January 2-6th: Safari Time

So, a couple things…
First---No, that top picture is not of me
Second---No, I am not on vacation….looks can be deceiving ;)

Our first weekend in Uganda was spent touring the country. This of course is very important because as we all know, seeing the country with 32 other Americans in buses really allows you to directly interact with the culture. At the very least Ugandas will point, stare, and shout out “munzungo” (which means white person). You can imagine the important impact our presence has on a community.

Our tour began at “Monkey Island” which is one of the many small islands located in Lake Victoria. They rescue monkeys from other areas and bring them to the island for rehabilitation. In order to reach the island they take you on a "speed" boat. You have to wonder about the overall safety of the boat when they require you to wear bright yellow rain jackets and an orange lifepreserver with a whistle attached.

The Zoo was another pit-stop. Did you see my lion photo? Don’t worry, he’s not dead, just tired after I wrestled with him. From there we traveled up to Murchison Falls. Because this is Uganda, Dave, our leader, very seriously told us we would be on the bus anywhere from 6-12hours. Please envision our facial reaction.

Murchinson falls was beautiful! Most of the Nile flows through this small 100foot or so gap in the rocks. Then it tumbles down the crevice, before continuing on its journey north. We spent around an hour here, just relaxing by the rushing water.

The next day we went on safari, which sounded pretty cool, until our leader told us “safari” is simply a general term which means “journey”. A complete look of disappointment crossed all our faces. Only when a wild baboon popped out of the bush was this horrible information be wiped from our minds and our gleeful smiles returned.