Where to start...?

As expected, Tracy’s visit flew by far too quickly. However, I’m happy to report that her trip over here lived up to the high expectations and then some.

We have plenty of stories to share, so I’m not very sure where to start. And, additionally, classes seemed to have finally started to pick up: I’ve got my first test of the semester on Tuesday so I’ve some quality hours of good old-fashioned cramming ahead of me these next couple days.

I’ll give the brief overview – with pictures, of course - and then hopefully pick out a few stories to share in a later post.

I’m also trying to pester Tracy into putting together a post for this blog where she shares her reactions to 10 days in Africa. If you will see her any time in the near future, feel free to provide a little additional peer pressure!

Sunday, March 8:
Picked up Tracy at the airport in Entebbe at 9:00 pm; enjoyed hearing her initial reactions to traffic in Uganda during the hour drive back to Kizito’s. Came home to a late supper that had been prepared by Nora (the new maid/nanny at Kizito’s house), and Tracy got to experience the blandness that is traditional Ugandan fare. She was a trooper and put most of it down. Mother Nature welcomed Tracy to Uganda with a continuation of the abnormally hot weather (so much for the early start of the rainy season that I mentioned in a previous post) which prevented a good night's sleep (I really need to break down and get a fan) even though Tracy’s 36 hours of travel and my mad rush the previous weeks to get experiments to a stopping point had us both plenty tired.

Day 1 – Visiting the pen pals in Kamuli (Monday, March 9)
Got up fairly early the next day – thanks in part to the random rooster that has been at Kizito’s house for the last couple months. This rooster has decided that its favorite place to crow is just outside of my window…every day I get more excited for when it finally is made into a meal! We then jumped in my car and made the drive to Kamuli where Tracy was able to meet all of the Ugandan pen pals. Both school visits were great – we got to deliver another round of letters and a few other items from Tracy’s kids (the highlight: soccer balls), and we were greeted with a song & performance by each set of students. Enjoyed the quiet in Kamuli that night…but had the serenity interrupted by a battle between my stomach and African food. Unanimous winner: African food.

Presenting one of the soccer balls to the Namasagali students


The students following us as we left after our visit to Namasagali

Day 2 – Return to Kampala/Tracy show-and-tell day (Tuesday, March 10)
Left Kamuli in the morning and stopped by the Source of the Nile and Bujagali Falls on the way back to Kampala. Went into the office where I introduced Tracy to my co-workers and we were able to do a quick email check. Attended a meeting of my host Rotary Club where I introduced Tracy, and then went to an Ethiopian restaurant for Tracy’s final introduction of the day: my close crew of friends. Thought my stomach was doing better by that time, but Ethiopian food must have set it over the top…another battle that night, and another loss for Chris’s stomach :)

Day 3 – Murchison Falls (Wednesday, March 11)
Got up early to leave for a trip to Murchison Falls in north-central Uganda. 6 hour drive (welcome to Kampala traffic, Tracy) and then arrived at the falls. Murchison Falls is where the entire Nile is squeezed through a 6 meter gap between a couple rock faces…incredible.

Can you see us standing on the right side of the picture?

Day 4 – Ugandan safari & boat ride on the Nile (Thursday, March 12)
Got up at sunrise for a game drive (the area just north of the falls is a savannah and one of the best spots in Uganda for wildlife). In the late afternoon jumped on a boat for a two hour ride that took us up the Nile to the base of the falls. Had an incredible time with some amazing views. Ended the day having seen numerous animals including the following: baboons, monkeys, giraffes, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, antelope, gazelles, water buffalo, and – the highlight – a lion.

The highlight of our safari


Posing with our friend, the baboon


Stopping for a picture during our boat ride up the Nile

Day 5 – Rhino park & back to Kampala (Friday, March 13)
Left the base camp at Murchison in the morning and stopped for a few hours at the Ziwa Rhino reserve where we saw 3 pregnant white rhinos being reintroduced to Uganda (all of Uganda’s rhino population was wiped out during Idi Amin’s era in the 1970s when societal regulations basically ceased to exist). Returned to Kampala and took Tracy to a traditional Ugandan “pork joint”…a tasty way that Ugandans do roast pork.

Posing with the rhinos in the background

Day 6 – Kampala…souvenirs, pool, & friends (Saturday, March 14)
Slept in for the first time since Tracy had gotten to Uganda and then took a walk to Lake Victoria (only about 1 km from Kizito’s house). Went into town and walked around the city center to show Tracy some of the chaos that is Kampala (highlighted by a brief visit to the taxi park) while doing a little souvenir shopping. Met up with a few friends for lunch & some more souvenir shopping before heading to Glen’s apartment (a doctor from Canada & good friend of mine over here) to enjoy his pool. Met up with friends for an early dinner at a favorite Chinese restaurant and then went home to pack for our trip the next day.

Day 7 – GIZA!!! (Sunday, March 15)
Woke up at 1:00 am for a drive to Entebbe in order to arrive in plenty of time for our 4:30 am flight…to Cairo, Egypt! Arrived in Cairo at 8:00 am, had a driver from our hostel waiting for us (first time I’ve ever had anyone holding a sign for me at an airport). Went to our hostel, dropped off our bags, and headed straight to the pyramids! Had a personal tour guide for the day (more affordable than you would think!) who was incredible. Saw the Step Pyramid at Saqqara (first pyramid every built…4700 years ago) then went to an authentic carpet manufacturing site (not as affordable as you would think…) before heading to the main attraction: the Pyramids at Giza. Opted to do a tour-by-camel of the pyramids (again, not as affordable as you would think…but so worth it!) for two hours and got some incredible pictures. Can’t really describe it in words. After finishing at Giza went to a perfume/fragrance/oil manufacturing site (good thing Tracy was with me, or I probably would have gotten suckered into buying stuff I really didn’t need) and a store where paintings were done on paper made from papyrus. Went back to the hostel for a quick change of clothes before heading to the riverside for a dinner cruise on the Nile. Got home around 10:00 pm about ready to fall asleep while standing…what a day!!!


A camel ride...what a way to see the pyramids! (notice our 9 year old guide trying to get out of the photo)


Trying to put it into perspective


So cool...


Cliche, we know...

Day 8 – Cairo (Monday, March 16)
City tour of Cairo. Started with a morning at the Egyptian Museum. Incredible. Got to see the artifacts from King Tut’s tomb and then see dozens of ancient mummies face-to-face. Tracy and I can now say we have met Ramses the Great! Afternoon was filled with visits to the Coptic Christian area of Cairo (highlighted by a stop at a location where the holy family supposedly stayed during their flight from the holy land during King Herod’s rule…fascinating!), the Citadel, and the Khan al-Khalili (famous Cairo bazaar). Wandered around the shop area for awhile and enjoyed some Egyptian tea & coffee before heading back to the hostel. Went out searching for a falafel restaurant for dinner, and found a very nice one…in fact, nice enough enough that Jimmy Carter had eaten there before. Still, reasonable prices and very delicious.

Visiting the Hanging Church in Coptic Cairo

Day 9 – Cairo (Tuesday, March 17)
Another day in Cairo. Walked around the city for awhile in the morning and then went back to the bazaar area. However, the hectic schedule was starting to wear on both Tracy and I at this point. We got tired of the vendors pretty quick this time (they are much more aggressive than what I was used to in Uganda) and didn’t do much shopping. Visited a few other areas, with my favorite being climbing one of the tallest minarets (the tall towers on mosques that are used for announcing the call-to-prayer 5 times daily). Back to the airport for our 10:00 flight to Entebbe.

Day 10 – Kampala & departure (Wednesday, March 18)
Arrived in Entebbe at 3:45 am. Went back to Kizito’s and crashed there for a couple hours. Woke up and did some preliminary packing before heading into Kampala. Tracy decided to try having a dress & skirt tailor-made in a day (a few of my friends have gotten dresses or skirts made that they’ve really enjoyed…and they thought it should be able to get done in a day). Picked out fabric & design (more of her picking out things and me smiling & nodding) and then went back to the office for a quick check on internet to see what had happened in the world over the past week. Then off to the craft market where Tracy had a list of souvenirs she was planning on checking off (okay…I had a few things I wanted to get too). Wrapped up the shopping and went back to check on skirt & dress. They were later than promised (as expected). Tracy did get to test-fit her skirt, which they adjusted and she was very happy with. The dress, on the other hand, was not as close to being done. We ended up pushing time a little more than either of us wanted, so we just took the dress without Tracy doing a test-fit in order to finish packing and head to the airport. She quickly put it on before packing it away…swing and a miss. However, she has some ideas for how she might salvage it. If nothing else, it was a lot of fabric for a good price. Took off for the airport around 8:00 pm, and I dropped her off and said my final goodbyes (after some hassle from the airport police…but I’ll save that story for another time).

Overall, an incredible trip. Definitely no regrets on either of our parts!

Now my vacation from work/classes is over and it’s back to work. I spent the first few days after Tracy left catching up on emails and research. I’ve got my head above water again and now I’m ready for the sprint to the finish. Only about 10 weeks until I fly back to the States…let’s see what I can get done in that time!

Cheers!
Chris