0jOuezEDdVtrIksvU69mcgKiS1_vnnmd8iBuOf18-sPSKNKZvlnvqcg-kp_FJ-tDTGmoWEXkv5nUrAi_64resboQdGc/s1600-h/135+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFclv5P3nJ-3T97l4evJpGhOrZjlYpwHUxXZUF_1608qglxQL0jOuezEDdVtrIksvU69mcgKiS1_vnnmd8iBuOf18-sPSKNKZvlnvqcg-kp_FJ-tDTGmoWEXkv5nUrAi_64resboQdGc/s320/135+-+Copy.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div align="center"><em>Beautiful Sunset and Wonderful Beer!</em></div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-50539825606337507632010-02-19T12:46:00.000+03:002010-02-19T12:46:07.164+03:00Travels with Chris and Pete: 27th December 2009 - 8th January 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Our friends Peter and Christine came out to see us on the day my parents left, and we started another little tour of Uganda with them. They arrived pretty late in the evening, so didn’t get to see any of Uganda until the following morning, when it was absolutely bucketing down with rain.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">.<img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFsLZGzPv8IQdRaXoRTdtF6g_dQ3izbzRCUE8TmndOr1mx5Cr8vo66GvPJKpJCz-IIT0E4ljvxdFF-UXSXNoqDD9OTgLDROBfh3PoOFG_YEWLTqtbBq59-Ws6Dwg5SjWF8pW4TDiKxS4/s320/DSC_0094+(1).JPG" /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Airport Guesthouse, Entebbe, in the rain!</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The first stop on our trip was a town called Jinja, which is where the source of the Nile is. We stayed at a lovely place called Nile Porch, and had tents with a fantastic view of the river. It was great to relax on the veranda (complete with hammock!) and watch the sun set over the Nile.</div><br />
<br />
We went down to the source of the Nile, and I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was nothing like I had imagined! We went on a short boat trip which was pretty nice although the guide didn’t speak much English (it was just as well that we had taken our driver Herbert along with us!).<br />
<br />
We discussed going white-water rafting the next day, but Chris and I didn’t really fancy it, so we decided to go on a quad-bike ride around Jinja instead. It was fantastic, as we drove around the local villages, by fields, and eventually down to Bujagali Falls (which is probably not as impressive as it was before they built the dam). All the kids we drove past were so excited to see us, jumping up and down and waving. I think the adults we drove past in the villages thought we were a bit mad, especially me and Chris, and just seemed to be laughing at us – but it was all great fun. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWePp6hYBoZZTrrInWJl2i6L2NV2naIDfbF57VKpt17OOcR6f0iCijxqqy1A7DdkuZKwbNHH30TrLCFd3Rt3Xh2K73LHsFnSfvUCjORNCza_LH380vT-4OhKmRmwAXjcmm4Ff_4iKaI7k/s1600-h/P1000076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWePp6hYBoZZTrrInWJl2i6L2NV2naIDfbF57VKpt17OOcR6f0iCijxqqy1A7DdkuZKwbNHH30TrLCFd3Rt3Xh2K73LHsFnSfvUCjORNCza_LH380vT-4OhKmRmwAXjcmm4Ff_4iKaI7k/s320/P1000076.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View from our accommodation at Nile Porch</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTN-Vv6b3v5CUWgGoummt5kKeqOeoaiU42FHF4cH-d_8C9J03IRBCnxyDWOM0fyRsoZkafJWpe3zeJ6gaf4WC_jJG1izGgY6fojjne4JyQXVbI7lP3xxXK4p33BsHAGZ2VB8mI2fv4hc/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTN-Vv6b3v5CUWgGoummt5kKeqOeoaiU42FHF4cH-d_8C9J03IRBCnxyDWOM0fyRsoZkafJWpe3zeJ6gaf4WC_jJG1izGgY6fojjne4JyQXVbI7lP3xxXK4p33BsHAGZ2VB8mI2fv4hc/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+056.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Sunset over the Nile</em></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJNCQuAJZpngrNSa0Adb-AipqIm-EJy4ZBeXG80QDKBMje9KJPV1Uu_Rf9x2hv7b9RtBAxJV03uAK-dpCyyRzTLW6ulcKzCv2YMmdCE3Hja9S6vzjX36WitL0PSHhI0mE9ZT7Gyo4mF8c/s1600-h/DSC_0167+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJNCQuAJZpngrNSa0Adb-AipqIm-EJy4ZBeXG80QDKBMje9KJPV1Uu_Rf9x2hv7b9RtBAxJV03uAK-dpCyyRzTLW6ulcKzCv2YMmdCE3Hja9S6vzjX36WitL0PSHhI0mE9ZT7Gyo4mF8c/s320/DSC_0167+(1).JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Quad Biking!</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVPCpJyss5g8zfnl8MPRIhgLBq6UvKKajuvud4wVnU5hLFTKHW19mKWUOSCfLZaWeNVUbgYLOvkFsRiHQ08SOOJruwjmVzdsVbQPvlA-KHvadh2iy9vWJm9L-28xxJhtIcaN6DSlUmW8/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVPCpJyss5g8zfnl8MPRIhgLBq6UvKKajuvud4wVnU5hLFTKHW19mKWUOSCfLZaWeNVUbgYLOvkFsRiHQ08SOOJruwjmVzdsVbQPvlA-KHvadh2iy9vWJm9L-28xxJhtIcaN6DSlUmW8/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+062.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Bujagali Falls</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">After Jinja we had to go through Kampala to change vehicles, as we needed a big 4x4 rather than the Green Machine, and then we started the long long journey up to Murchison Falls, which took about 8 or 9 hours. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We were staying at a place called Sambiya River Lodge, which is over the other side of the river to where you do game drives, so we had a very early (5:30 am) start the next morning. We had to get a car ferry over the river, and then we began our first proper safari with Pete and Chris.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUPKcBNDE6kvCdKSZLSFWJxkDXn-vjPECcTrSYU5LbWWhTVDhj00NTKuBNwFyd0GR-V26jjK31l7WTWHUQW8n3H8iX0hz2uNiXXpCpG8mI1Me9_lwnXgca76kwR0uq3VMdfbGXjdzsnk/s1600-h/DSC_0287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUPKcBNDE6kvCdKSZLSFWJxkDXn-vjPECcTrSYU5LbWWhTVDhj00NTKuBNwFyd0GR-V26jjK31l7WTWHUQW8n3H8iX0hz2uNiXXpCpG8mI1Me9_lwnXgca76kwR0uq3VMdfbGXjdzsnk/s320/DSC_0287.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Ferry across the River</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Murchison Falls is a HUGE national park, with an area or 1,340 sq miles (3,480 sq km), and during the course of our morning game drive we covered over 150 km. The landscape is completely different to Queen Elizabeth National Park - more like proper savanna, and you could see for miles. Murchison Falls is the only place in Uganda where you can see giraffes, and we were lucky enough to see quite a few of them. It was amazing to see them, and they do look quite strange with such long necks! We paid for a UWA ranger, called George, to come on the drive with us, as the park is so big and he has more of an idea of where to find the animals. We'd all been hoping we would see some lions, and we weren't disappointed. - we found two lionesses sitting in the grass relaxing: they looked so cute that you couldn't imagine them being heartless predators.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNC6O4u5aX7w6GtSWkSqTBk8ATwPyV7hZh60uA0dyYkBIrZX29oNiJlfB7z29EZK6mZZr_DJLMPpy44WceKqebi4ZbjtyaSU2ARKeHwkM_nvj5E6TrHG-tCOABofnkn0f-E9VqefiKiM/s1600-h/DSC_0388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNC6O4u5aX7w6GtSWkSqTBk8ATwPyV7hZh60uA0dyYkBIrZX29oNiJlfB7z29EZK6mZZr_DJLMPpy44WceKqebi4ZbjtyaSU2ARKeHwkM_nvj5E6TrHG-tCOABofnkn0f-E9VqefiKiM/s320/DSC_0388.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Amazing view of the Savanna (courtesy of Pete)</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DBmmcHy3yVwlx5lc4aB5-igZm0u_vR6xbd3Xx9zuh3B0sMOALUh2yG4B84XyH1cPnsnrN1w2vXcf5vApFdAyXipyoFY9fbxjHMJtwwN_O770EvC0g3C-C2UNPu33RfQSbIubv2pg1q0/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DBmmcHy3yVwlx5lc4aB5-igZm0u_vR6xbd3Xx9zuh3B0sMOALUh2yG4B84XyH1cPnsnrN1w2vXcf5vApFdAyXipyoFY9fbxjHMJtwwN_O770EvC0g3C-C2UNPu33RfQSbIubv2pg1q0/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+069.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The Lionesses</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmffgUU6YeqQsQZ-FkkNfgRR3hTMlYFHrL9fmsjXxMfDR-ZI6QnTyV_ayiNDLyaQ08I8bL48PO8NiP14iO60D4cTvJKQ1exL8UqAdmi48Iu72-WgecyenYp9bM6_mAPPvYHN5A2s3Jrs/s1600-h/P1000111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmffgUU6YeqQsQZ-FkkNfgRR3hTMlYFHrL9fmsjXxMfDR-ZI6QnTyV_ayiNDLyaQ08I8bL48PO8NiP14iO60D4cTvJKQ1exL8UqAdmi48Iu72-WgecyenYp9bM6_mAPPvYHN5A2s3Jrs/s320/P1000111.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Giraffe</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The following day, we went on a boat trip along the river, and up to the Falls. We saw lots of hippos, elephants and massive crocodiles. We had booked a guide to take us on a walk up to the top of the falls, which was a brilliant idea. The falls don't look that impressive from the boat, as you can't get very close, but when you walk up to the top, you can appreciate just how amazing they are. I didn't realise there were actually two waterfalls (Murchison Falls and Freedom Falls) - we would never have seen Freedom Falls if we hadn't done the walk.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHU5BPXwgY87R88TMPPtegt_pt7ZSa5so-jR195pfiKhMFMTp3hbDGRSyVKYQYc7uQYWt7WEdvw0m8kA0sjhoXL2Mv-go9xgEBAs5P6-oz0Yt2jJNIngPZql8TIuJXJ-Axn46sh12NWA/s1600-h/P1000141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHU5BPXwgY87R88TMPPtegt_pt7ZSa5so-jR195pfiKhMFMTp3hbDGRSyVKYQYc7uQYWt7WEdvw0m8kA0sjhoXL2Mv-go9xgEBAs5P6-oz0Yt2jJNIngPZql8TIuJXJ-Axn46sh12NWA/s320/P1000141.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Huge Crocodile</em></div><br />
<div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGHFBm2VKOr7eL5LZwyPW6KMoy0GPbVwxfAQg5lMDGfC3j6Plh0Lnvm3F31TLcpZ1LmbAxd3T9bLPVY3kGluc3eUyagFwATgmygSrFnv2BnJMyOsgtr-4zblcYYEfCH3L5nWuh_80tzw/s1600-h/DSC_0417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGHFBm2VKOr7eL5LZwyPW6KMoy0GPbVwxfAQg5lMDGfC3j6Plh0Lnvm3F31TLcpZ1LmbAxd3T9bLPVY3kGluc3eUyagFwATgmygSrFnv2BnJMyOsgtr-4zblcYYEfCH3L5nWuh_80tzw/s320/DSC_0417.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Baboon and its Baby</em></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9r4g2oOM_q7GpTMGoiwmU8lDq9z34jynR0ss9p7SiaEIzfZamLdJldlis9o7DTTHuutsEY2Oj2KFNwAGtxdlm80tfEK58EyGlO7Ke5EFCe6wfn5DU323fWw_2J9xaHCz6BPiGyFdVns/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9r4g2oOM_q7GpTMGoiwmU8lDq9z34jynR0ss9p7SiaEIzfZamLdJldlis9o7DTTHuutsEY2Oj2KFNwAGtxdlm80tfEK58EyGlO7Ke5EFCe6wfn5DU323fWw_2J9xaHCz6BPiGyFdVns/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+075.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Murchison Falls</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7NS-jJWLmt8EDmTKuFrfkYj9vd_QC7vFluiX1o0wW2GdOTjKtUJZEPch9QGSgZSb8K4Efp-kXA9MZgfk33nnq1XhKzeLFmfJyIDcmuv9JKfvLtpE77trg27ZHqGHwwOrXRFUPWUbT1Dw/s1600-h/P1000155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7NS-jJWLmt8EDmTKuFrfkYj9vd_QC7vFluiX1o0wW2GdOTjKtUJZEPch9QGSgZSb8K4Efp-kXA9MZgfk33nnq1XhKzeLFmfJyIDcmuv9JKfvLtpE77trg27ZHqGHwwOrXRFUPWUbT1Dw/s320/P1000155.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Tired but Happy after our walk</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLhyhJu4J2lJtLjGQ1qDIr687p1UFreSarvKcOmu3F-nTtcYg6Z-09q4tdpfdCodAC6DlIIJ0PS84L7JLIHBzTrlg9TQVw-eFn9HZAFcu7qlM53Epv0SEsPov8IhODugLMt7iiOhWOEQ/s1600-h/P1000152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLhyhJu4J2lJtLjGQ1qDIr687p1UFreSarvKcOmu3F-nTtcYg6Z-09q4tdpfdCodAC6DlIIJ0PS84L7JLIHBzTrlg9TQVw-eFn9HZAFcu7qlM53Epv0SEsPov8IhODugLMt7iiOhWOEQ/s320/P1000152.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View of the Falls from the Boat</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">After our stay in Murchison Falls, we moved on and went to Fort Portal. We stayed in a place called the Rwenzori View Guesthouse, not far from the town, run by a Dutch-English couple. The accommodation was great value for money, and the food was excellent. Fort Portal is in an area full of crater lakes, and Herbert suggested we have a trip to lake Nkuruba, which is apparently Bilharzia-free (meaning you can swim in it without getting some horrendous diease!). We stopped of at a place on the way, known as the 'Top of The World' which has 360 degree views of the area - pretty breathtaking.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Lake Nkuruba was beautiful and has lots of Colobus monkeys in the trees surrounding it. We had a swim, then went to the restaurant to introduce Chris and Pete to local Ugandan cuisine. We had posho (made from maize flour), matooke (steamed green bananas), irish potatoes (ordinary potatoes), chapattis, beans, beef stew, guacamole - we were so full afterwards! The place is run as a community project, and we were treated to a show by a local dance troupe, which was really impressive. The funny thing was that the girls were all dressed in traditional clothing, except for a Liverpool Football Club scarf tied aroud their waists!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvETgVaOkE5RPFaZHqSSs_mDhwVQl93ICXyfykddc19FgHUNvDxYmgoF1gAgDcJrNBLLMUkHplvGlK9UZIYQ-AwxyiABUyQnRu-e619RyDgq9cCWEtENo64SnIswi7jQ7_v1GIMq7wSLo/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvETgVaOkE5RPFaZHqSSs_mDhwVQl93ICXyfykddc19FgHUNvDxYmgoF1gAgDcJrNBLLMUkHplvGlK9UZIYQ-AwxyiABUyQnRu-e619RyDgq9cCWEtENo64SnIswi7jQ7_v1GIMq7wSLo/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+079.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View from the Top of the World</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP80W2WTSu5VDNDX4AYXnvgvU6QKDYgqZY8o-qr10sZIdc_XJeNLdxd2aihx0OH1eD0CGfKZdfpIJO3MdPrQVX5_HmuDfKWhfXArHrrw2GwrXwxTlYqnMvwxXWSYxqrNV-lfdf8PUkpp8/s1600-h/DSC_0499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP80W2WTSu5VDNDX4AYXnvgvU6QKDYgqZY8o-qr10sZIdc_XJeNLdxd2aihx0OH1eD0CGfKZdfpIJO3MdPrQVX5_HmuDfKWhfXArHrrw2GwrXwxTlYqnMvwxXWSYxqrNV-lfdf8PUkpp8/s320/DSC_0499.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>One of the Crater Lakes</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdcEXA5Six7bI_syIwpgLrlZ8PRcQ_3SbAD6dGgNpG0wQ0971KeNt4LssdDe-H-wOQFPfuzzL0Tj-EcNcuQ3Qwrf5o_PX4OJJLO3apFHYrHANp0VMjhu95vYYuT8BcIRXWmaHSd2xXuY/s1600-h/DSC_0043+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdcEXA5Six7bI_syIwpgLrlZ8PRcQ_3SbAD6dGgNpG0wQ0971KeNt4LssdDe-H-wOQFPfuzzL0Tj-EcNcuQ3Qwrf5o_PX4OJJLO3apFHYrHANp0VMjhu95vYYuT8BcIRXWmaHSd2xXuY/s320/DSC_0043+(1).JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The Dance Group at Lake Nkuruba</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQojiXauhgZJCL5kjilpJnRZvsr_NcWz43LRNEtfsp54lXzGN88F1eEJBaYeDPEuGNiNOIAbruTNP1q7hdkLlmNlYuv666B6witSGj-9tuqE2FIb82paDlZTnzwN1fw89czdXbHyLrW50/s1600-h/DSC_0033+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQojiXauhgZJCL5kjilpJnRZvsr_NcWz43LRNEtfsp54lXzGN88F1eEJBaYeDPEuGNiNOIAbruTNP1q7hdkLlmNlYuv666B6witSGj-9tuqE2FIb82paDlZTnzwN1fw89czdXbHyLrW50/s320/DSC_0033+(1).JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWv1T5iv3teo74UwmECYIFpVilYz6K-oHRshbb4drQjO_8FX8mxs-Rnk75YHSzjbFYjrLbNj25p4LEvmm8s-kMzKzHfx1-AhBDT7dvfdCGF21TAs6t9KeiKHsfN-qyMrzTdNqUSlSpb0/s1600-h/DSC_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWv1T5iv3teo74UwmECYIFpVilYz6K-oHRshbb4drQjO_8FX8mxs-Rnk75YHSzjbFYjrLbNj25p4LEvmm8s-kMzKzHfx1-AhBDT7dvfdCGF21TAs6t9KeiKHsfN-qyMrzTdNqUSlSpb0/s320/DSC_0089.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We drove from Fort Portal to Queen Elizabeth National Park. We had decided to stay at a new place called Bush Lodge, just outside the park, but overlooking the Kazinga Channel. Most of the accommodation in the national parks is ridiculously expensive, but Bush Lodge is very reasonable. You have a luxury furnished tent with a toilet inside, and a funky outside shower area. You really feel as if you are in the bush, especially as the hippos and warthogs keep you awake all night being noisy. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmMKg4t1zPPRYLLKvSHS9ZfMPjBYfHj_Qbo49Wk10xwh0yzhliXCLHyxTXSz6LieP9LbgYGFtI981z6bPTJUaQ23NpeA8dEC4YGFb3lKDp45sxvHXDME9eV8t7fSlTxqvAP-xcOc6BqA/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmMKg4t1zPPRYLLKvSHS9ZfMPjBYfHj_Qbo49Wk10xwh0yzhliXCLHyxTXSz6LieP9LbgYGFtI981z6bPTJUaQ23NpeA8dEC4YGFb3lKDp45sxvHXDME9eV8t7fSlTxqvAP-xcOc6BqA/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+101.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Our Tent at Bush Lodge</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBscNUv7YPQVC9bqUWqX01dyiyYwVM514bYKC-Eyp_o0V6ucfVijlbETo1GFuufhY0TuZKlN3gugi82YVnhajGVQ4iSAtsDKWddHjCYOkXmyQczuh5DaPxkjnSEu-RG_5pc6icqDVrmE/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBscNUv7YPQVC9bqUWqX01dyiyYwVM514bYKC-Eyp_o0V6ucfVijlbETo1GFuufhY0TuZKlN3gugi82YVnhajGVQ4iSAtsDKWddHjCYOkXmyQczuh5DaPxkjnSEu-RG_5pc6icqDVrmE/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+097.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The Showers</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We went on an early morning game drive, which wasn't that exciting - maybe we'd been too spoilt in Murchison Falls. We also went on the boat trip on the Kazinga Channel (which we did with my parents), and it was just as good the second time around. On our way back to Bush lodge, we saw a rather excited (!) bull elephant crossing the road.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2QnNaK_ulMlVoJ7BIxCekL_oFv5LuZQjJ66mlsCh_XY4PdjN-BoTXlNKP0HjXQJqPVa97f_NMLahG5lbBxkzflx5n5ho7416TeRx0BjmVp_0-xgRifUI3qlJjwOEkMh_bD9utXiCpZU/s1600-h/P1000164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2QnNaK_ulMlVoJ7BIxCekL_oFv5LuZQjJ66mlsCh_XY4PdjN-BoTXlNKP0HjXQJqPVa97f_NMLahG5lbBxkzflx5n5ho7416TeRx0BjmVp_0-xgRifUI3qlJjwOEkMh_bD9utXiCpZU/s320/P1000164.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We drove through a fishing village, and were surprised to see an elephant there. Apparently her name is Maria, and she's a wild elephant - she just doesn't like hanging around with a herd. She wanders between the fishing villages, and gets nice treats like bananas (and coca-cola) given to her by the villagers. It was a strange thing to see - a semi-tame wild elephant - but nobody is forcing her to live like that, it's her own choice. All the villagers seemed genuinely happy and excited that she was there, and nobody was exploiting her, which is good I suppose.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUNiJZOyer1vhe3FYcOaTjKI2uPVfZ3SU1JriXwjKyG7HX0n3_PODzirjEhAufpWY1i1CVRT1j1EVQmUBOw3p8XtsRL6UUf3Fa54x2_5i5Sg4o58iF51Hk3bBDmE9hq7FBPh_MtcLJKc/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUNiJZOyer1vhe3FYcOaTjKI2uPVfZ3SU1JriXwjKyG7HX0n3_PODzirjEhAufpWY1i1CVRT1j1EVQmUBOw3p8XtsRL6UUf3Fa54x2_5i5Sg4o58iF51Hk3bBDmE9hq7FBPh_MtcLJKc/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+092.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Maria, the Wandering Elephant</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We had booked to do chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge on our last day in Queen Elizabeth Park. It's a spectacular landscape, and we were lucky to see chimps within two minutes of starting our walk. Unfortunately, we didn't get any decent pictures, but we spent about an hour watching them. The chimps here seemed more badly behaved than the ones in Kibale Forest, as they were throwing things at us from the trees! We then went for a walk through the gorge, although our guide was the most unenthusiastic UWA ranger we'd ever met, so it wasn't perhaps as good an experience as it could have been. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieN0Y1fFcbPytLqjhaWGKdqpZcVAodefubI0lU_60JDUyyIQOETTsBf_lRohYbrZ5uQ-tG2TVLC0_3k8yzoo0F89nHsfwHaigjDv1uIT66Zz3iGgk0q9yUvelj5f8NFM1ayLFOYz1yPg/s1600-h/DSC_0211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieN0Y1fFcbPytLqjhaWGKdqpZcVAodefubI0lU_60JDUyyIQOETTsBf_lRohYbrZ5uQ-tG2TVLC0_3k8yzoo0F89nHsfwHaigjDv1uIT66Zz3iGgk0q9yUvelj5f8NFM1ayLFOYz1yPg/s320/DSC_0211.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Kyambura Gorge</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">After the tracking, we made our way back to Mbarara, where we spent a couple of days before Chris and Pete headed back to Liverpool. We were really sad to see them go, as we'd had such a wonderful time travelling around the country with them, and would miss their company. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_0au3jjtt9Y84MpgFa3EajCZGmG0RzJVR0zW4URhrrjAHxbR_zJuwU7VzKAIvPWVcQJpG3Q6eohlFqAnsHFmnizo3_pf_QWkkY9ffxnzjwiOnbQwcOIH9cNBfiLsO7x2ZigdYcUx5QU/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_0au3jjtt9Y84MpgFa3EajCZGmG0RzJVR0zW4URhrrjAHxbR_zJuwU7VzKAIvPWVcQJpG3Q6eohlFqAnsHFmnizo3_pf_QWkkY9ffxnzjwiOnbQwcOIH9cNBfiLsO7x2ZigdYcUx5QU/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+108.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Peter, Jason, Herbert, Christine and Anna with the 'Herb-Mobile'</em></div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-10578472228560375142010-01-29T10:55:00.000+03:002010-01-29T10:55:02.528+03:00Fort Portal and Kibale Forest: 23rd - 27th December 2009The next part of our trip took us to Fort Portal, a town near the Rwenzori Mountains, a couple of hours drive from Queen Elizabeth National Park. We were staying in a place called Ndali Lodge, which is actually built on the rim of an extict volcano. The crater is now filled with water, and is called Lake Nyinambuga. <br />
<br />
Ndali Lodge is run by a very nice Englishman and his fiancee, and it felt like being in an old English country house. The rooms are individual thatched cottages with en-suite, and we were very impressed. The food was fantastic, and the staff were so warm and friendly. It was really nice to be somewhere so relaxing, as all the game drives etc had taken it out of us a bit. On Christmas morning we woke to find that Father Christmas had visited us - there was a big basket full of fruit, chocolates, handcrafts and even some of the very nice Ndali Vanilla Pods (which apparently sell for a fortune in Waitrose). It is the little, thoughful things like this that made our stay at Ndali Lodge so special.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWuHegb0ccu6f0qfrWcBeacQsp_UKpc0N50674-Zj7TVUjtshIRQFDbcdjXygz11MTGwEtDBINC_VUCavHofPiXR3gF8F2ECnKw1Gbm7SOdaLNbUZGCS7YY0cgmpzsDunSsB8hl_bXho/s1600-h/IMG_1392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWuHegb0ccu6f0qfrWcBeacQsp_UKpc0N50674-Zj7TVUjtshIRQFDbcdjXygz11MTGwEtDBINC_VUCavHofPiXR3gF8F2ECnKw1Gbm7SOdaLNbUZGCS7YY0cgmpzsDunSsB8hl_bXho/s320/IMG_1392.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The Sitting Room at Ndali Lodge</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwKCExK7b0b0ge7c6buaYzndc9AUgN82V2f-u0wQMtkbLIN5O23vAXdFgURNcM41QOPiaDMKseIqpxbfZmV8PKKUr6Esx2lF0Q19_z8sHBKtd6EzzUkp1u5dvLgpGUVNttczlLDWlr-g/s1600-h/IMG_1391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwKCExK7b0b0ge7c6buaYzndc9AUgN82V2f-u0wQMtkbLIN5O23vAXdFgURNcM41QOPiaDMKseIqpxbfZmV8PKKUr6Esx2lF0Q19_z8sHBKtd6EzzUkp1u5dvLgpGUVNttczlLDWlr-g/s320/IMG_1391.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Ndali Vanilla pods growing</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1uCPVXvZTVmHqieTXvJkUGRul03Swdjhrg6RGHqPnM6ffRwoRzyUdRaclp5MKWdOfvM0zgcDnbnOui1eXfUKcvyDz47khk7ebWU5y-0xAocwxF-RztQANDCI8i9iHby0FfDoTNt_0zs/s1600-h/IMG_1401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1uCPVXvZTVmHqieTXvJkUGRul03Swdjhrg6RGHqPnM6ffRwoRzyUdRaclp5MKWdOfvM0zgcDnbnOui1eXfUKcvyDz47khk7ebWU5y-0xAocwxF-RztQANDCI8i9iHby0FfDoTNt_0zs/s320/IMG_1401.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Lake Nyinambuga</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We left Ndali Lodge after lunch on Christmas Day - unfortunately we missed proper Christmas dinner there, as it was going to be served in the evening, which Jason was a bit sad about. Mind you, he couldn't complain too much, as my parents had brought us lots of christmas goodies like mince pies, chocolate Santas and even some chocolate coins. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our next stop was Primate Lodge, which is right in the middle of Kibale Forest. We had permits to do Chimp Tracking on Boxing Day, which we were all very excited about. Primate Lodge was the most expensive place we stayed in, although it was nowhere near the best. The Luxury tents are fantastic, although the cottages (where Jason and I spent the first night) leave a lot to be desired. The manager was very keen to listen to our comments though, and even gave us a free bottle of wine as an apology, which went down very well indeed (well, what was left of it after my Mum 'accidentally'(?) threw a glass all over Jason!). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It felt good to be staying in the middle of a forest with monkeys (and possibly chimps) in the trees overhead. My parents left some christmas cake wrapped up on their balcony when we went for dinner, and when they came back, something had been eating it. We assumed it was a bush-baby, as the wrapping had been carefully opened, and surely a mouse would have just bitten its way through the plastic.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvyEN4ZLMwTTjMKUPQow3kOyL2BedLb6BYCNWylAyKFUWf_iXKZ1hOH_unNeJQkugJreNfLtUYAHfguxDHc9VUd9FDKe5aj8-vXFwpWQNDiapV6ARyE3zuOifBvAYksvk3CMGvz_1GnQ/s1600-h/IMG_1414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvyEN4ZLMwTTjMKUPQow3kOyL2BedLb6BYCNWylAyKFUWf_iXKZ1hOH_unNeJQkugJreNfLtUYAHfguxDHc9VUd9FDKe5aj8-vXFwpWQNDiapV6ARyE3zuOifBvAYksvk3CMGvz_1GnQ/s320/IMG_1414.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Luxury Tent at Primate Lodge</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDdoCJpK8ubLJIYDMbc6ie0vW3ALUnv8z4ip3tjOijZ97xufVpodH5jmhfE8a5EYzX56hyphenhyphenG_SzMPs2LIZQoY0yrylSuZTOsEazlx_VygyMaJ_nqdCIITzpYAMAIF-smMhT-OhPaSqNTQ/s1600-h/IMG_1423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDdoCJpK8ubLJIYDMbc6ie0vW3ALUnv8z4ip3tjOijZ97xufVpodH5jmhfE8a5EYzX56hyphenhyphenG_SzMPs2LIZQoY0yrylSuZTOsEazlx_VygyMaJ_nqdCIITzpYAMAIF-smMhT-OhPaSqNTQ/s320/IMG_1423.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Multi-Coloured Lizard / Gecko</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuemvdV-Q_x2fv55j0ZYGBDsmXPyT7s4uri93jE4Qk8hoqGBl7bI-NjSiyrxn832CUatFSrwIQhmSyQStYf-nC9jd7agEOxJLAKpENiK3hscMlwiWXLu3dnAlEnRWcZp292V6I7jrS-o/s1600-h/IMG_1446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuemvdV-Q_x2fv55j0ZYGBDsmXPyT7s4uri93jE4Qk8hoqGBl7bI-NjSiyrxn832CUatFSrwIQhmSyQStYf-nC9jd7agEOxJLAKpENiK3hscMlwiWXLu3dnAlEnRWcZp292V6I7jrS-o/s320/IMG_1446.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The Restaurant at Primate Lodge</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next day was Chimp Day, when we would be going Chimp Tracking in Kibale Forest. We went down to the park headquarters, only a couple of minutes walk from Primate Lodge, where we met our guide. Luckily, we managed to get a guide for the four of us, whereas some of the other people had groups of six or seven people. We started walking through the forest, straight through the undergrowth, not on any paths. Our guide heard some chimps in the distance, so we started heading towards the sound. We saw a chimp sitting on the floor, but he moved away pretty quickly. Then we came to an area where there were a few chimps in the trees overhead, and we stayed there watching them for a while - it was an amazing experience. The chimps are habituated, and are used to groups of people being in the forest watching them, but they are by no means 'tame'. We watched them feeding from the fruits in the trees, it was fantastic to see them so close up. It was really hard to get any decent photos, but both Jason and my Dad got some pretty good video footage. We spent about an hour tracking them, and then we had to head out of the forest before it got dark. It wasn't an easy walk, as it was very rough terrain, but it was well worth it, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to visit Uganda. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQhtZ92n8emxS3IUVm0QBFEPRdjAvj0FGa90uJ7fyLG1GUnW9Jwl0L4kcFZ9gkN8Qa9VUE4Fc336w6EJ0udRLSot0qcxHyignJrib8LiXkDMMhpKOVmhwvfsWnBqIzg28K09tQUPHQew/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQhtZ92n8emxS3IUVm0QBFEPRdjAvj0FGa90uJ7fyLG1GUnW9Jwl0L4kcFZ9gkN8Qa9VUE4Fc336w6EJ0udRLSot0qcxHyignJrib8LiXkDMMhpKOVmhwvfsWnBqIzg28K09tQUPHQew/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+023.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Chimp on a Branch in Kibale Forest</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2ugzXXQe6VeJhZXGJo7UdMMmz1zBNbP5vKnCeBaspLpOWy63bPZV_L2CtH75UPm_tHSQ1VViAOs1U_DmyO_GNAW9_fzZQZ5nfOmNggfUasugfUr-xie9JEK4gaGz2NlSsFikSKudnYc/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2ugzXXQe6VeJhZXGJo7UdMMmz1zBNbP5vKnCeBaspLpOWy63bPZV_L2CtH75UPm_tHSQ1VViAOs1U_DmyO_GNAW9_fzZQZ5nfOmNggfUasugfUr-xie9JEK4gaGz2NlSsFikSKudnYc/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+040.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Chimp in Kibale Forest</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next day, we left Kibale and drove back to Entebbe with my parents. We'd had a wonderful holiday, and were sad to say goodbye. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However, the next part of trip was just about to begin, as our friends Peter and Christine were coming out to see us!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-34982532151595018622010-01-20T16:46:00.140+03:002010-01-25T12:39:45.777+03:00Ishasha and Queen Elizabeth National Park: 20th - 23rd December 2009<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We travelled from Lake Bunyoni to Queen Elizabeth National Park via the outskirts of Bwindi Inpenetrable Forest (home of the mountain gorillas). We were very excited about going on 'proper' safari and maybe seeing things like tree-climbing lions, elephants, leopards etc.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pretty soon after we entered the Ishasha sector of QE National Park, we came to a tree which had two lionesses sitting in it, shading themselves from the sun. They looked so peaceful, even cuddly and friendly, although when our driver Herbert got out of the vehicle, one of them got up and started walking along the branch, having a look at her potential lunch. Luckily, Herbert made it back into the vehicle before she had a chance to get too close!<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5uDX7bu7Aei8gj79sozibIDqYc2TUlxAdwmAp1wB4VqTp2WUOhvrnNBUeSnngEJcCPbJ_G6VJxSKYoXA61YuBATikDF7oYRm5Pjuut3V9pg3cIf7QrW3IvT6JQyaeDnzMAlZHIiokF0/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5uDX7bu7Aei8gj79sozibIDqYc2TUlxAdwmAp1wB4VqTp2WUOhvrnNBUeSnngEJcCPbJ_G6VJxSKYoXA61YuBATikDF7oYRm5Pjuut3V9pg3cIf7QrW3IvT6JQyaeDnzMAlZHIiokF0/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+010.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Sleeping peacefully in the tree</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniU7gf8NwmAI6Q7U4QBPxXZ2h0U05q_8hY9MxnWYsgPV5Cj7IbBpUpsjkTey9UqMbVT4T3AYvvwH4gYQs8tfxTjVwiKKk8M8WtMBOe3vgppeIZLTsXnJnCI7uW6LKpoP163AGIe4nhSE/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniU7gf8NwmAI6Q7U4QBPxXZ2h0U05q_8hY9MxnWYsgPV5Cj7IbBpUpsjkTey9UqMbVT4T3AYvvwH4gYQs8tfxTjVwiKKk8M8WtMBOe3vgppeIZLTsXnJnCI7uW6LKpoP163AGIe4nhSE/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+012.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Hmmm....What's for Lunch?!!</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAVBcxulvpxemoMWDctv6bg_jHw1YNayw1tyfSMEtiTp1VenSu7GmDbXxoIMT0vN-FJZyrlw8UNx4IGFAfDezeeu_cCCF-r0Irn354EiqM1f5nARh6EmaJVOlXL1XLJQFDkXfEoRMt0k/s1600-h/IMG_1189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAVBcxulvpxemoMWDctv6bg_jHw1YNayw1tyfSMEtiTp1VenSu7GmDbXxoIMT0vN-FJZyrlw8UNx4IGFAfDezeeu_cCCF-r0Irn354EiqM1f5nARh6EmaJVOlXL1XLJQFDkXfEoRMt0k/s320/IMG_1189.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>What you looking at?</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We stayed at Ishasha Wilderness Camp, which was beautiful and had uber-efficient staff - the tents had bush showers in them, which the staff would fill with hot water on demand, to your exact temperature specification. It was the first really luxurious place that Jason and I had stayed in for a while, completely different to our flat in Mbarara. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The following morning we set out on a game-drive (thankfully not too early!). We saw lots of elephants, buffalo and antelopes. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURATCIyYGd9Kp6SKODN9h5_1iEw5XZDXgucZH6AJSGS8wP9HpMkclUC3BsQXaoGH3CQGHhLD-7kLWGZccr_atqcZQMY7_iCH6_oleS8s7rxaRa4HspVDNY916atp5gdW0K-BtUg27HDE/s1600-h/IMG_1234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURATCIyYGd9Kp6SKODN9h5_1iEw5XZDXgucZH6AJSGS8wP9HpMkclUC3BsQXaoGH3CQGHhLD-7kLWGZccr_atqcZQMY7_iCH6_oleS8s7rxaRa4HspVDNY916atp5gdW0K-BtUg27HDE/s320/IMG_1234.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Elephant eating the leaves from an Acacia tree</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After all that, Jason said he really wanted to see a male lion (which is apparently quite a rare occurrence). We were driving along and Dad told Herbert to stop because he thought he saw a lion in a bush right next to the road - we were laughing at him, saying it was probably just a rock or something. Herbert thought he meant a bush somewhere in the distance, and got out of the vehicle with his binoculars (which he didn't need because the lion was less than 5 metres away!). Luckily the male lion was a scaredy-cat and he ran away into the distance. We got some brilliant pictures and video footage of the lion, and it made Herbert's day that he'd got so close!<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMi5D4OSctpidJc1yEF42u4ITaRuv8knN4oII2CUrmqOfAQ8z2yj2yvywg1IAfzQNezUZJj7q4dIh2Q4gY862R423yC_X8IrqdnOySTfn9KHUy3J86vnBtpxT5h_2BIkxsnZPQcL0c29c/s1600-h/Lion+Zoomed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMi5D4OSctpidJc1yEF42u4ITaRuv8knN4oII2CUrmqOfAQ8z2yj2yvywg1IAfzQNezUZJj7q4dIh2Q4gY862R423yC_X8IrqdnOySTfn9KHUy3J86vnBtpxT5h_2BIkxsnZPQcL0c29c/s320/Lion+Zoomed.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Scaredy-cat lion</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the game drive we drove to a place called Katara Lodge, which is just outside the national park. It's a stunning setting for a hotel, on the escarpment overlooking the rift valley. The accommodation is in thatched cottages, each with a private balcony. The cottage is a timber frame with tent-material over it, so you can open the front of your cottage and get amazing view of the savanna below. Each cottage has a private balcony, and the management are planning to put wheels onto the four-poster beds so that you can sleep out under the stars on the balcony.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxBQX1-uadycGIUohwKBYdQqgI3wLxVLQxscM4eyLm7CgmJV_6W2HDvlEOliM1sFwefJyGgllTJbqH2Gn_79Ez-72WecGR377YFdMbATUIap53Atmcb_8KJGysXzSx0Daq0IkLvy6ML50/s1600-h/IMG_1276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxBQX1-uadycGIUohwKBYdQqgI3wLxVLQxscM4eyLm7CgmJV_6W2HDvlEOliM1sFwefJyGgllTJbqH2Gn_79Ez-72WecGR377YFdMbATUIap53Atmcb_8KJGysXzSx0Daq0IkLvy6ML50/s320/IMG_1276.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>One of the cottages at Katara Lodge</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the evening we ventured up to the restaurant area for dinner, and saw a spectacular sunset.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNVutyWlIz-B2fKNO9KFCFSpT25tpq2nm2Pn7QWGlEESWAdAjZh_4Bcqx7b-HfjFrBHW-qJNWVWHzb1lbRkcdmKKm7MfOQg0Jke_5mq58dbrlHJOlo6wGgyDhAAZGZCamJY0eCfWEcBQ/s1600-h/IMG_1265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNVutyWlIz-B2fKNO9KFCFSpT25tpq2nm2Pn7QWGlEESWAdAjZh_4Bcqx7b-HfjFrBHW-qJNWVWHzb1lbRkcdmKKm7MfOQg0Jke_5mq58dbrlHJOlo6wGgyDhAAZGZCamJY0eCfWEcBQ/s320/IMG_1265.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Sunset from Katara Lodge</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We had a lazy morning the following day, and left for the Mweya Peninsula after lunch, where we had booked to go on a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel. On our way there, we saw a herd of elephants crossing the road in front of our vehicle - all very exciting.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6XnjFioU-3N4v8bBH9VXhb_wO2inTAgtqKf2LTk0C-xjkFCPHzqMmE8zzr-gdjAww8xJ-K7wOkCDllrnbtcqJZJrA0hweqz2guVQxZZGJb6n3l8S3LcegaNd269BoX0dqf5Q5v0SPE8/s1600-h/IMG_1292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6XnjFioU-3N4v8bBH9VXhb_wO2inTAgtqKf2LTk0C-xjkFCPHzqMmE8zzr-gdjAww8xJ-K7wOkCDllrnbtcqJZJrA0hweqz2guVQxZZGJb6n3l8S3LcegaNd269BoX0dqf5Q5v0SPE8/s320/IMG_1292.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Elephants Crossing</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bzpFwzn1-BhVzZRJdyIfK2erusuaD-ndOg5YgHDKdXBPblvq3pFEuVDFTw5UoRD8cB8jjwz8u-KQDLmqdxuBWFsrcKc0QmwIhMpMsg21G2j_5as7LXNuSTIumM17_AcyQd4eUCuriYc/s1600-h/IMG_1289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bzpFwzn1-BhVzZRJdyIfK2erusuaD-ndOg5YgHDKdXBPblvq3pFEuVDFTw5UoRD8cB8jjwz8u-KQDLmqdxuBWFsrcKc0QmwIhMpMsg21G2j_5as7LXNuSTIumM17_AcyQd4eUCuriYc/s320/IMG_1289.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View of a fishing village on the Kazinga Channel</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The boat trip from Mweya was probably the most touristy thing Jason and I had ever done in Uganda - the boat was packed, and in some ways it felt like we were on a boat trip on Lake Windermere or something. However once we set off, the boat trip was fantastic. We saw elephants drinking from the channel, hippos and buffalos cooling themselves down in the water, crocodiles, monitor lizards, and loads of birds. The boat is manned by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) staff, and they give a commentary about all the wildlife you see from the boat - they are so knowledgeable, and it amazes me how they can spot tiny animals and birds from so far away.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHKGoc_3bq1l2_FDQZipASV2XrxXRUbi5m-wd6A1HtTzK2EEezKE_mo6iMJ_jAIugLSWq6tldELKMQvPXpe6PuAx6voKhlVA1DxjLtjA2mw0cVAKssh8v6nZtHs7tL7NIOl-1N5NyDIM/s1600-h/IMG_1301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHKGoc_3bq1l2_FDQZipASV2XrxXRUbi5m-wd6A1HtTzK2EEezKE_mo6iMJ_jAIugLSWq6tldELKMQvPXpe6PuAx6voKhlVA1DxjLtjA2mw0cVAKssh8v6nZtHs7tL7NIOl-1N5NyDIM/s320/IMG_1301.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Elephants and Buffalos in the Kazinga Channel</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5gl50SpoNhzwKY2sOGOtThR9OSFp5lOWz2O6C5bWQ86Hm2CAMV0hqg6VHHCsfz0QFwCMI-d9spq66wEqdlADtJH9LqrOxy2klp4hhc3HAtwels4upYkmlwL3uc-YpN98md8TCfB6O1I/s1600-h/IMG_1336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5gl50SpoNhzwKY2sOGOtThR9OSFp5lOWz2O6C5bWQ86Hm2CAMV0hqg6VHHCsfz0QFwCMI-d9spq66wEqdlADtJH9LqrOxy2klp4hhc3HAtwels4upYkmlwL3uc-YpN98md8TCfB6O1I/s320/IMG_1336.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Fishermen heading out to Lake Edward</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the boat-trip, we headed to Mweya Safari Lodge, where we stayed for one night. It is on the Mweya Peninsula, and has beautiful views. Some of the animals even come into the hotel grounds - there was a waterbuck grazing outside our room, and we also saw some mongooses (or mongeese?!). Mweya Lodge has fantastic facilities, and we really can't fault the place - except for the fact that it feels a bit corporate, and you could be anywhere in the world. Having said that, the service was excellent, and the food was delicious - especially the desserts!<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtei8PJwtisZLti8eA9UONIa3cojNhnrSvTxjHLXr8W-NNaQ_Qpm1e0-G3rEyKvXpNUi67yFj3qBW-HC65LCfUIsTs-vb8MBQfcsFjmCwhDiRpdOdS6PS3zkQ6pz7cVb0H9trmIHPlyw/s1600-h/IMG_1344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtei8PJwtisZLti8eA9UONIa3cojNhnrSvTxjHLXr8W-NNaQ_Qpm1e0-G3rEyKvXpNUi67yFj3qBW-HC65LCfUIsTs-vb8MBQfcsFjmCwhDiRpdOdS6PS3zkQ6pz7cVb0H9trmIHPlyw/s320/IMG_1344.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View of the Mweya Peninsula</em><br />
</div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-70213547753634329742010-01-20T16:43:00.000+03:002010-01-20T16:43:29.466+03:00Lake Bunyonyi: 18th - 20th December<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We headed down to Lake Bunyonyi, which is a couple of hours from Mbarara. It is a flooded valley, and the views from our hotel, Arcadia Cottages, were absolutely stunning. <br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6THCxBIREW_0A0z_rU5q8kih7X1_i4OUSCFHntkRkt8dbkMhumdDQt0Y83_SrxUYcDPTU-i9-VfROnLQ6gMjGKUvNctiJtsvi_nVRUFspmZKdZ7Jfi2kUNJdKE8sOolBnl-Up-ntn4Ec/s1600-h/IMG_1126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6THCxBIREW_0A0z_rU5q8kih7X1_i4OUSCFHntkRkt8dbkMhumdDQt0Y83_SrxUYcDPTU-i9-VfROnLQ6gMjGKUvNctiJtsvi_nVRUFspmZKdZ7Jfi2kUNJdKE8sOolBnl-Up-ntn4Ec/s320/IMG_1126.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View from the Bar Terrace</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XlDRpengaLYF6IZvNXxzUdqJJ1C1KhftytvG5sHau5gCvVuMojjknV3Rwowo8ou8gYRsDLmcEvifRqk6TNhvy6I9pUivqM9HwBrTxPJtWXOljaMXHHrkevqk54rauQqV_TVr0lOJaxc/s1600-h/IMG_1137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XlDRpengaLYF6IZvNXxzUdqJJ1C1KhftytvG5sHau5gCvVuMojjknV3Rwowo8ou8gYRsDLmcEvifRqk6TNhvy6I9pUivqM9HwBrTxPJtWXOljaMXHHrkevqk54rauQqV_TVr0lOJaxc/s320/IMG_1137.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View of Lake Bunyoni and some of the Islands</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQeNYFc7bHJDM8y5TztNrAw_8-kv7YWh_kyeKyPVnN2tWn4r4qsG92FK9bTQf0cubjkRODLHzAAi7kYTYh2cLxXBpZUaYtK6V5FDWU1jt0E6Kh_lZ5onra8Qun9WbNc7jC9KKWnnyTkQ/s1600-h/IMG_1131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQeNYFc7bHJDM8y5TztNrAw_8-kv7YWh_kyeKyPVnN2tWn4r4qsG92FK9bTQf0cubjkRODLHzAAi7kYTYh2cLxXBpZUaYtK6V5FDWU1jt0E6Kh_lZ5onra8Qun9WbNc7jC9KKWnnyTkQ/s320/IMG_1131.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Sunset over the Lake (with a volcano in the background!)</em><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The next day we woke up to the beautiful sight of the mist rising over the lake. We really were above the clouds, and you wouldn't necessarily have known there was a lake below us.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6IIyd5slaOWP8VbNL1d3lvx5j67OD3V66yy1ybfLNKtg8cYnQaY75AkoaC_SUMlS3wxyVU_Nd3MauJCnR3RlFa-685FBny9lhMBxoxbjQXwtmYMu4AtKRO1dxtZTc32RZJ6-EQ3a5Zcc/s1600-h/Travels+around+Uganda+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6IIyd5slaOWP8VbNL1d3lvx5j67OD3V66yy1ybfLNKtg8cYnQaY75AkoaC_SUMlS3wxyVU_Nd3MauJCnR3RlFa-685FBny9lhMBxoxbjQXwtmYMu4AtKRO1dxtZTc32RZJ6-EQ3a5Zcc/s320/Travels+around+Uganda+002.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Rising Mist</em><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We decided to do a community walk, which was arranged through the hotel. Our guide Monday (so-named because of the day he was born) took us on a walk right down to the lake, passing alongside fields and houses. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01jwBEHgfiqRxj_PSzs7xuyEIeI3-f9ra9YjZ9WkxoWgvSy2zA1YA-WILXTxGtaxfYSPVYffHgtdKlD6_vdT5p821F9qlwYdRY7EN9bnZtoSCfDzK2YP0eCooiZho1DScD7jdStl0luY/s1600-h/IMG_1155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01jwBEHgfiqRxj_PSzs7xuyEIeI3-f9ra9YjZ9WkxoWgvSy2zA1YA-WILXTxGtaxfYSPVYffHgtdKlD6_vdT5p821F9qlwYdRY7EN9bnZtoSCfDzK2YP0eCooiZho1DScD7jdStl0luY/s320/IMG_1155.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We took a boat trip on the lake to see the different islands, including Punishment Island. This was an island where unmarried pregnant girls were left to die by the Bakiga tribe, unless they could manage to swim to safety (pretty unlikely), as a punishment for what they had done. Any man could go to the island, and take the girl as his wife, without having to pay the usual bride price. A pretty gruesome practice, and it only ended in the first half of the 20th century. <br />
</div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9hPWWdi8ps7pNI_Ev8ZkzSIwQlFv7gxYyzIWgJL9HVYBd-qlsNCYmjaEWFPTrh-UtN9W67akeat7Tb0kVjBFl0sfd0tax-AB1s1_YCfCodAY5oej6wxhDO3nxKES06FWGNMIV3YlJkQ/s1600-h/IMG_1142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9hPWWdi8ps7pNI_Ev8ZkzSIwQlFv7gxYyzIWgJL9HVYBd-qlsNCYmjaEWFPTrh-UtN9W67akeat7Tb0kVjBFl0sfd0tax-AB1s1_YCfCodAY5oej6wxhDO3nxKES06FWGNMIV3YlJkQ/s320/IMG_1142.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Punishment Island </em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We stopped off at Bushara Island for a swim and some lunch, before heading back to the mainland to start the steep climb up the hill back to our hotel. We attracted an ever-growing crowd of children, who proceeded to follow us up the hill. Monday took us to a village near the hotel, and we had a walk around. We didn't go into people's houses, which I was very glad about, but we learnt a bit about how the villagers live, and what they grow in the fields etc. We were all extremely tired after the walk (it took about 2 hours to get back up the hill), so were glad to refresh ourselves with a cold Club (beer) when we got back to the hotel. <br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhThrgBqIf-QsuAlRn47N7xoiOmkJzIdo8aICHb2KTXnod4vxKp99McN9xulBOTR7rkWVCaU_VHbAiEbW-M0eEMnbI4_pV8WtxT1k24ffclw9ZNqQfZv8gB1lguPx7j5N0bXC_IuhxIk/s1600-h/IMG_1134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhThrgBqIf-QsuAlRn47N7xoiOmkJzIdo8aICHb2KTXnod4vxKp99McN9xulBOTR7rkWVCaU_VHbAiEbW-M0eEMnbI4_pV8WtxT1k24ffclw9ZNqQfZv8gB1lguPx7j5N0bXC_IuhxIk/s320/IMG_1134.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-6737204470288496732010-01-13T14:46:00.001+03:002010-01-13T15:05:44.088+03:00Mbarara and Lake Mburo: 14th - 17th DecemberWhen Mum and Dad arrived in Uganda, we thought it would be nice to bring them to Mbarara for a few days before we started travelling properly so that they could settle in to Africa a bit and also see where we live.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jAAw-TNLOy7MsIfBJ0lHE8ssONUwtRVT4ek6cX1-kj4J3Ub-qQH6mZwzYDBkDcucDHR2IyKrX93xiTKlI3ZwE5Z34L0Y0TFnQREXJzKyPhVtQ41xvU34NKYLIyPBS7YMsQIViXXR-xg/s1600-h/IMG_1032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jAAw-TNLOy7MsIfBJ0lHE8ssONUwtRVT4ek6cX1-kj4J3Ub-qQH6mZwzYDBkDcucDHR2IyKrX93xiTKlI3ZwE5Z34L0Y0TFnQREXJzKyPhVtQ41xvU34NKYLIyPBS7YMsQIViXXR-xg/s320/IMG_1032.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Mum and Dad at the Equator on the way to Mbarara</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>It was fantastic to see them again, and we were very grateful for all the gifts they brought us - there was so much chocolate that we nearly couldn't fit it all in the fridge!<br />
We spent the first day showing them all the interesting sights in Mbarara, like the university, the market, the high street....and that's about it really. We had dinner with a few friends and colleagues in the evening at the Agip Motel (about the best restaurant in town), which was really nice.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOS9tDyfjdth9LYLCJP13WnZd199HDrnQG3WkvELyeMnqLLBN7uttTin3Yp-hlwha1E3Et3speWE3QAf4Mr_W3-IYFZ_H6VSPdPtodr7yBlaD5W65PhyMXqb2PHBE8ruEPoKXkTwqysf0/s1600-h/IMG_1044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOS9tDyfjdth9LYLCJP13WnZd199HDrnQG3WkvELyeMnqLLBN7uttTin3Yp-hlwha1E3Et3speWE3QAf4Mr_W3-IYFZ_H6VSPdPtodr7yBlaD5W65PhyMXqb2PHBE8ruEPoKXkTwqysf0/s320/IMG_1044.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Arriving at Lake Mburo National Park</em><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The following day we set off early in the morning for a trip to Lake Mburo, which is a couple of hours drive from Mbarara. We had planned to have a guided walk with a ranger when we got there, but it was raining really hard, so Andrew the ranger came on a game drive with us instead, getting out to walk if we came across anything interesting. We saw a huge hippo wallowing in a mud pool and Andrew took us to within about 10 metres of it; I was a bit scared that it might start charging at us or something, but luckily it got out of its pool and waddled away in the opposite direction.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KOZKzmeZPm9S-6JCicsSvsjGGZciOsatKQdzGNlDm0WSDrUlae_BYysPjgXhd7i3MGUrNZfI1FVimpu9ddqIb6kqNZJSKTvm-GC1CTGM_2_-Heq_2-Euky7BbI6nBVU1cTgO_9yXh9g/s1600-h/Lake+Mburo+16th+Dec+09+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KOZKzmeZPm9S-6JCicsSvsjGGZciOsatKQdzGNlDm0WSDrUlae_BYysPjgXhd7i3MGUrNZfI1FVimpu9ddqIb6kqNZJSKTvm-GC1CTGM_2_-Heq_2-Euky7BbI6nBVU1cTgO_9yXh9g/s320/Lake+Mburo+16th+Dec+09+014.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hippo not looking impressed at having its wallowing session interrupted!</span></em><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34PUZf6sgQegRNjYOn765Jmb8ehQ3D2O7r-nr6xVgPDIK390rUFJqa7m_VCMxlYLrdl_iGXB4zT8WdPwIVWu4rmfSIkcBVnOO5tx4BmXicw8XX3BQsesyDv0WaO4-EYaWB0zeyrXomvU/s1600-h/IMG_1047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34PUZf6sgQegRNjYOn765Jmb8ehQ3D2O7r-nr6xVgPDIK390rUFJqa7m_VCMxlYLrdl_iGXB4zT8WdPwIVWu4rmfSIkcBVnOO5tx4BmXicw8XX3BQsesyDv0WaO4-EYaWB0zeyrXomvU/s320/IMG_1047.JPG" /></a>Jason and I have been to Lake Mburo a few times now, but we really love it. It's a pretty small National Park, which means you generally don't have to travel too far to see all the different animals. There are no elephants or giraffes there, and we have never seen any lions (although there is reported to be one pride inside the park); but it is one of only two parks in Uganda where you can see zebras, and there are also impala which aren't common in other national parks. There is a lovely boat-trip you can do around the lake, where you see things like crocodiles, loads of hippos, and lots of different kinds of birds - we saw one called the African Finfoot, which is apparently very elusive.<br />
</div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bzWbjTBwdW1hXZ8yuNLf2d_RHnnOJZbnSG9btB5g6twXQwpRQiSXB00-nmroUztwe4ktfn-y0iUWZjsW8zGXjhSyu5sSV4rmQXUmg2opHkL5GkaAnCXZhcU8iRJ_QWR8B3awU8mntvU/s1600-h/IMG_1097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bzWbjTBwdW1hXZ8yuNLf2d_RHnnOJZbnSG9btB5g6twXQwpRQiSXB00-nmroUztwe4ktfn-y0iUWZjsW8zGXjhSyu5sSV4rmQXUmg2opHkL5GkaAnCXZhcU8iRJ_QWR8B3awU8mntvU/s320/IMG_1097.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The day after our trip to Lake Mburo, we relaxed in Mbarara. We were invited to our friend Gary's farewell dinner, as he was returning to the US after 4 months of teaching and research at MUST. Leaving dinners at the university are a pretty formal affair, with a top table for important people - my parents were a bit surprised (and slightly embarrassed!) when they were called to sit on the top table (especially as they had never even met Gary before), but they enjoyed it in the end. My Dad particularly liked being introduced to Waragi, which is the local gin!<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-24002621168003894332010-01-13T14:44:00.000+03:002010-01-13T14:44:56.036+03:00Epic Tour of Uganda!Since the university semester finished for the Christmas holidays, we have been on an epic tour all around Uganda. My parents came out to visit us from 13th - 28th December, and our friends Christine and Peter were with us from 27th December - 8th January.<br />
<br />
It was really good to spend time with family and friends again, and it also gave us an excellent excuse to travel all over Uganda. We visited so many places and saw so many wonderful things that we thought it would be best to describe them all in separate blog posts. <br />
<br />
We really were very lucky to see all the fantastic things we did - as our driver Herbert kept telling us "We were blessed"!Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-71525312914972082822009-11-26T10:27:00.009+03:002009-11-26T12:40:05.149+03:00Weddings, Caves, Bonfire Night and a Film PremiereIt's been such a long time since we have written a blog, so I thought I should update you on what we've been getting up to.<br /><br />The university semester has nearly ended - the only thing remaining are the exams which start next week. In just over 2 weeks my parents are coming to visit for a couple of weeks, and we have 2 friends arriving on the day they fly back to England...so we have an action-packed month of travelling to look forward to. We have got permits to go Chimp tracking on Boxing Day, which we are really excited about.<br /><br />Last month we went to a town called Fort Portal for a wedding. It was Jason's colleague's sister's wedding, and it was the first wedding that we'd been to in Uganda. Lots of Jason's colleagues were also going to the wedding, so we hired the university bus for the trip rather than getting public transport. The drive there was lovely - the road went right through the middle of Queen Elizabeth National Park, and we even saw an elephant, which made my day. Fort Portal is in the mountains, and the scenery was breathtaking.<br /><br />The wedding began with a church service, followed by a reception at one of the local hotels. The service was lovely, and pretty similar to a wedding in the UK, although the priest did a 45 minute long sermon all in Rutoro (the local language). The bride looked beautiful, as did all her bridesmaids (she had about 8 of them!).<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzmQ5tfebtXO2cMgwFsTcbJDCBp4Gd2A2dbLhHaQ8DomuhUz-ATXt04MKwKneVQ0E5vuPT7IPzy9uKywUR3P9pLnocUGcgLcvznKiqDpo_fEg2qcPP_BBAciprkHo-PELmR_dH-vJyqs/s1600/fort+portal+004.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408316015085987154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzmQ5tfebtXO2cMgwFsTcbJDCBp4Gd2A2dbLhHaQ8DomuhUz-ATXt04MKwKneVQ0E5vuPT7IPzy9uKywUR3P9pLnocUGcgLcvznKiqDpo_fEg2qcPP_BBAciprkHo-PELmR_dH-vJyqs/s320/fort+portal+004.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;"><em>The Church</em><br /></span><br /><div align="left">When we arrived at the reception venue, the heavens opened and it started raining like I've never seen it rain before - we had to shelter in our vehicle for about an hour, waiting for it to die down. We eventually braved the rain, and went into the hotel grounds. There were marquees for us to sit under, but they had no flooring, just squelchy mud - not good for open-toed sandals! The poor bride and groom had to wait in their car, hoping the rain would stop, but they eventually arrived. They had to enter the reception venue through an arch, but they first had to cut a ribbon.</div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbivqQ1r7oB4jz98iYtHDbkQLQd1K9uINqQRI2DIRr5NMFobvTXr-ifUh7pQuXQZ55BR3_zsxWIRgb4RXjk_Fci9lsoPPcaAsqv1fHwxN0VbL_w3fM3s2HdpY8QTKiATZVQMlsq5lNug/s1600/fort+portal+012.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408318109598254994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbivqQ1r7oB4jz98iYtHDbkQLQd1K9uINqQRI2DIRr5NMFobvTXr-ifUh7pQuXQZ55BR3_zsxWIRgb4RXjk_Fci9lsoPPcaAsqv1fHwxN0VbL_w3fM3s2HdpY8QTKiATZVQMlsq5lNug/s320/fort+portal+012.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;"><em>Cutting the Ribbon to get into the Reception<br /></em></span><br /><div align="left">There must have been about 400 people there, and I wondered how they were going to cater for everyone, but they had a Ugandan buffet which went down very well with all of the guests. There was also entertainment in the form of a dance group, a singer and a man dressed up as a Zulu warrior - all very good indeed.<br /><br /></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcruBVpLLQ8LlfmAQvBjZohNs4r75Ujo6WmXhXAEhRgMVnItWqReg1YaoiKUPADNPhpLMR4SgXRAyliQOFnEz4GwS6nUj1MD2aphexJnqmuI86qhtEPFyhG0qCxNSc6zP0IbeI70Uwqtk/s1600/fort+portal+016.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408320348688745842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcruBVpLLQ8LlfmAQvBjZohNs4r75Ujo6WmXhXAEhRgMVnItWqReg1YaoiKUPADNPhpLMR4SgXRAyliQOFnEz4GwS6nUj1MD2aphexJnqmuI86qhtEPFyhG0qCxNSc6zP0IbeI70Uwqtk/s320/fort+portal+016.JPG" /></a><em><span style="color:#ffffcc;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Entertainment</span><br /></span></em><br />We didn't stay at the reception as long has we had planned to, because we were cold and wet, and needed to warm up a bit in front of the log fire at our hotel (who would ever have thought you needed fires in Africa?!) </div><div><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xmBNs3m-ah-RK1SJQNnbyN-qnaACEPQrMEL2aNJMgjTraZkhR11QVCjXqHAytYIu9j2zWAElCQyE3hMO5sv8nujr_m0Y5pR3K-4jNj54WTMUOMwsjzPp3Xtwn8J8ucwC96FxLj6b5CQ/s1600/fort+portal+015.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408318727321578210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xmBNs3m-ah-RK1SJQNnbyN-qnaACEPQrMEL2aNJMgjTraZkhR11QVCjXqHAytYIu9j2zWAElCQyE3hMO5sv8nujr_m0Y5pR3K-4jNj54WTMUOMwsjzPp3Xtwn8J8ucwC96FxLj6b5CQ/s320/fort+portal+015.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><span style="color:#ffffcc;">Mud!!</span></em><br /></span><br /><div align="left">The day after the wedding, we went out into the countryside to see some the Amabere caves and waterfalls. We had to walk through the jungle to get to the caves, and as it had been raining it was very muddy (Jason fell over 3 times!), but it was worth it. The caves have some stalactites and stalagmites in them which are supposed to resemble breasts (!), and the drips from them are apparently meant to represent breastmilk (according to local folklore). There was also an amazing waterfall by the caves. </div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMOVg5L71rNX1ZhTAD7R_wcBLrn4CGshcotNClyGJERmMLvgATuYiuX02TnHgu7LGCtXPBhnyFmZu7LEHlSLEjAK8T_cIsiJVT4OJiiLFE9ibp-cRE-MnOY3zwBfQUpg4pqCI2OrD2bA/s1600/fort+portal+021.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408320355666880242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMOVg5L71rNX1ZhTAD7R_wcBLrn4CGshcotNClyGJERmMLvgATuYiuX02TnHgu7LGCtXPBhnyFmZu7LEHlSLEjAK8T_cIsiJVT4OJiiLFE9ibp-cRE-MnOY3zwBfQUpg4pqCI2OrD2bA/s320/fort+portal+021.JPG" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;"><em>Jason in the Caves</em></span></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCF8cDL9ALiLWqMjzkmMwXwy_ipUnwOmiClrVwLaSzMAS4qifHI-vDYhD3-WZ9FlUUvwodjXYvPtynF8fCZ66n1mo1QzWSKcMbRm7Vhi5sfyVhkOEM7NnMz8siwszIKW4PWKQQYHjCDgE/s1600/fort+portal+022.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408337207164236002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCF8cDL9ALiLWqMjzkmMwXwy_ipUnwOmiClrVwLaSzMAS4qifHI-vDYhD3-WZ9FlUUvwodjXYvPtynF8fCZ66n1mo1QzWSKcMbRm7Vhi5sfyVhkOEM7NnMz8siwszIKW4PWKQQYHjCDgE/s320/fort+portal+022.JPG" /></a> <em><span style="color:#ffffcc;">Behind the Waterfall</span></em></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWP9JlkZHPmsq5SQZCoMBEhByFY3Ch6IlJ4CfTwQnMfxBOdBqdj3XNPEjqNIENAGMWXlHKN0JZSu-A14gXeTJc_0xFj-PGgSYYNCv2Br1hXQPjXi17OmGPCO_so7_GojHPuPq9wU0kwIA/s1600/fort+portal+023.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408320360856373842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWP9JlkZHPmsq5SQZCoMBEhByFY3Ch6IlJ4CfTwQnMfxBOdBqdj3XNPEjqNIENAGMWXlHKN0JZSu-A14gXeTJc_0xFj-PGgSYYNCv2Br1hXQPjXi17OmGPCO_so7_GojHPuPq9wU0kwIA/s320/fort+portal+023.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><span style="color:#ffffcc;"> Jason and his Colleague, Amos</span></em></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><span style="color:#ffffcc;"></span></em><div><br /></span><br /></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JqDpoINC1g1t6q2V8gndKHWUUH43qfIHVn6XVQC_yJJlVPsKJcwAD8p8_nss65_uXLQwVp-47ieEGHQNM_wHbQIZ9I19cS-6AjFhTeoM3ISo0qaziYXItSI9c4H7wGUpk4MttYvhm3w/s1600/fort+portal+031.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408332224740472610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JqDpoINC1g1t6q2V8gndKHWUUH43qfIHVn6XVQC_yJJlVPsKJcwAD8p8_nss65_uXLQwVp-47ieEGHQNM_wHbQIZ9I19cS-6AjFhTeoM3ISo0qaziYXItSI9c4H7wGUpk4MttYvhm3w/s320/fort+portal+031.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffff;"><em>Group Photo<br /></em></span><br /><div align="left">Our bus-trip back to Mbarara included the usual event of breaking down - luckily it happened when we were in a town, so we wandered off to get lunch while someone made hasty repairs to the brakes on the bus (we found out later that one of the brake pads had completely worn down, and the mechanic didn't have a replacement, so he just disabled the brake!). We made it home in one piece though....</div><br /><br /><div>The following weekend, we had a VSO cluster meeting at Shivaun's house - we decided to combine it with a barbecue and 'fireworks' to celebrate Guy Fawkes night. Jason was put in charge of the barbecue, and cooked goat and pork kebabs and some burgers courtesy of Chef Shivaun. We even had marshmallows to toast over the fire later on. We didn't really have proper fireworks; just some giant party popper things, and some big sparklers that are supposed to go on top of wedding cakes, but they are pretty spectacular. It was a really nice evening and good to catch up with the other VSOs to discuss our placements etc.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_B3Mc26lfREXoUIjEM6DxJbaqjyUDXZgaC8wlsHxDtVUM8pr2C_mSqQY-voh9SpwAOUdau1P8iFz6WY8SEMe1KgHZxHJ5KgrAehAoJkBGaBb6bGWceaamxLRfR-pdxDhkUO0lHZIOzo/s1600/fort+portal+033.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408332235917628914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_B3Mc26lfREXoUIjEM6DxJbaqjyUDXZgaC8wlsHxDtVUM8pr2C_mSqQY-voh9SpwAOUdau1P8iFz6WY8SEMe1KgHZxHJ5KgrAehAoJkBGaBb6bGWceaamxLRfR-pdxDhkUO0lHZIOzo/s320/fort+portal+033.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> <em><span style="color:#ffffff;">Fireworks!</span></em></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2U7IcpQa4egpTPSVQgc4znV3AK-0sW1zotjM0JyCEA1BYDzB3ZtHg2Z1TCkAYFC2eK7lNZmy6csfUwLI3dTdguMetaYRhVU0Q-Gtt5LAc-sFmcYKUvoecC3llbUlVBo7h1-zF5_dm5k4/s1600/fort+portal+033.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408332225448199266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2U7IcpQa4egpTPSVQgc4znV3AK-0sW1zotjM0JyCEA1BYDzB3ZtHg2Z1TCkAYFC2eK7lNZmy6csfUwLI3dTdguMetaYRhVU0Q-Gtt5LAc-sFmcYKUvoecC3llbUlVBo7h1-zF5_dm5k4/s320/fort+portal+033.JPG" /></a><br /><br /></div><div></div><div align="left">We went to our first ever Film Premiere a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of the Kina-MUST project at the university. One of my students had sold me tickets, but Jason was pretty reluctant to go, as the dress code was 'red carpet' (i.e. formal). A group of students had made a movie about HIV/AIDS, and it was actually really impressive. It was about a medical student who got a needle-stick injury on the hospital ward, and how he dealt with the possibility that he might have contracted HIV. It was acually better than some low-budget films we've seen in the UK. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">There was even an after-show party, where we got to mingle with the stars of the film. Both Jason and I had students involved with the film, and it was nice to see them enjoying themselves away from their studies. It was pretty funny though, because our students kept coming up to us wanting their photo taken with us - I wouldn't have been seen dead with my lecturers at uni! I don't know if there is any way that they can release the film to a wider audience, but I really think it deserves to go further than just Mbarara.<br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSp6KSYs6NdaO5s4LpOFaDm48WqRs2fYtQ2nfb2BnSXBWxTd-GA8XYH6vy_NzH9VcMBO5F8aW6BhszySm0IOWezvI9NLUfyHF5wHJa4nQBBZjOXoHIxDYzbjcfOHkk4zpDpJbcmqlkYXI/s1600/PB140002.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408334143078119650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSp6KSYs6NdaO5s4LpOFaDm48WqRs2fYtQ2nfb2BnSXBWxTd-GA8XYH6vy_NzH9VcMBO5F8aW6BhszySm0IOWezvI9NLUfyHF5wHJa4nQBBZjOXoHIxDYzbjcfOHkk4zpDpJbcmqlkYXI/s320/PB140002.JPG" /></a><em><span style="color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-size:85%;">On the Red Carpet</span><br /></span></em><br /></div><div></div></div></div></div><br /></div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-88008683277101226492009-10-24T08:54:00.006+03:002009-10-24T09:50:09.667+03:00Can't believe we've been here for 8 months!We've just realised that we've been here for 8 months already - time is definitely flying by. It's been a pretty busy time for both of us lately, as the university semester is now in full swing - which means writing mid-term exams, marking assignments etc.<br /><br />We went to Kampala last weekend, which was a nice change to Mbarara. I think we would possibly go there more often if the journey wasn't quite so horrendous - 5 hours in a battered old bus, driving along a road that is being resurfaced, and basically being thrown around the bus (you drive over the non-surfaced parts!). The bus seats are covered in plastic, to allow for easy cleaning (although I have doubts whether cleaning ever takes place), but it also makes the seats very slippy....I nearly ended up on the floor on numerous occasions. When we got to Kampala we stayed at the International Landmark Hotel, in Muyenga, just around the corner from the VSO office. It's not in the centre of Kampala, but it is near some pretty nice restaurants (proper pizzas, yum!) and an Italian supermarket that sells ice-creams, so it was a good place to be.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvlOX3Ecazf7mF6pTZJyvodB-VLClz6JPvOLLqkyE4Mt7AlucBSXqq26nsyHhkUsxiCcUFXE6FV91YlxrsRTIDLrROVcfda5Cgm6qVT4OgTuSgKs2KxD__hFEDIOfGvOYCv2jdpn3z_A/s1600-h/009.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396044083865177314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvlOX3Ecazf7mF6pTZJyvodB-VLClz6JPvOLLqkyE4Mt7AlucBSXqq26nsyHhkUsxiCcUFXE6FV91YlxrsRTIDLrROVcfda5Cgm6qVT4OgTuSgKs2KxD__hFEDIOfGvOYCv2jdpn3z_A/s320/009.JPG" /></a><em><span style="color:#ffffff;"> <span style="font-size:85%;">Hectic Traffic in Kampala</span></span><br /></em><br /><div align="left">On the Saturday, Jason and I had to go to the Uganda Wildlife Authority office to get an annual pass for the National Parks. If you get a 2 year resident's permit, they will let you get this pass, and it's really good value - only $150 for a couple, so it pays for itself in no time at all. After that, we went to Garden City shopping mall, which is amazing - well, actually it's a bog-standard shopping centre in western terms, but we don't have anything like it in Mbarara so we are always quite impressed. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Shivaun and I went to have our hair cut by a Serbian lady nearby (too chicken to brave the salons of Mbarara!), and she did a pretty good job. After that we met up with some other VSOs in Centenery Park, and had lunch. The afternoon involved a big supermarket shop, with me scouring the shelves for things to use in my extemporaneous dispensing practicals (making creams and ointments etc). The lab at the university has hardly any equipment, and I really wanted the students to be able to make something, so I decided to buy all the stuff myself. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">The journey back to Mbarara on the Sunday wasn't going too badly, which meant something had to go wrong....and it did! The bus broke down quite far away from town, but luckily the driver managed to start it up again. It then broke down again about 2 miles from Mbarara, so Jason and I decided to walk up the road and get a boda boda to take us home. </div><br /><div align="left">Things in the pharmacy department are going quite well, and I'm feeling a lot more comfortable in my role here. The fourth year students have to do a research project next semester, so we gave them a research workshop a couple of weeks ago. I did a presentation on plagiarism, which it seems that they have not heard of before, and didn't realise it was a bad idea (which is maybe quite worrying). </div><div align="left"></div><br /><div align="left">I did a practical with the third years this week. I'm teaching them Pharmaceutical Technology - so lots of theory about the manufacture of different dosage forms (like creams, ointments, suspensions) but very little opportunity to put it into practice. Anyway, the practical was quite successful - they made Calamine Ointment, and Lassar's Paste. We didn't necessarily use the right tools, as I couldn't get hold of them - instead of a porcelain ointment slab, we used plastic chopping boards, and instead of spatulas/palette knives we used decorator's scrapers! But the principle was the same, and it seemed to work quite well (despite me having to put them in groups of 5 to do it, which is less than ideal). Sometimes I really feel sorry for the students here, they pay lab fees, but I don't know where those fees go (cos it's almost certainly not spent on lab facilities). Hopefully things will get better soon, as the pharmacy and pharmacology departments have won a $1.2 grant from the Millennium Science Initiative, to improve facilities and develop the course etc.<br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLO3NfVFmrfO0HwT-1WjxmPPJeT9eu4QUwvr8VEtLZk3QIe0ICyZEroNDmCXKNX_MhxuElnOlCpEdkrymhHmJYhqyykHxl3GO-IM-FkH8UBzoyLD92ovsRDXypHzIRwmvxuUyGCnLJMnQ/s1600-h/The+Lab.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396047716638633106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLO3NfVFmrfO0HwT-1WjxmPPJeT9eu4QUwvr8VEtLZk3QIe0ICyZEroNDmCXKNX_MhxuElnOlCpEdkrymhHmJYhqyykHxl3GO-IM-FkH8UBzoyLD92ovsRDXypHzIRwmvxuUyGCnLJMnQ/s320/The+Lab.JPG" /></a><span style="color:#ffffff;"> <em><span style="font-size:85%;">Students doing their extemp. dispensing practical in the Lab</span></em></span></div><br /><div align="center"><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></em></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5INN0D5FG99Ot9qGhA-a-bGGpbvtp71dXmx8blnsrQOfwAZ51Fv8fHpWG2kyBeD9hrVVCACWQO8aHHjLXFUrub6rpiKm_oUpgma5uPTnx4vgvy0ezyLOEXUFbXRx2tuquvHHnp0J9S0/s1600-h/PA220048.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396047712235085202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5INN0D5FG99Ot9qGhA-a-bGGpbvtp71dXmx8blnsrQOfwAZ51Fv8fHpWG2kyBeD9hrVVCACWQO8aHHjLXFUrub6rpiKm_oUpgma5uPTnx4vgvy0ezyLOEXUFbXRx2tuquvHHnp0J9S0/s320/PA220048.JPG" /></a> <em><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#ffffff;">Calamine Ointment - note the non-scientific implements used!</span><br /></span></em></div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-72898505807845830022009-10-03T16:05:00.008+03:002009-10-03T17:45:39.010+03:00To the loony bin and back again...<b><span style="font-family:verdana;">Lovely Lariam</span></b><br /><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">To try to prevent the onset of Malaria, both of us have been taking the delightful drug Lariam since arriving in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Having used it in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ghana</st1:place></st1:country-region> I always poo pooed the stories of people going a little mad, however I think maybe my opinion on the subject has changed.<?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p> </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Five months in we were going great guns, until we had get a new supply of Lariam, unfortunately all we could get our hands on was the Swiss version of the product Mephaquin, which is theoretically the same.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Of course I am fully aware how annoying and dim I am, but shortly after changing drugs, it became apparent that I was a very horrible person as after being home at about 5.10 instead of 5 on a number of occasion, I got into big trouble from Anna. Other things upset her too and she was in tears over very simple things like the washing was not done or she lost a Scrabble. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;">To further her anxieties she woke me up one evening to dress me down as I had just flown through the window and she try to sleep! This of course follows an episode of asking me why I had decided to grow vegetables in the bed… <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Of course we concluded that the drug was having an adverse reaction and we decided request that she could change to another drug. Following a consultation, with a Doctor and after VSO’s permission she changed drugs to Malarone. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Thankfully now I am only annoying some of the time and she no longer cries when I am delayed or do not do the washing up. I have even stopped flying through windows as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Those of you who have worked with me, know I sometimes get angry when somebody incompetent has ensured that I have to do more work because they have caused havoc, however most of the time I am quite a placid creature. My effects on the drug were not as drastic as Anna’s however the new first years took a bit of abuse from me on a number of occasions as they cannot queue up when waiting for my class to leave lectures. However after changing to another drug myself, the first years still cannot queue up but at least I don’t shout at them as harshly as before.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Now I shall leave it up to you to decide whether the stories I have heard before are true!</span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><b><u>Vrrrmmmmm!</u></b> </span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;">A few weeks ago our VSO cluster arranged a goodbye cluster meeting for Danny a departing VSO and his wife Annie. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;">We decided to spend a night at Lake Mburo, to say farewell, we provided the drink, Shivaun made a fantastic cake and Sofie one of our VSO colleagues arranged a bespoke calendar with many photographic memories of their time here. A lot of beer was consumed, good food eaten and amazing wildlife seen at close hand.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;">A highlight was our trip on quad bikes around the park (I am sure some have already seen the delightful photos on Facebook). In Ugandan terms the trip was expensive (£35) but to be honest with you well worth it! 2 Hours of driving through the Safari tracks, including some of the harder to reach places was outstanding. We saw so much wildlife at close hand, and it felt a lot more exhilarating not being closed inside a vehicle.<o:p></o:p></span></p><o:p></o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></p><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdd7NLBreQKW4QkbnSCbrHcxgWFcmX3gD9h36wudMDwQZMgh6SiPJlTF1uNEGsIeIicUHynw03n-u9Y-yteXXpI0WKr6qCNucuTxqjJ7DExyReNsPcx3FMt7JS3CxDU9pRsSjPYFWnDo/s1600-h/035.JPG"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388363434859861122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdd7NLBreQKW4QkbnSCbrHcxgWFcmX3gD9h36wudMDwQZMgh6SiPJlTF1uNEGsIeIicUHynw03n-u9Y-yteXXpI0WKr6qCNucuTxqjJ7DExyReNsPcx3FMt7JS3CxDU9pRsSjPYFWnDo/s320/035.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Jason dons his quadding gear</em></span><br /><br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Our trip was guided and very professional indeed, especially as en-route to the Quad bike centre, myself and Peter another VSO colleague had been talking about go-karting and how much I liked it going fast. Standing on the back of the pick up alongside our ranger, he joined in the conversation and also seemed to like the idea of going speed.<o:p></o:p> </span></div><p align="center"></p><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6fXMMNJ6BGVsyuv_lV2DKBfL55pxGcexxfI2g3YJzbqvHCxBnKDd2DNRv225BncqMJNUy06WhyphenhyphentIc7t3a9XhsDDtl_YTUMzabXVFs_IEqFwXWhz1KnSDLYmGuzBLV1EP6fbKWLhHk6Q/s1600-h/036.JPG"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388363440332953666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6fXMMNJ6BGVsyuv_lV2DKBfL55pxGcexxfI2g3YJzbqvHCxBnKDd2DNRv225BncqMJNUy06WhyphenhyphentIc7t3a9XhsDDtl_YTUMzabXVFs_IEqFwXWhz1KnSDLYmGuzBLV1EP6fbKWLhHk6Q/s320/036.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Not much of a fashion statement!</span><br /><strong></strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></strong> </div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Matatu’s, “Outstanding” Driving and a Beautiful Lake</span></strong></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span> </div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;">September is the time for change here in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and one of our other friends Meg was leaving Mbarara. Although she has been here on and off for seven years, she had never been to <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Bunyoni</st1:placename></st1:place> before. We agreed to have a little weekend trip to see the sights and sounds of the place translated into English called “Place of the Little Birds”. <o:p></o:p></span></div><p align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">In the interest of saving cash (having spent a fortune on quads the week before), we opted to get to Bunyoni by mini bus taxi (Matatu). <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Of course you always have an adventure on a Matatu as they are usually battered and bruised, fit 20 people into the vehicle instead of 14 and drive like absolute lunatics. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">We knew we were however going to have an adventure, as when waiting in the taxi park a young student, spent 20 minutes haggling with the conductor over a fare and proceeded to haggle for another 20 minutes over his immense luggage. Then just as we were setting off he decided to get out and delay us even further getting all of his stuff back. Let’s just say in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>, I would have told him he was an prat an hour ago. The people in the taxi park though so too in the end and told him so, of course there was a little scuffle but nothing too serious and it soon settled down. Now I do not advocate any form of violence but I do sympathise a little with the Taxi Parks staff who were patient enough with the petulant gentleman. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Our trip from then on was uneventful except the driver drove as though he was 10 hours late. Imagine a scary driver (Bex, “other people I have been censored from writing”) but at 90 miles an hour on potholed roads, then times it by 10 and you have the quality of driving from this man. The smell of brakes and clutch did not help either, and the final death knoll was his pothole overtaking attempt on the wrong side of the road with a truck approaching. A lock up of the wheels later and the truck screeching to a halt, a) we were definitely not impressed and b) not too surprised that in the next town we stopped and then told we had to change vehicles. Now I was wary as I was told first and being careful wanted confirmation that everybody was getting out and we were not part of a scam. Thankfully we were not and we were even bundled into a very nice well kept “share taxi” (a car which they normally squeeze 8 people into). The rest of the trip was paid for by the Matatu driver, which I was very surprised about and our driver was very nice and careful indeed. Now being a businessman himself he opted to take us as he knew he could continue and take us to <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Bunyoni</st1:placename></st1:place>. All in all we were thankful as the drive was far better.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">After an eventful journey we were ready to get to our island. After a short boat trip, we arrived at our island and were given lovely furnished tents. The food for Ugandan standards was very good indeed and we relaxed and drank in a lovely setting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">As Bunyoni is a crater lake it is free from Bilharzia so we swam, dived off the pontoon and generally had a top time. This place is great for relaxing without any doubt.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">After relaxing it was very sad we were only staying a single night, and therefore we were gutted to have to try and get a Matatu home again. After being lucky last time we called a Special driver who had found us a good Matatu last time, and we were very happy when he arrived in a Matatu himself in very good condition, announcing that if he could fill it he would himself take us some.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Unfortunately we were not as lucky as we had imagined as soon as we arrived in Kabale the main town near Bunyoni, the heavens opened and we knew our luck was out. After discussions with another Matatu we agreed to join a new vehicle, which proceeded to tout for business by driving around town looking for people sheltering but wanting to travel. Maybe an hour later we finally set off, and we were hoping with a better driver. This was the case until we realised that as the boot was partially open due to loads of mattresses being stuffed into the back, and being at the back we were going to become asphyxiated. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">The drive until half way was uneventful, but afterwards insane, partly as we were high on fumes but also as most people left at the halfway point and the driver decided he had to race another Matatu to ensure he got business, therefore his driving became erratic too. This included overtaking at stupid places and driving into a petrol station at speed, and skidding to a halt 30cms from a pump! <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><o:p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Thankfully we arrived home in one piece, although Meg was sick all night from the fumes and Anna took three hours to sow some trousers she had ripped. I have vowed to try to avoid Matatus at all costs from now on!</span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">NB: This was posted by Jason.</span></p><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-55555939190034067452009-09-18T10:41:00.006+03:002009-09-18T15:48:58.780+03:00We have New Curtains!!<div>Now, I know that this is not a very exciting blog-post, but we have finally got rid of our nasty old curtains, and got new ones (that actually cover the windows, close properly and do everything that they should!).<br /><div><br /><div>A local lady who makes curtains was recommended to us by a colleague at the university. After coming to see our flat and measure the windows etc, our curtains were ready in less than 10 days, for a very reasonable price.<br /></div><div>She sent three men to put the curtains up for us - I was a bit surprised when they arrived without a ladder, but they assured me it would be fine, despite the fact that our ceilings are 9 feet high! They had to replace the rails, and couldn't get to them by standing on the dining table (it wasn't high enough), so they proceeded to climb up the bars on the windows and do it that way. One of them also had the bright idea of putting one of the coffee tables on top of the dining table, and using that as a ladder..I was terrified they would fall off and hurt themselves, or the windows would come crashing down, but it was all okay in the end. They don't really go in for health and safety much over here! </div><br /><div>Here are the before and after pictures:</div></div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pxI1DE9TbVFQpY-w6IO1l63a56YZJNJJ2A0k7xWEuBl2noBM3YNE4T8eUd_JcMmJ-bzgvhmyi1NFTDbCKLdvGwD-kcfFFJPCFgFEm_9eTIpYGSk11P-iMq0NAzeL8iudnjAbWnAWUnk/s1600-h/022.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382787114700257602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pxI1DE9TbVFQpY-w6IO1l63a56YZJNJJ2A0k7xWEuBl2noBM3YNE4T8eUd_JcMmJ-bzgvhmyi1NFTDbCKLdvGwD-kcfFFJPCFgFEm_9eTIpYGSk11P-iMq0NAzeL8iudnjAbWnAWUnk/s320/022.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIDGSCr1zhE1cM9KR9wMFobII-SueGPidJfYGDA5BEiXnMIJ1YUhEu3XG5Wse6tWFhS1wOJ39lMD30nifExYaFwfIzQUW9moOIg8ged4HygtOFSycQ1KRiyAhI1L8cLeqcKGyoGLgLfo/s1600-h/026.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382787121625567826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIDGSCr1zhE1cM9KR9wMFobII-SueGPidJfYGDA5BEiXnMIJ1YUhEu3XG5Wse6tWFhS1wOJ39lMD30nifExYaFwfIzQUW9moOIg8ged4HygtOFSycQ1KRiyAhI1L8cLeqcKGyoGLgLfo/s320/026.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDgo43FoT9X27Rr0GTtJ_3MfGPcRYVA4YaeFSM_X1oIettjcbRAG9SPJorIIWdOo9lVHPDKZHavCI__xe6U34fGgqjTCKIXXqFEVfaveqe1CSKpZUmHcbAnDChplb-XNFaD_WAD3iUMA/s1600-h/023.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382787141224431250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDgo43FoT9X27Rr0GTtJ_3MfGPcRYVA4YaeFSM_X1oIettjcbRAG9SPJorIIWdOo9lVHPDKZHavCI__xe6U34fGgqjTCKIXXqFEVfaveqe1CSKpZUmHcbAnDChplb-XNFaD_WAD3iUMA/s320/023.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7SDRX3SfWmStAiYEhzmyXwUFVn51qfRJWbyx5jhjkt0eWM4ziNW0dLhuTeFWSCyhD3-1DMv8xNYWwzY9ywCd0Gy_8GepKSJeFNlq4zqlvFvQBk2sQbktVLOtVGzKL9Wvba-nkaaklSc/s1600-h/024.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382787154296568018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7SDRX3SfWmStAiYEhzmyXwUFVn51qfRJWbyx5jhjkt0eWM4ziNW0dLhuTeFWSCyhD3-1DMv8xNYWwzY9ywCd0Gy_8GepKSJeFNlq4zqlvFvQBk2sQbktVLOtVGzKL9Wvba-nkaaklSc/s320/024.JPG" /></a> </div></div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-68516573563756990912009-08-31T14:54:00.017+03:002009-09-07T10:51:55.137+03:00A Luxury Weekend at Jacana Lodge<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376417690639044114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3PHO-nw10lKcP37Zi_49AZkgpMLsL2W_7LDqFty2_A9vF-F2Bt74GCTLCKAzugrYSDozm9BEyCbLNnDSMM6q7xXy2AFbRCwSzei17la9OVeMd4w7ns3UwH49YlNm64BbEAyl2ZEoZmU/s320/Jacana+043.JPG" /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Jason and I had our first experience of proper Ugandan luxury the other weekend, as we went to a safari lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, to celebrate my 30th birthday (I am now officially 'old'!).<br /></span><br /><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6H7NjU4WCzsvpHevRU2jObjomBfACM0r0kxj8vgGMJgXFHQUwK0jn1FKh-nXN2D83aQVzKzB8vXweklsM5tU1NCnAmLfIUBLDfasgDB_B0yfi6E1rn5xSXyfWpXlGTdnyburYJxmJ6D0/s1600-h/Jacana+040.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376417680482521474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6H7NjU4WCzsvpHevRU2jObjomBfACM0r0kxj8vgGMJgXFHQUwK0jn1FKh-nXN2D83aQVzKzB8vXweklsM5tU1NCnAmLfIUBLDfasgDB_B0yfi6E1rn5xSXyfWpXlGTdnyburYJxmJ6D0/s320/Jacana+040.JPG" /></a></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;">Swimming Pool overlooking the Crater Lake</span></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></div></span><div align="center"><br /></div><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376379066300784226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgksJ_z8bJEfwJ9jW3ngsvPE2ABqGyyrWfYNDzM0NcS9zKk7AY0kyOLPZRNukEMzzZMkbmoruqL157fZz3AgjimTDSb_rZhSLIYgLMzTtx_EKQbUhANPJv-Cp_1XhKFbTKv4VzTLfGWTvQ/s320/Jacana+008.JPG" /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Jacana Lodge is a couple of hour's drive from Mbarara, in the Maramagambo Forest, which is in the southern sector of the park. The lodge is built on the shores of a crater lake, and each of the log cabins has a fantastic view. Everything about Jacana was fantastic: the accommodation, peaceful setting, staff, food, pool....it was so different to the hustle and bustle of Mbarara. The first morning we were there, we got woken up by chimpanzees calling to each other, which was an amazing sound. We also saw vervet monkeys in the trees as we were eating our breakfast, very cute indeed. </span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></p><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozbFk5u1zfwaFxY_8XDJiFORFMTKI2EC0GGBfgTn7EyyLlmmwZFvy9wKEGtdobO6b61K0SpksgOMRSiJD2W98T1oQIqGX8vT11HWNtjJxjRGkiuVxSrLprxAmg0X7YSq8MAbUvcENRWk/s1600-h/Jacana+028.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376384048774273986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozbFk5u1zfwaFxY_8XDJiFORFMTKI2EC0GGBfgTn7EyyLlmmwZFvy9wKEGtdobO6b61K0SpksgOMRSiJD2W98T1oQIqGX8vT11HWNtjJxjRGkiuVxSrLprxAmg0X7YSq8MAbUvcENRWk/s320/Jacana+028.JPG" /></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;">Our Chalet on Stilts! </span></em><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></em></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Yc4dsybyZdT2x4ke47wJ4Yzs8IOzqZgJtTbKQAUKQNpoZIUecOulBZWj-3h2U8nwsxIrBVVEnZnq5jR3B7QZbD7TsEgdJMnu0j4ZbavUgC6yTtWyDBPSwz94gl9fU177g0KpcqcYwz4/s1600-h/Jacana+020.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376384038921875890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Yc4dsybyZdT2x4ke47wJ4Yzs8IOzqZgJtTbKQAUKQNpoZIUecOulBZWj-3h2U8nwsxIrBVVEnZnq5jR3B7QZbD7TsEgdJMnu0j4ZbavUgC6yTtWyDBPSwz94gl9fU177g0KpcqcYwz4/s320/Jacana+020.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFm_APMQDv_ts6dIjwnoTS1LI7QYDpaN3wv1bWOUR3s3e24zlID3y55nSiv374B5H14YDfyHvF4qQ_59_xM-KNSdUiOTYQ0GcTy_I0myERUFHNxTC8fODtxsInlTGMfP8YHbGQ3TjKTw/s1600-h/Jacana+013.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376379073659575314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFm_APMQDv_ts6dIjwnoTS1LI7QYDpaN3wv1bWOUR3s3e24zlID3y55nSiv374B5H14YDfyHvF4qQ_59_xM-KNSdUiOTYQ0GcTy_I0myERUFHNxTC8fODtxsInlTGMfP8YHbGQ3TjKTw/s320/Jacana+013.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="color:#330099;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;">Celebrating with a glass of pink fizz</span></em><br /></span></span><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_do5ORFv7MBhos_JE2FBRtKDgHrEzbWxAv-7LJWYZjEtrKUdPK7LoZ2QF0drQQbDbxxw7smcEavqIJcnbrWabgDhfp_mUwQR78CTrvpCVcKbYnYChimj6ncy0HT0-4GzBlVzv521HN0/s1600-h/Jacana+007.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376379057937981938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_do5ORFv7MBhos_JE2FBRtKDgHrEzbWxAv-7LJWYZjEtrKUdPK7LoZ2QF0drQQbDbxxw7smcEavqIJcnbrWabgDhfp_mUwQR78CTrvpCVcKbYnYChimj6ncy0HT0-4GzBlVzv521HN0/s320/Jacana+007.JPG" /></a><span style="color:#ffffcc;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#ffffcc;"><em>Amazing view from our window</em><br /></span></span><br /></div><div align="left">After lounging by the pool all morning, we wandered down to the park's visitors centre in the afternoon to go on a walk with a ranger. Jason wanted to go on a walk to see a bat cave (complete with resident python!), but it was out of bounds due to the possibility of contracting Ebola and Marburg virus from the bats - I have to say I was quite relieved we couldn't go, as I think I would have been slightly freaked out! It was also very unnerving that the visitor's centre was full of American researchers in full 'Outbreak suits', whereas we were just dressed in ordinary clothing with no protection from Ebola whatsoever.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">In the end, we opted for a forest walk. We walked all the way around a small crater lake, and managed to see some wildlife, even though it had been raining heavily. We saw red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys (which can jump 30 metres between trees!), fish eagles and cormorants. Apparently there is a hippo who lives in the lake, but fortunately we did not run into him (hippos kill more people than crocodiles do). The walk was very pleasant, and took a couple of hours to do. Because it was so damp and dark in the forest, I kept forgetting that I was in Africa - it was very like walking in the Lake District or something (but with monkeys in the trees). </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDqq8vuiQjq-lOMDgtfaUSfrx8nXLS32MOGxgdvgbBBe4VPOA0xKuzQ6CoV4HF2bT9RqFs91UWpR37JhsHmMhF_CrZGZ73I4sLYqYBu3O63cfer_4AhQJHZuF27y0ASHjcYb4qV9_OwM/s1600-h/Jacana+059.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376429334567135186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDqq8vuiQjq-lOMDgtfaUSfrx8nXLS32MOGxgdvgbBBe4VPOA0xKuzQ6CoV4HF2bT9RqFs91UWpR37JhsHmMhF_CrZGZ73I4sLYqYBu3O63cfer_4AhQJHZuF27y0ASHjcYb4qV9_OwM/s320/Jacana+059.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#ffffcc;"><em>View of the Crater Lakes</em><br /></span></span><br /><br /></div><div align="left">Jason had arranged a birthday treat for me when we got back to the lodge - dinner on the 'Captain's Table'. This is a motorised raft that the lodge will hire out to you for cruises, drinks or dinner. Our personal waiter, Lawrence, drove us into the middle of the lake, put down an anchor, and then proceeded to serve us a wonderful three course, candle-lit dinner. It was quite surreal being in the middle of a lake, in the dark, eating dinner - but it was an experience I would definitely recommend.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByPsdZ96CW0ioA7n139EqMfw3tq8nqfDmb2UsDg10Au2gEcgBfwKkR0cn7lYlHlok7aV9rXrMvSS3BT40HcsmHK23O6Z6xVoe5ylefDyBcGUQCmidtAy7yP-YABOEewrQ4BteM7gGahI/s1600-h/Jacana+070.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378606748684619938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByPsdZ96CW0ioA7n139EqMfw3tq8nqfDmb2UsDg10Au2gEcgBfwKkR0cn7lYlHlok7aV9rXrMvSS3BT40HcsmHK23O6Z6xVoe5ylefDyBcGUQCmidtAy7yP-YABOEewrQ4BteM7gGahI/s320/Jacana+070.JPG" /></a> <em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;">Beautiful Sunset over the Lake</span></em><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeW6cxuL5zV-D8q4frjOk-Bg_WL0aKO3PBZanCx3omneWj-BdBpcD7hp8XI7xZ_YAlLa6ID-s5kMYFVDhxECOObKfhKS_rtJMXtUlIFgdNC1OzJSfNySLIcV0uhajR1rgo1YT7xBv-Z3I/s1600-h/Jacana+072.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378606741646564658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeW6cxuL5zV-D8q4frjOk-Bg_WL0aKO3PBZanCx3omneWj-BdBpcD7hp8XI7xZ_YAlLa6ID-s5kMYFVDhxECOObKfhKS_rtJMXtUlIFgdNC1OzJSfNySLIcV0uhajR1rgo1YT7xBv-Z3I/s320/Jacana+072.JPG" /></a><span style="color:#ffffcc;"> </span><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;">Dinner on the Captain's Table<br /></span></em><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjetYByLUO7s9QIg9msCCrSjPDPhYieAvXzGtS7HD0dHJ33KVs_L_lsHGieUxH7JwU6eOveCxSQoPewnk2aY_QEEGVR09KhZvmdzcazMbkG4sB1Q1pFYu8OtiSbSvJzN1J2vBMrx1oRF6w/s1600-h/Jacana+054.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376429327647291186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjetYByLUO7s9QIg9msCCrSjPDPhYieAvXzGtS7HD0dHJ33KVs_L_lsHGieUxH7JwU6eOveCxSQoPewnk2aY_QEEGVR09KhZvmdzcazMbkG4sB1Q1pFYu8OtiSbSvJzN1J2vBMrx1oRF6w/s320/Jacana+054.JPG" /></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;">Yummy!<br /></span></em><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Our waiter Lawrence was lovely, although we felt a bit sorry for him at first - it must be really awward being stuck on a raft with 2 tourists! We started talking to him, and had some very interesting conversations about Ugandan traditions. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">We told him that my parents are coming to visit over Christmas, and he said that it is not allowed for the bride's family to stay at the son-in-law's house (so, Mum and Dad, I'm afraid you'll have to camp in the garden!). He also said that Jason cannot eat at the same table as my Mum, and cannot really have anything to do with her. On the other hand, whenever I meet Jason's parents I am supposed to kneel down in front of his Dad to show my respect. I am also apparently allowed to sleep in the same bed as Jason's Mum! How bizzarre.... When we got married, Jason's Dad should have really given my Dad anything between 10 and 15 cows as a bride price - if Jason ever wanted to divorce me, he would have to return me to my parents' house along with the cows. Some urban families don't keep cows any more, but they still decide the bride price in 'cows' and then convert it into Ugandan shillings using the current market value for a Friesian cow (apparently they are more valuable than Ankole cows).</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div><div></div><div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376417675262474994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6GqWHesxxMfaOgZEE-aC-IAvCSemjpdAvSSwLaYpamLO95uHv6bnBW0G1LD2JS4kiG8R5IpiuBWKsEGmLdl6cX86ATwQypnd1iohSSML-5oGnNFqUfC3yK4B__hxB3-5KkVT5VaUOpQ/s320/Jacana+031.JPG" /></a></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378606758090842210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BiAtb1GJAj3AwG9PQ5mI6YloAbheUR83twQUa-4QANbO8uBuS1jLkRH9GtSWNHpf2a_zLTaiMvnzXhLwpAjOOBTjSuRIaaf-Xj0Zgat8S0paY8x960UDih2CQqq022TZZXxRMYYQQP8/s320/Jacana+082.JPG" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;"><em>Jason and I celebrating my Birthday </em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#330099;"><em><span style="color:#ffffcc;">with a cake made for us by the chef at Jacana</span><br /></em></span></div><div align="left"><br />We were sad to leave Jacana the following day, as it was so peaceful there, and it felt like we were on holiday. We've decided that weekends away are definitely a good idea, and we have a couple of trips planned for the next few weeks. We are going to Lake Mburo this weekend for a VSO cluster meeting, and then we're off to Lake Bunyonyi the following weekend for a relaxing break.</div><div></div><div></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlWnm9qxzUQLJ5KitedHk-VJ48ITD3bBFCu4D86J1ImxEVB7JePN48Ea57p3vh9DIJRKoe13ehwTBGPqQzdEzt5BT8WbB3YWIeEamRHBv4YzvVhmRmlrWNcfNUsJvzQZdxeW2c0uSVzo/s1600-h/Jacana+090.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378610682712510242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlWnm9qxzUQLJ5KitedHk-VJ48ITD3bBFCu4D86J1ImxEVB7JePN48Ea57p3vh9DIJRKoe13ehwTBGPqQzdEzt5BT8WbB3YWIeEamRHBv4YzvVhmRmlrWNcfNUsJvzQZdxeW2c0uSVzo/s320/Jacana+090.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;"><em>Vervet Monkey in the tree</em></span></p><p><br /></p><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNtPCZqeVlBq_79bsThyPGicOuOWPdQk4t1JmJvTcwfvsDwmo1nRUeAm4y5IzDUu0bYVT6kYbJHBqWT3OGp5dF2maSOx0lhOX2GsOy_0I_B5KTOaHD9I0RM6lXv8NafhMOcH-z5oWJr4/s1600-h/Jacana+089.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378610677818977650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNtPCZqeVlBq_79bsThyPGicOuOWPdQk4t1JmJvTcwfvsDwmo1nRUeAm4y5IzDUu0bYVT6kYbJHBqWT3OGp5dF2maSOx0lhOX2GsOy_0I_B5KTOaHD9I0RM6lXv8NafhMOcH-z5oWJr4/s320/Jacana+089.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;"><em>Amazing multi-coloured Lizard<br /></em></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvZud2E468XyzZWVuZrjZnC2B1amDOqWPYnl9gF5mYjsi6eJfOCY87bsJakE1h3gmGZVonZxKvJMB_Mr9-7az4yi7Jlb5JQzVm-plE_eXYyjmPEj3X8FCgVVvBN-OPscyCKgdeF5cB8A/s1600-h/Jacana+050.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376429316109921154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvZud2E468XyzZWVuZrjZnC2B1amDOqWPYnl9gF5mYjsi6eJfOCY87bsJakE1h3gmGZVonZxKvJMB_Mr9-7az4yi7Jlb5JQzVm-plE_eXYyjmPEj3X8FCgVVvBN-OPscyCKgdeF5cB8A/s320/Jacana+050.JPG" /></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;">So peaceful!!</span></em> </div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-63543627019106382412009-08-09T16:07:00.000+03:002009-08-09T16:09:29.551+03:00Plants, Puppies, Golf and a Michelin 2 Star RestaurantWeeks have gone by since our trip home to the delights of Blighty. It seems that our visit in the brilliant heat wave was followed by weeks of rain, rain and more rain.<br /><br />Here it is still dry season, although we have been assured that on the 15th August at 4pm it will rain and keep raining. It seems as if the rains have already come to most places apart from our region, and many are thankful as a few people were beginning to struggle.<br /><br />We have been busy at work, but no Blog-worthy events have really occurred, unless people really are interested in the fact that we re-organised our Server room and Anna has been on the timetable committee for her faculty. She is hoping that the third and final meeting is going to get them somewhere, especially as the promise of “break tea” will kick her colleagues in action (the term starts in a weeks time too).<br /><br /><strong>Planting:<br /></strong>Out of the office we have been busy, we planted some of our seeds, pictures enclosed of planting and progress. This event kept us happy for a few hours as it was like making mud pies as a child. Unfortunately I don’t think either of us will have careers as garden experts when we finally return home as progress has been quite slow.<br /><br /><strong>Puppies:<br /></strong>You will all be interested to know that our compound nearly turned into a war zone a few weeks ago. This is due to the birth of 8 puppies to a stray dog who was befriended by one of the other people who lives on our compound.<br /><br />Now as a bit of background, Ugandans do not really keep pets and typically dogs are guard dogs and that is all. Many are scared of dogs, and of course 99% of dogs are not domesticated.<br /><br />The dog gave birth to her puppies in a storm drain next to one of the Ugandan Doctors houses and proceeded to bark at every Ugandan walking past, day or night. This of course caused a little bit of annoyance and it was threatened that they would get her put down.<br /><br />As the lady who had befriended the dog was leaving and due to the proximity of the dogs to the compound’s road and other houses, we decided to help in the construction of a little dog kennel near our flats, as two of the other English doctors had taken to the dog as well.<br /><br />This solution worked for a while, however any Ugandan visiting others in our block of flats was barked at and hassled again and again, we had to rescue people from the stairwell at least twice, which of course was not a nice experience for the recipient of the barking.<br /><br />Once again this understandably has caused threats of putting the dog down, therefore our neighbours have now tied the dog up so that she can tend to her puppies but does not harass anybody else. Once the puppies are old enough to fend for themselves she will be released and her future is unfortunately in her own hands.<br /><br /><strong>Golf:</strong><br />As Mbarara does not have a bowling alley, cinema or theme park, we are typically restricted to swimming, eating at acceptable (?) restaurants and drinking beer.<br /><br />For a change this weekend we decided a game of golf was in order. Surprisingly Mbarara has a 9 hole golf course, which although some holes are flagless is actually quite good.<br /><br />Myself (left handed), Anna (a novice golfer), Sofie (another novice golfer) and Meg (having last played 7 years ago) visited the club house to negotiate fees etc. This in itself was an adventure as on arrival we were surrounded by children offering to be our caddies who of course were helpful but we could have had 4 caddies each.<br /><br />The clubhouse itself was being managed by a lady who did not seem to bothered whether or not we (paying customers) wanted to play golf of not. After a little persuasion and we were informed that the cost would be 5000 Ugandan shillings (UGX) each, however we would have to pay for the bag hire and a caddy, which was fine.<br /><br />I asked many times if they had any left handed clubs but as this lady only seemed to have enough energy to maybe even fill out a receipt in the next hour or so, we thought it best for us to accept just the right handed clubs offered to us, which we had to hire for 20000 UGX between the four of us, which is not bad seen as we negotiated that we would only pay for two rounds of golf as we would play in pairs due to them only have two golf balls anyway.<br /><br />After our initial harassment form 1000 “caddies” the young boy who we took as a caddy, was very good and patient, he knew his stuff and told the girls how to swing and hold a club etc. My golf at home is acceptable and I can definitely hit a ball quite nicely, however playing right handed was a struggle, therefore lets just say we were all very evenly matched. It was a pleasant enough round of golf and even though we played a lot of shots and only 5 of the holes as we were all being burnt to a crisp it is something we will do again. Anna and I even won 3 holes to 2.<br /><br />We were even invited by a Ugandan to the tournament the next day, and offered free beer and goat. He even assured me that they had left handed clubs and we would always be welcome on the course.<br /><br />Following our round, again I pressed the women on left handed clubs but after taking 30 minutes to calculate the bill for 3 Coca Colas and 2 waters I gave up.<br /><br /><strong>Michelin 2 star restaurant<br /></strong><br />After our high brow game of golf, we had been invited for tea at Shivauns (another VSO’s house). Of course we know she can cook, but I can categorically say she is the best chef in Uganda by far.<br /><br />The setting helped the occasion, as her compound overlooks the river and has an outside terrace with a Pizza oven (minus the grill bit to actually make pizzas), so instead I made a fire, which of course is a job no man can refuse.<br /><br />Home made, Bruschetta with plum tomatoes, aubergine cannelloni stuffed with tomatoes, feta, black olives and garlic followed by home-made coconut ice cream with pineapple and sparklers, you can’t complain about such cuisine in England, never mind in Mbarara.<br /><br />Good red wine and a laugh, of course finished off the evening especially as our normal special (mini cab driver) was unavailable, so we had to take another guy who is noted for being what the Ugandans call shy, his love of Mariah Carey and the “Arsenal”. This was funny because I don’t think he knows he is shy and proceeds to call all women “sister” in a high pitched voice.<br /><br />I am sure we will have some more to write next week as I shall be going to Lake Bunyoni on a curriculum workshop with my department and Anna is going to Jinja for a VSO meeting on the Health Project area Plan.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676850323395097101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-71906767916977112392009-07-10T10:37:00.007+03:002009-07-13T15:12:44.598+03:00Back in Uganda after a flying visit to the UK<p align="justify"></p>There's been no new blogging for a while, as we were on holiday(!) in the UK for a couple of weeks. The reason for our trip back was that Jason's sister Amanda was getting married to Martin, and there's no way we would have missed seeing their special day. So while we were back, we thought we'd do a crazy trip around the country visiting nearly everyone we know.<br /><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356740065716719554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCpbtH1DAwp3M-U6A-3I7HW5Np3m3YawDhVtM0lZJJNUG5qiFYKKY_sxPz4cTBPjrfhZkernTQLeDroBVMtPJeVfRVLJyDSGPrS03B_gtZAhZBhLV4HKg6GS0smXFQlrj5V8xP0eidPG8/s320/P6180194.JPG" /><br /><p align="center"><em><span style="color:#000099;">Jason and I at the Equator, on our way to Entebbe Airport</span></em><br /></p><p align="center"></p><p align="justify">We had a fantastic couple of weeks back in the UK, especially as we were able to catch up with nearly all of our friends and family. A couple of my best friends (Joanne and Sarah) have recently had babies, so I was really pleased that we could finally meet the new arrivals Charlotte Burke and Leo Bloor - both are very cute indeed. It also gave me an excuse to drag Jason around Hamleys in London looking for baby toys! </p><p></p><p align="justify">Amanda and Martin's wedding in Edinburgh was amazing. It was in the Mansion House at Edinburgh Zoo, which was a beautiful setting for a wedding. Jason loved being appointed official Chauffeur for the day, and driving his parents' Saab convertible around!</p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357909525466537890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDB70yomBhz1DT_3SqLHArvLjdmoUuZxPFzmbGLrdXkgbbySiPMsS63x3NkJ6HNpbaxM-DbKSfgVCDk5n6_I_076KJDil2uXL1rWZMAiBN7I0BHJQzK2Z4Q0WNGcR8wEPcpA4A2A4ot1I/s320/P6270048.JPG" /><br /><p align="justify">We celebrated Jason's birthday in Liverpool, which was lovely as we went out for dinner with a big group of our friends. I felt a bit sad afterwards, as we won't see most of our friends again until June next year, and we will miss some really important events like weddings and new babies arriving.</p><p align="justify">We got back to Uganda last Wednesday, and travelled straight back to Mbarara as we had loads of luggage and didn't want to lug it around Kampala. I didn't know how I would feel about being back here, but it's actually really good to be back. We thought we might get culture shock again, but that hasn't happened at all. We're settling back into the more relaxed pace of life very easily indeed. </p><p align="justify">We met up with a fellow VSO volunteer for lunch on Saturday, at a place we call the 'Hobbit Hole' - It's a bar/restaurant where the owner decided to build an upstairs and balcony area, but maybe didn't take into account the ceiling height....even I have to bend down to avoid banging my head on the ceiling....I just feel sorry for the waiters who have to carry the food without dropping it!</p><p align="justify">Sunday was spent planting some of the seeds my parents had kindly sent us when we first arrived in Uganda (March)....they didn't arrive until May! So hopefully we will soon have fresh mint, basil, chives, chillies, red peppers and cress (the cress has already started growing). When the rainy season starts we're going to try and take over the vegetable patch in our compound and grow tomatoes, courgettes, lettuce and stuff like that. Neither of us have much recent experience of gardening, so we're looking forward to seeing if anything actually grows. </p><p align="justify">We brought a couple of tennis racquets back from England with us, as there is a clay tennis court on our compound. We had a game yesterday evening, and I did actually manage to hit the ball quite a few times which was an unexpected surprise....watch out Wimbledon!</p><br /><p></p><br /><p><br /></p>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-65515991182526880032009-06-10T15:23:00.002+03:002009-06-10T16:14:28.970+03:00Long time, no blog-post!I've realised it's been quite a long time since I've written anything on this blog. We're still enjoying our time in Mbarara, and feel like we've really settled in.<br /><br />You'll be pleased to know that Jason has now fully recovered from his accident on the boda-boda - it was just a few cuts and grazes - but it was enough to put us off using that particular mode of transport for a few weeks (until we finally gave in yesterday).<br /><br />All the exams are over at the university now, but I have actually been pretty busy. I had to go to a curriculum development workshop last week for a few days in a nearby town called Kabale. It didn't exactly get off to a great start, as we set off 2 hours late - I was not impressed as I had got up extra early because we were meant to be setting off in the bus at 7, but they had to get a different bus due to faulty brakes so we didn't leave til 9. Then the roads going to Kabale were terrible - it felt like being on a rickety rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure beach or something.<br /><br />When we got to Kabale, we were 3 hours behind schedule and didn't even have time for our evening meal after all the lengthy presentations in the afternoon. The hotel we were staying in was pretty good, but the shower wasn't powerful enough to wake me up properly the following morning, so I wasn't in the best of moods again. Then we had to sit through more hours of discussions about the entire Faculty of Medicine's curriculum, before we split into groups to discuss possible changes. I don't know why the groups were split up like they were, but Pharmacy was put with Nursing, and it's not like they're even similar courses! Who am I to give advice on what the nursing course should contain?! After a particularly unproductive morning, I was feeling really annoyed and didn't think we would achieve anything from the workshop. However, after lunch, the Pharmacy Department decided to discuss its curriculum on its own, which was a lot more productive. Our main issue is that Pharmacy is part of the Faculty of Medicine, and for the first 2 years our students study more or less the same things as the medical students - ie a lot of anatomy and pathology, including disection of cadavres, which is not (in my opinion) necessary knowledge you need to become a good pharmacist.<br /><br />We want to introduce more pharmacy-specific modules into our BPharm course, and have decided to add a Pharmacy Practice element into each year of the course (currently this is covered in one semester out of 4 years!). We are trying to negotiate with the other departments about cutting the amount of 'medical subjects' our students do, or at least tailoring them to be more useful to future pharmacists, but it's a case of 'watch this space'. We're looking into getting some funding from the British Council so we can develop the curriculum properly, and hopefully we will be able to form some partnerships with Higher Education Institutions overseas to help us do this.<br /><br />When I got back to Mbarara I was relieved to see that Jason had survived without me. One of my (male) colleagues was very concerned about how Jason would manage to cook for 3 days all by himself, despite my assurances that Jason is probably a better cook than I am.<br /><br />We had a farewell dinner on Sunday for Unni, who has been working in Mbarara as a VSO neonatologist for the past year. He did a lot of good work here, I just hope that it will be continued by the colleagues he's left behind. We were sad to say goodbye to him - in the few months that we've been in Mbarara, he has been a good friend. He lived on the same compound on us, and we'd often have dinner together - he is a fantastic chef. I never thought I liked Indian food, but he has well and truly converted me.<em> </em><br /><br />Yesterday was another Public Holiday (Heroes Day), so we headed up to the Lakeview Hotel with our fellow volunteer Shivaun for a swim in the pool and lunch....it's a hard life! The weather was hot and sunny, but quite breezy -I managed to catch the sun a bit, but will have reverted back to being fluorescent white again by tomorrow. I am at a loss to understand how, after nearly 4 months of living in <strong><em>Africa</em></strong>, I am still the same shade of white that I was when I arrived! I have a few more freckles, which brings me onto another point...<br /><br />People in this country are shocked by freckles - I think they think I have a disease or something. People will touch my arms in the street and in shops, and people have asked me why I have these 'spots'. I try to explain that it's caused by the sun and is not painful or anything like that. Then their next question is whether the spots will go when I return to England. When I tell them that freckles are permanent, they start saying they're really sorry - like they're giving me condolensces or something....it freaked me out a bit at first, but now I am used to it.<br /><br />I have also been asked if Jason is my brother, as apparently we look exactly the same (!). When I probed this statement further, apparently we look like we're related because we are the <em>same size</em> - I don't think it was meant to be offensive!<br /><br />We're coming back to England on the 19th June, and I can't wait to see everyone again. Just to travel on smooth roads again will be very nice....Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-9109809917577168602009-05-25T13:55:00.003+03:002009-05-25T17:51:10.460+03:00Boda Boda's!!!! GrrrrWell, its a long time since I wrote on the blog, I always seem to wait for a proper story or Anna beats me to it. Anna was only saying yesterday that I had not written on the blog for ages, so something had to happen didn't it?<br /><br />We have had quite a good week actually, Unni the Neonatologist is leaving very soon so we had a party in his honour on Thursday night. It was very nice and even though I had offered to organise he insisted on cooking, Danny went and got the beer for us as Sofies back wheel on her bike had gone funny and thus all I was left to do was make Pitta breads and supervise... Cant complain really.<br /><br />We also went to the leaving party for Anna's Cuban and Indian colleagues which was very nice, especially as the University provided food and drink.<br /><br />My news of course is different (for the purpose of VSO readers, as usual this story of course is completely made up and didn't happen, honest). Yesterday we decided that it was a nice day therefore we fancied a swim at Lake View (the local posh hotel), Shivaun one of the other VSO's who has just moved to Mbarara was coming and we were meeting Sofie as well. All was well and we decided to gets Bodas, I flagged a few down and let Anna and Shivaun choose their bikes.<br /><br />I jumped on my bike, and thought maybe the driver was a bit young, this of course was proven when he wobbled over the first speed hump. At that point I should of course have told him to stop but didnt, we then went over the next speed hump and I saw him getting closer and closer to this mountain bike to the left. I do not know whether the Boda driver was drunk or just dumb but he did not react and carried on ploughing into the back wheel of the mountain bike, taking of course the mountain bike and of course the boda with me on it over.<br /><br />It was not bad, as the bike rider jumped off, however I now have grazes on my arm and leg. I said a few choice words to the Boda driver who was at this time being shouted at by a crowd. To be honest I dont know what happened to him after that as I realised I was bleeding and therefore we decided to go back to the house and sort out the cuts. So much for our trip to Lake View. Thankfully it was not the bad even though Anna put pure Alchohol and Iodine on my cuts and I now have some random Gauze and plaster on my arm and leg.<br /><br />We did manage to get to Lake View in the end too, although of course I could not swim :-( maybe next time.<br /><br />I suppose I have now learnt a lesson that if you get a Boda make sure they can actually ballence a bike properly...<br /><br />Anyway.... Thats all for now will write more when there is other news, hopefully not another Boda incident.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05676850323395097101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-84100063461723614322009-05-21T11:41:00.000+03:002009-05-21T11:46:47.932+03:00Warthog, Zebra, and Ankole Cow<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P-52AaksLKIpdw1_SRE9hRTMvq1Tw4r1ZkZ5FhB08bvQKO2WCMemItQCXjT9ZfJEItEHCj1TOT06gAgS8yFVE-XV3xpCKMOxOgqTjxpie_JyyBp2rGzakX2oZUIIQJ5l3bziJDreTZ0/s1600-h/P5170148.JPG"><img border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P-52AaksLKIpdw1_SRE9hRTMvq1Tw4r1ZkZ5FhB08bvQKO2WCMemItQCXjT9ZfJEItEHCj1TOT06gAgS8yFVE-XV3xpCKMOxOgqTjxpie_JyyBp2rGzakX2oZUIIQJ5l3bziJDreTZ0/s320/P5170148.JPG" /></a> </div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgDbz19YHUviMeEZ74n9V4uU-NKeV75esiPAB37W3IJjGpiG7tfj5eykEwK8ydRN9rTn1ma0kEeH6nusgwuAYWd1xa4pKTHkFzid6BcRwSZ1AyI7jUwYL4Ic0GSgDsELs5T_EMFhTeeU/s1600-h/P5170153.JPG"><img border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgDbz19YHUviMeEZ74n9V4uU-NKeV75esiPAB37W3IJjGpiG7tfj5eykEwK8ydRN9rTn1ma0kEeH6nusgwuAYWd1xa4pKTHkFzid6BcRwSZ1AyI7jUwYL4Ic0GSgDsELs5T_EMFhTeeU/s320/P5170153.JPG" /></a> </div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD0YtFI6NEl9Jl-ENCiKEDkO40BeYYa371Oj5JomxC8oKoFc3GqQG_VQiM-uhzGSO3KhC1DUrnqsfRJreDFoReA-wUuJDhMghTQAzqg7GSXy6RdrFVMycDc4ANMLqfXgK7Z744-4ifhXk/s1600-h/P5170155.JPG"><img border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD0YtFI6NEl9Jl-ENCiKEDkO40BeYYa371Oj5JomxC8oKoFc3GqQG_VQiM-uhzGSO3KhC1DUrnqsfRJreDFoReA-wUuJDhMghTQAzqg7GSXy6RdrFVMycDc4ANMLqfXgK7Z744-4ifhXk/s320/P5170155.JPG" /></a> </div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4IBKZAUCADRrB_tz7LOVW9AIPWVon-YroB0rfuVOvsbZwDGfZzeW8l-S8pLXnmQDghPYcfmnUF4wvifNWWQWSaLBvSit9eR2K0NAeOn_ix8d1vwTBLV7PxalS6QAuaQrP4dJdKhfPXo/s1600-h/P5170159.JPG"><img border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4IBKZAUCADRrB_tz7LOVW9AIPWVon-YroB0rfuVOvsbZwDGfZzeW8l-S8pLXnmQDghPYcfmnUF4wvifNWWQWSaLBvSit9eR2K0NAeOn_ix8d1vwTBLV7PxalS6QAuaQrP4dJdKhfPXo/s320/P5170159.JPG" /></a> </div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5215133013270221381.post-47280130394746081912009-05-21T11:29:00.000+03:002009-05-21T11:35:01.739+03:00Fish Eagles, Crocodile, Hippos and Monkey<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesP49F8kznOLuN0MX7Vte-2xdPj2nj-hSVsTYwtbPIUjzbtLSf9bbhePnmsBsq-FbW07IinFBQwClG8iAKq6gWqD0n-p48fcZOtmu5sXcSOwIU-eX6Q4r_g_mV1gdwO11AhWIv-DAHGg/s1600-h/P5170125.JPG"><img border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesP49F8kznOLuN0MX7Vte-2xdPj2nj-hSVsTYwtbPIUjzbtLSf9bbhePnmsBsq-FbW07IinFBQwClG8iAKq6gWqD0n-p48fcZOtmu5sXcSOwIU-eX6Q4r_g_mV1gdwO11AhWIv-DAHGg/s320/P5170125.JPG" /></a> </div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGNMTvJJ8FHA46aNNXqQIs5XT4gUBMrNjA7YqIJBTxWnPkpiIAhes-fqOjHeeobKqCP2trq_Y5q-YPej4KPBpW5UfYhsttq9iLNF2cbbw-Lc0CIYayDUYbzDIZkoTHpw7xHPbJJyiuEk/s1600-h/P5170144.JPG"><img border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGNMTvJJ8FHA46aNNXqQIs5XT4gUBMrNjA7YqIJBTxWnPkpiIAhes-fqOjHeeobKqCP2trq_Y5q-YPej4KPBpW5UfYhsttq9iLNF2cbbw-Lc0CIYayDUYbzDIZkoTHpw7xHPbJJyiuEk/s320/P5170144.JPG" /></a> </div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfONvF4yDCnPU6tu8hfULJlfcr5ypf_XY0KEulF9NpHKnJfAKx6TE34-bci6CUjEbzU_WayJJ6yJDN6OByjdGg4mVX4nFA2YVclB-5RqTm9yibwUvXI1qYXv2mKaI099RdO26aK82fdDk/s1600-h/P5170145.JPG"><img border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfONvF4yDCnPU6tu8hfULJlfcr5ypf_XY0KEulF9NpHKnJfAKx6TE34-bci6CUjEbzU_WayJJ6yJDN6OByjdGg4mVX4nFA2YVclB-5RqTm9yibwUvXI1qYXv2mKaI099RdO26aK82fdDk/s320/P5170145.JPG" /></a> </div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqk76FgsypfOy4fwThHc0uKWhvof2s_ztDcV_FfxWrK7UKxsJEV0WQmXx8gdE6Q3AiLVhVnhO9TWd82YzrUhOrLmW7Fj6VP9cI5iF2D0R1bAueoPswxGXlJDjhtaNKlyV3c9YnUwwJjg/s1600-h/P5170147.JPG"><img border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqk76FgsypfOy4fwThHc0uKWhvof2s_ztDcV_FfxWrK7UKxsJEV0WQmXx8gdE6Q3AiLVhVnhO9TWd82YzrUhOrLmW7Fj6VP9cI5iF2D0R1bAueoPswxGXlJDjhtaNKlyV3c9YnUwwJjg/s320/P5170147.JPG" /></a> </div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538524451003114054noreply@blogger.com0