Dear Everyone,
HAPPY NEW YEAR and May You be Blessed with all the Love, Compassion and Prosperity that you deserve!
I hope everyone had a Great Christmas and a Delightful New Year! I certainly did! I was really busy November and December. Angel came to visit me in Uganda for Christmas and New Years...and we had a great time! So alittle run down on what has happened since before Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving, I met up with about 40 other PCV’s in Gulu for Dinner. We cooked Thanksgiving dinner at the Ethiopian Restaurant where the manager let us use his kitchen! It was alot of fun, you can see pictures on facebook! About 10 of us went to Murchison Falls National Park the day after for a safari. It was good to be able to see the Park before Angel’s trip, so now I knew what we had to look forward to in December.
After Thanksgiving I traveled to Kampala for my yearly medical, only this time Waca Martin traveled with me. We were both summons to the President’s State House. One of my real Joy’s and Excitements in November was Waca Martin. Don’t know if you remember him from previous blogs or facebook pictures...but. To my surprise, Waca Martin who built the airplane model that was HUGH for President Museveni was called to the State House to be presented with a letter from Museveni. Because I typed the letter and mailed it, I was also summons to President Museveni’s. The President thanked Martin for his talent and told him that he was going to be calling him and wanted to know what he could do to help him pursue his talents. Waca Martin was so happy, it really gave me alot of joy just watching him! He had only been in Kampala a couple of times from the village, so it was great taking him around and being able to be with him during the presentation in Parliament.
Then my travels took me down to Entebbe for camp BUILD. Camp BUILD (Boy’s of Uganda in Leadership Development) was December 4th to the 10th and had 150 boys, ages 12-15 years old. I was a counselor for 10 of the boys and taught Lifeskills on HIV/AIDS and Malaria. It was alot of fun and a very successful camp! The focus was on developing leadership.
From Entebbe I traveled to West Uganda. I was asked by Peace Corps to go to West Uganda for training to Train-the-Trainer (TOT) in the Village Health Teams (VHT). They are planning to train the VHT’s in Northern Uganda. So right after Camp BUILD from December 11th to the 17th I went to Bushenyi. The training took place in Nyakasiro Sub-County in Mitoma District and was facilitated by Peace Corps in partnership with a USAID implementing partner Uganda Health Co-operative. There was about 29 VHT members that were taken though various sessions. So the VHT Coordinator for Oyam District and I went to Bushenyi together to learn. The idea was to come back up North and train the VHT’s in the North. Our plan will be to start with the VHT’s in Oyam District. There are about 3,000, so I think that we will set up a TOT and train about 250 if we can get sponsors.
After TOT I traveled back up to Northern Uganda to my site in Iceme. By this time I only had about 3 days to clean the bugs, dust and dirt, wash everything and spray before traveling back down to Entebbe to pick Angel up. When I am gone from site for more than 3 days the place needs a real good cleaning. I found my office had been taken over by termites! They had built there mounds high up the walls and they had eaten a leg off the bench, as well as my straw mats! They really enjoyed themselves....so we had to buy poison and I had alot of cleaning to do.
Needless to say, by the time I got to Entebbe, those 3 days exhausted me! But I was excited that Angel was on her way to Uganda!
The Rainbow Peace Ambassadors have really been working hard and doing it without me! So that means they are sustainable! The have put on 2 Drama's and did sports and activities, and also spoke to the community on Alcohol and Drugs and Conflict Resolution. I am so proud of them.
I have posted pictures and will post more when I have good internet access from our trip. But, all in all I think that we had a great time!
Angel flew in December 24th and, Shelley, I and Angel stayed at the Entebbe Zoo over night. Now, where in the US could you ever sleep with the animals in the zoo? It was a different experience to be able to walk the zoo when no one else was around and watch the animals get feed. Some of the monkey’s wanted to feed on Angel’s feet! Aside from the kids that were running the halls until 3 am....it was great. Christmas day Angel and I went to the Gately Hotel....really nice. Shelley and I went for a pedicure, while Angel rested. Christmas dinner was really nice at the Gately and Shelley joined us. Good Food, just a really nice Christmas dinner!
The next morning Whitecrest Tour Guide picked Angel and I up for our vacation trip. They were great...they made all the reservations for all the hotels, parks, cruises, safari’s, food, accommodations, fuel and driver from December 26th to January 3rd. I did not have to worry about anything...they took care of everything, all I had to do is show up, relax and have fun!!! Wish I did!
On the 26th of December we headed out driving the south western direction to Queen Elizabeth National Park which is Uganda’s second largest park and covers nearly 2,000 square kilometers via Fort portal. Queen Elizabeth National Park is a stunning location on the rift valley floor between Lakes Edward and George where a mosaic of habitats supports 95 mammal species and a remarkable 612 species of birds, 57 vegetation types including forest, grasslands, Acacia woodlands, lakeshore and swamp vegetation. We enjoyed an evening game drive as we proceeded to Mweya Peninsula where we stayed for two nights at the Mweya Safari Lodge. It was fabulous and we were able to have some relaxing pool time in between safari’s and a cruise along the Kazinga Channel! Also, I had an aromatherapy massage and Angel had a swedish massage and pedicure! Nothing like pampering yourself! During the safari and cruise we got to see huge herds of elephant, buffalo, kob, bushbucks, waterbucks, warthogs and antelope. I have a video of the elephant herd that is really neat! The elephants felt threatened at one time, so they made a circle with all the babies on the inside. Then when they realized no one was going to hurt them, they just walked off. Hopefully, I can get that posted someday. On the waterway we saw hippos galore, elephants, crocodile and thousands of shorebirds – pelicans, cormorants, stilts, storks, jacanas, gulls, and sandpipers, and african fish eagles. Pictures are on facebook. The food at Mweya Safari Lodge was fantastic and the hotel was gorgeous!
On the 28th we headed out for Bwindi Impenetrable Forrest where we stayed at Travellers Rest Inn in Kisoro. The Travellers Rest was really cozy with a fireplace and we stayed there 2 nights! Yes, it was cold for Uganda and we had a fire in the fireplace....I loved it! We were up in the mountains. We had planned to go Gorilla trekking in Rwanda, but our tickets fell though, so we went in Uganda. Gorilla trekking was a REAL Challenge! We hiked up and down the mountain for 4 1/2 hours to see the gorilla’s and then finally got 1 hour with them before we had to hike back for another 4 1/2 hours. I want to tell you that was a very strenuous hike! I would call that hike a hike for very advanced hikers! You did not even have a foot length sideways before you would slide down the cliff! It rained and there were alot of muddy slippery spots. It is not a hike for everyone! But the Gorilla’s were great when we reach our destination! I saw 2 Silverbacks and a large family. They say that Uganda is home to seven (one group is only 4 months old being trekked in Uganda) habituated gorilla groups. The Rushegura, Habinyabnja and Mubare gorilla groups roam the forrest around the primary tourism site at Buhoma.
Then we headed back up North East to Lake Mburo National Park. It is a real gem; it receives far fewer visitors than Uganda’s big parks, but boasts wildlife found nowhere else in the country such as impala, Cape buffalo, Burchell’s zebra and eland. No lions though. We saw acacia trees. But the highlight was horseback riding for the safari and being able to be with all the animals! It was alot of fun! We stayed at the Kimbla Montana Tent lodge, which was a really big, beautiful tent. I posted pictures on facebook. Also, the lodge itself was all opened and overlooking the safari grounds. We were only there one night.
On New Year’s Eve we drove up to Kampala and stopped at the Equator. Did you know that here you can walk from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere and revel in the fact that you weigh 2% less. You’re also rotating faster than anyplace on earth and the water right on the Equator line does not drain clockwise or counter clockwise, but straight down. On the Northern hemisphere water flows clockwise and on the Southern hemisphere it flows counterclockwise. Amazing! New Year’s Eve we stayed at the Whitecrest Guest House in Kampala and watched the Fireworks!
In the morning on January 1st, 2012 we headed up North to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and then to Murchison Falls National Park. The Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary was neat! We only had to walk about 10 minutes and then we were right there with a Rhino Mom and her baby. What powerful creatures! We then had lunch in Masindi where Angel and Abbey (our driver) played a few games of pool. We drove from South Murchison Falls National Park to the ferry over the Nile River and took a ferry to North Murchison where we stayed at Paraa Safari Lodge for two nights. But before the ferry ride on the south side we stopped and got out of the truck to look at the most incredible falls with rainbow’s flowing down over rocks and ledges! A huge natural flow of water plunging from a lofty precipice through a narrow gorge. The entire Nile River cascades 43 meters in a savage fury to the waters below. The waters are so rich and so violent are the hydraulics of the falls that foam floats like snow and ice for a mile or so down the river. It was beautiful!
Paraa Safari Lodge was also just as gorgeous as the Mweya Lodge. They have this pool overlooking the Safari plains, service is excellent and I did not want to leave. The next day was a game drive in our vehicle that allows you to stand up through openings in the roof. The park has 72 mammal species including the elegant Rothchild’s giraffe and large herds of hartebeest. We saw elephants, waterbucks, bushbucks, lions (we only saw 2 up in a tree trying to cool off, if you look hard you will see them on facebook), rock pythons and a wealth of antelope species. Near the Nile River delta hippos and many water birds were seen along the shores of Lake Albert. We also had some pool time before our cruise trip up the Nile River to the base of Murchison Falls. This had to be rated as one of the best ever! There are literally thousands of hippos in these rich waters and Nile crocodiles in profusion – the largest reptiles on earth. Elephants and countless grazers congregate along the riverbank to bathe and drink while bird life is prolific. Over 450 species of birds are found here with some spectacular displays, like an entire colony of brilliant colored bee-eaters nesting in carved out hollows of an eroded river bank, you can see those hollows on facebook. Angel was sorry she did not bring her bird book...so she took lots of pictures to look them up later. The food at Paraa Lodge was great!
January 3rd we left Murchison and headed to my site in Iceme. We were there for 3 nights and I think that Angel was ready to go! It is hard for someone when you are not use to no electricity, sinks, running water and have to go in a Latrine! Not to mention all the bugs! But she was able to attend one of my War Victims Support Groups, and see my village and meet some of the community. She also got to meet Waca Martin and see his latest model plane! We went to Lira one day and Gulu for 1 night before we headed back down to Entebbe where we stayed 2 nights at the Victoria Hotel...it was like a 5 star hotel in the US....It was great and a really nice ending to our vacation! It was hard to see Angel leave.
I was not back at site long when I had to get things ready for Northern All Vol in Kitgum. I was preparing a presentation on Grant writing. When I went though Kampala with Whitecrest I picked up Iceme’s Computers that I bought with the grant money...so I had to work on getting them hooked up to the Printer network and made sure everything was running okay. I will start to teach staff basic computer skills and copier/printer function when I return from Kitgum.
So on January 22nd I traveled to Kitgum for Northern All Vol, which is a training session for all the PC volunteers in the North and all the presenters are PC volunteers. There was about 25 of us and it was alot of fun, there were alot of volunteers that made some really good food. One morning one of the volunteers made cinnamon rolls with icing! It was great! Now I am back at site cleaning again!!!!
Well, that brings you up to date. Hopefully, I can get these blogs out sooner. At least this time it was only 2 months and not 3!
Take care of yourselves, and stay safe.
Love & Light,
Mari
Mari
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