Uganda Experience - June 2019

As we write this blog on Canada Day, we are reminded of our amazing country and all the incredible friends and family we miss back home.  We live in a new place but Canada is, and always will be, home!
The pics of everyone dressed in red & white in festive atmospheres definitely makes us realize the fun we are missing back there.  

Summer is in full gear here in Saudi with daily temperatures ranging from daily highs around 47-48 Celsius to lows of 33-34.  The good thing is that the humidity doesn't ramp up until July.  Our compound is getting quite quiet as moms and kids head home for summer and many dads are in and out with vacations.

We will find ways to keep cool inside the chilled pools.  Many people stay cool and get exercise by going to the shopping malls and doing laps.  

This blog update will focus on the June Eid trip we took to Uganda.  

This trip was not on our list when we first moved to Saudi but after seeing videos and pics, and hearing stories from work colleagues, we decided we could not pass this up.  As we went on vacation for our "Gorilla Trekking Experience" we soon realized that this trip was much more...this was the "Uganda Experience".

​Enjoy...
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Day 1 - Fly - Dammam to Dubai to Nairobi to Entebbe
                 Drive - Entebbe to Kibale Forest Camp (west Uganda)

We started after work, flying to Dubai in time to catch a big pork feed and some beers at The Draft House in the airport.  Well worth it and enough to fill us before our overnight flight to Entebbe, Uganda.

As with most Middle East flights, you leave just before or just after midnight and wake up in your destination.  Not a bad way to travel.  Kenya Airways had lighting that resembled some kind of night club.  Pretty fancy!  After a quick coffee at the Nairobi airport, we flew off to Uganda and were greeted at the exit by Moses, our tour guide for the week.

We asked to stop in Entebbe to get some waters, beers, and snacks for the road trip, as well as some Ugandan shillings.  The first observation was that every bank was guarded by someone with a gun.  Hmmm.  Jeff went to the ATM and took out 20,000 shillings thinking that would be about $750US and should be good for the week.  Our guide laughed at him and said it was only about $5 US.  He went back to his currency converter app and realized he had accidentally converted 20,000 Ukrainian Hryvni instead of Ugandan shillings.  Back to the bank for more cash.  Then he realized that he was at one bank and the guide was at another, leaving Lisa alone in the van.  Was this OK?  Lesson learned!

We headed out on the highway north to Kampala (1 hour away) and then west to the Kibale Forest Camp.  Total drive time was about 6 hours.  This gave us some time to have a couple road beers and learn about Uganda:
- Uganda has 44 million people.   Wow!  In contrast, Canada has 37 million
- Uganda's average temperatures are 20-29 Celsius with an average of 26 degrees
- Uganda's average annual rainfall is 35-60" of rain
- Uganda does not need to import any food - all foods are grown within the country.  Their bananas are grown everywhere and you can buy large bunches of them along the road as snacks.  And they are the tastiest bananas you will ever have!
- Uganda has a very young population - 70% of the population is under 40 years old
- Uganda is a tribal culture and some tribes still have an interesting ritual - when the son finds a 'future wife', it is customary for his father to "test drive" her to ensure she is still a virgin and suitable for his son.  It is customary for the woman's first born child to not be from her husband but from her father-in-law.  Hard to imagine this in a western culture but interesting.
- There is an island in the lake we stay at later in the vacation called Akampene Island or "Punishment Island".  Unmarried girls who got pregnant were seen as bringing shame to their families and taken to this deserted island, dropped off, and left there to die.  Some people didn't take the pregnant females there but to a cliff at Kisiizi Falls where they were pushed off.  Another interesting ritual.  So many things we miss out on in Canada!

We arrived at the gate to Kibale Forest Camp.  Moses went to pay our park fees and we stopped to take pics of the many baboons playing in the area.  Off to our lodge for the first night - 
Kibale Forest Camp Lodge.  We slept in a tent...in single beds...having to wake up early at 5AM for our chimpanzee trekking.  But were tired, so off we went to sleep!  Day one in the books.

Beers at the Draft House Dubai Airport

Love the colours on Kenya Airways

Tusker beer - always a hit!

On the road to Kampala

Street market

Chickens for sale

Ugandan bananas - delicious!

Moses and Lisa

Baboon three-way?

Just a few baboons on the road

View from our patio at Kibale Forest Camp Lodge

Our dinner view

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Day 2 - Chimpanzee Trekking - Kibale National Park

We woke up early and went to Kibale National Park.  We quickly were brought in for a safety briefing.
Lisa warned Jeff to pay attention!

A bit about the Kibale National Park:
- has the highest biomass per hectare of primates on earth
- the park covers an area of about 795km.  This area we visited was 1590m above sea level.

Differences between chimpanzees and gorillas?  There are many...main differences are:
​- Chimps are actually more closely related to human than gorillas are.
- Gorillas are larger than twice the size of chimpanzees.
- Chimpanzees have a unique habit of curling their lips, gorillas don't.
- Gorillas are herbivores, chimpanzees are omnivores.

A group of 6 of us, with a guide, started trekking.  The guide was armed with a rifle that made us feel safer.  We trekked all morning, dodging some chimps who were bombing us with droppings from high in the forest.  One guy from Portland was not so lucky to miss the bombing.  He needed a serious wiping.  

​We  found many chimps up in the trees, including a family.  

Interesting story - mom & dad were sitting on one end of the branch grooming each other.  The baby was lounging at the other end of the branch.  We all watched them in awe.  They act so much like humans....except for this.   Mom leans over and shows her butt to baby and then lays on her back.  Baby comes over and starts having aggressive sex with mom.  Our jaws drop and can't believe this is happening.  Everyone suddenly looks at the guide for an explanation - moms do this to teach their young how to have sex.  Interesting!

We went to another area of the park and had a chance to see the chimps up close.  You will see the pics but also check the videos for the sounds.  Quite an incredible experience.  You can not imagine the adrenaline rush as they scale down trees and walk past you.  As we got close to the older one, we saw how gentle and friendly they can be.  He just sat and posed for pictures.

Check the video that shows the incredible amount of butterflies swarming along the highway.  We've never seen anything like that before!
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After a full day and 15km of trekking, it was time for a one hour ride through the Ugandan villages to our next overnight stay at Lodge Bellavista.  It was a nice lodge overlooking Lake Nyamiteza.  We had dinner and beers with Moses and went off to bed.

Huge ass caterpillar

Executive Hair Salon

Clothes washing

Bananas getting ready for shipping

Ready to take some bananas to the market

Banana Bike

View from Lodge Bellavista

Cheers from Uganda!

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Day 3 - Game Drive - Queen Elizabeth National Park

Once again, the safari life wakes us up for 5AM to have a quick breakfast and get on the road.

We drive along the dark highway through the villages and see many people up and walking along the roads - kids going to school walking along the edge of the road, parents are up.  People are cooking along the side of the road.  They are cooking the Ugandan Rolex - they heat a concave metal griddle on charcoal and make a vegetable omelette in it.  Then they add chapati bread on top and roll it, almost like a fajita.  Pretty damn tasty!

We pass a town called Kasese.  A day after we returned to Saudi, we found out that they found a boy in this town who had recently come from neighbouring Congo.  He had Ebola and was quickly quarantined.  Wow.  That was too close for comfort!

We get to Queen Elizabeth National Park.  This is the main game drive park within Uganda.  

We are lucky enough to have signed up for the "Experiential Game Drive" which means our driver can go off-roading to look for animals as opposed to having to stick to the roads.  Should be some great pics!

We saw many animals - buffaloes, elephants, lions and cubs, warthogs ("pumbas"), nile monitor lizards, hippos, and even a leopard in a tree (after catching and eating a gazelle).  At lunch, we saw a few blue-headed lizards (agama atra).

After lunch and the drive, we headed south.  We crossed the equator into the southern hemisphere.

We are excited to get to our lodge tonight, which is an isolated "retreat" on an island.  This is the Byoona Amagara Island Retreat and is located in Lake Bunyonyi in southwest Uganda.
​We need a 30 minute boat ride to get there but we are excited to get there for a warm shower!

As we enter a small village, we hear a noise in our van.  We stop to check it out and find out the radiator is leaking.  Bad!   All the villagers are staring and us, noticing the white people.  The kids call out "Mzungu" which is their term for white people.  Kids come closer to the road to check us out, almost like we are Hollywood celebrities.  One kid says "hey mzungu - try our food - it is amazing!"  The lineup of people from the village coming to check out the mzungus is spreading.  Don't miss your chance to see the mzungus.  
Moses fills the radiator with water and we move on, hoping for the best.

It is now dusk and we are driving through the Ugandan mountains towards Kabale, a town about 10 minutes from where we take our boat to the "retreat".  The radiator makes the noise again so we stop along the mountain.  It is darker now and the radiator is pouring fluid out.  A truck passes and stops to help.  They pour radiator fluid in and it just flows right through.  The temperature has now cooled.  Jeff asks for the boat guy to bring a vehicle to pick us up but they can't get a hold of the tour operator to give the OK and the 'acting manager' is not empowered to make the decision.  We decide to forge ahead!

About 5 minutes later we hear a huge bang and the radiator drops out right as we approach the top of a mountain.  Along the forest.  In the pitch black Ugandan night.  With no shoulder on the edge of the road!  WTF!  Jeff snaps and demands the driver gets us a vehicle to get out of here and he will even pay.  See the video below!

A mechanic shows up, we pile into his tiny car and we get to the boat dock.  The 30-minute ride with a stranger in the pitch black Ugandan night should've been a bit scary but we had the end in mind - a warm shower at the 'island retreat'.

We got to the island 'retreat' to find that Lisa's worst nightmare came true.  We had an open air hut.  Yes, open air.  Anything could get inside.  Oh ya, there is no electricity and the shower and toilet is outside down below the hut, "outhouse-style".  And since it was overcast today, the solar panel didn't heat the shower water.  We wrap the mosquito net tightly around the bed, Lisa puts on headphones so she doesn't hear what is outside, and we go to bed.  

Many people camp.  Many people love this 'roughing it' experience.  Were we just being pussies?  Did our Kenya 5-star glamping tent experience set the bar too high?  Either way, we did fall asleep and were excited for the next day....the gorilla trekking!

Ready for the game drive

Buffaloes

Making us a Rolex

Nile Monitor Lizard

Warthogs / "Pumbas"

Lion stalking her prey

The antelopes are all watching the lions

I think we saw them all

Blue headed lizard

The open air ecotent at the 'retreat' (with no flash)

The open air ecotent at the 'retreat' (with flash)

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Day 4 - Gorilla Trekking - Bwindi Inpenetrable Forest

We wake up for the day we've been waiting for.  Gorilla trekking!

After the 30 minute boat ride and 1 hour drive through the winding mountain and rainforest, we arrive at Bwindi Inpenetrable Forest.  It is exactly as you would expect and as you see on TV - everything is green, there is mist and moisture everywhere, and the air is so fresh!

A bit about Bwindi Inpenetrable Forest:
- "Bwindi" is derived from the Runyakitara language and means "impenetrable".  The forest is so thick, we literally had three guides with machetes cutting the foliage so we could walk in the forest to find gorillas.  It is mainly made up of bamboo, ferns, and vines.
- the forest is on the western edge of the Rift Valley (the same valley we saw in Kenya - the eastern edge)
- elevations go up to 2600 m or 8500 ft
- it hosts 400 mountain gorillas, half the world's population 
- it is a UNESCO world heritage site

We go through the safety briefing.  Lisa made sure Jeff really paid attention here!
Lisa almost freaked when she heard the forest is also home to 3 poisonous snakes - puff adders, green mambas, and spitting cobras.  Hope we don't see any of them!  Safety rules are listed in pics below.

They have porters there to carry your bags, provide walking sticks, help you climb down the mountain and also pull or push you up.  They were quite helpful.

Not only are there 3 machete-carrying guides, there is also a guide with a rifle...just in case!  They all lead the 6 of us to find gorillas!  We are hoping to find the Oruzogo tribe - see the pic below!

You can not imagine the anticipation and hope to see the gorillas and when the guides stop and point - "over there".  All you see is branches moving and you get so excited to see a gorilla in the wild.

We finally find the gorillas and you can't even explain the feeling.  They are so gentle, just playing in the branches, sitting on the forest floor and eating.  And to see mom holding her baby was something special.  The silverbacks were definitely something to see!

Check the pics and videos - these words simply can not describe the experience.  Everyone needs to feel what we felt here!

After the trekking, we were thirsty so we stopped at a mountain top village for a 'cold' beer.  Uganda rarely has refrigerated beers.  They think they are cold enough and I suppose it worked.  We did not say 'no'!

Driving back to the boat dock to the 'retreat', we saw many people on the hillsides pounding rocks with homemade hammers, breaking the rocks down into gravel.  Wow!  The things we take for granted!

What a day!  We trekked in a rainforest and saw fucking gorillas in the wild!!

The Ugandan animals were amazing but you really need to see how friendly the people are.  We've never had better service in hotels.  They truly are so happy you are there to visit their country.  Beautiful!

One last night on the island.

The drive through the mountains to Bwindi

The Oruzogo gorilla tribe we trekked with

Silverback

Our Club beers at the village near Bwindi

Pork Joint

Avocados

Street market

Our boat launch

View from our bed at the 'retreat'

The shower

Lisa getting ready with some Captain

The outhouse

The door to our ecolodge

Shower time!

Time to boat back to the mainland

Suitcases are loaded onto the boat

The gravel pit

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Day 5 - From Uganda to Rwanda

We left the 'retreat', boated to shore, and started the 30-minute ride to Rwanda.

We had quite an experience crossing the border and realized "we weren't in Kansas anymore".  We were told by our guide to walk past the metal bar gate and to Uganda customs, then to walk 500m down the road to Rwanda customs and he would meet us there.

Hmmm...really?

Let's do it.  Over to Uganda customs.  Stamp. Stamp.

On the way to Rwanda customs, they check out temperatures with temple thermometers - testing for ebola.  We are clean!  Whew!

Over to Rwanda customs with no sign of Moses.  Stamp. Stamp.  Moses shows up and off we go to Kigali.

Rwanda is "the land of a thousand hills" and the 2nd smallest country in Africa.  It is also known as the cleanest country in East Africa with clean roads, no litter (bottles/bags) lying around.  This is because of "Umaganda" - this translates to 'coming together'.  This is an official government program taking place on the last Saturday of each month from 8am-noon.  All citizens go out and do cleanup and community service.  There are no shops open or public transit - everyone is focused on this effort!

Kigali is the capital of Rwanda and is well-known for the genocide in 1994.  We opted not to go to the genocide memorial but to go right to the hotel for some drinks and much-needed rest.

Driving through the shanty area and terrible dirt streets, Lisa looked at Jeff as if to say "are we at another retreat??"  It was not looking promising.  Suddenly, like an oasis in the desert, we saw what looked like a decent hotel and saw an amazing looking bar.

Jeff was instructed to check us in and drop the bags in the room so Lisa could get to the bar and order beers.  This was at 2:30PM.

At 9:30PM, we received a bill for 23,200 Rwandan francs or $25US.  This was for 16beers, 2 gin and tonics, and 2 dinners.  Wow!  What a find!  

A great finish to an INCREDIBLE UGANDAN EXPERIENCE!

Uganda customs crossing

Looks official

Rwanda customs

Welcome to Rwanda

Our hotel in Kigali - 1st thing you see is the bar!

2:30PM

9:30PM...Cheers to a great vacation!

Damn. That was cheap!

Welcome to a Middle East airplane!

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Bebb's Birthday Pool Party

Many friends rallied at our compound pool to celebrate David's birthday late in June.  What a party it was.  We needed the chilled pool to escape the 47 degree heat.  Pool, games, drinks, BBQ, and great friends!
​Happy Birthday Bebbs!

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Upcoming Travel

We have some exciting travels coming up through the rest of 2019.  We hope to rally more friends to join the escapades!

July - Lisa will be in Canada to visit her mom
August - Lisa will meet Jeff in Portugal.  We visit Lisbon, Porto and a few other places.  Then off to Paris and EuroDisney, then down to the French Riviera for some sun and beach time.
September - we go to Ukraine.  We will visit Kiev, go to Chernobyl and Pripyat, and will also do a Ukrainian borscht and perky making class with a baba in her home.  Jeff flies home to work and Lisa goes to Dublin to meet Anita for her birthday girls trip and tour around Ireland.  That should get ugly!

October 18 - We have the fall edition of Tribfest in Bahrain.  Some more great tribute artists are coming.  Always a great day in the sun with a tempting beer gardens!

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October 25 - going to see Eminem in Abu Dhabi for Jeff's birthday weekend.  Should be a great time with friends.  Heard he purrs on a great show!

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November long weekend - going to Oman with a large group of friends.  Promises to get silly!

Late November/Early December - going to South Africa, being joined by Anita.  Kruger Park safari and then down to Capetown for shark diving, wine tasting, and more!

New Years - off to Phuket Thailand.  Look out!

Jan/Feb 2020 - radio silence.  We need to submit our passports for new ones, meaning we're in Saudi for January and probably most of February.  This means that for the 1st time in 10 years, we will most likely miss our T&A adventures.  Will be back to Canada in July/Aug so hope to connect with friends in Canada, as well as Mark & Gayle in Kansas.  DO NOT worry, we WILL be back for T&A 21!

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We hope you enjoyed the story of the "Uganda Experience" - it truly was an amazing time.  Not just the animals but to see the culture and amazing people..

Have a great summer everyone...the next update will be late August!

​Love, L&J...