Gorillas in Uganda

We are back from our Ugandan experience. This trip was one of the most rare opportunities most people will ever get. After landing in Kampala and overnighting at the Cassia Lodge, which overlooks Lake Victoria, our driver picked us up and we headed to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

It was a 10 hour drive that took us through the heart of Uganda. We saw village after village and banana plantation after banana plantation. Our accommodation in the national park was 5-star with amazing meals and complementary massages after daily treks. Our first day was a trek to the "H" group of gorillas. Kelly and I were the only people in the group so it was sort of our own private gorilla trek. The "H" group (family) was deep in the forest so to get to them we had to hike 10 kilometers over a mountain and down the other side. Total time to the gorilla family - 3 hrs. When we approach them the guides go ahead and cut the bush for us to get a better view. They also make a grunting sound, which sounds like someone clearing their throat. This sound calms the silverback and lets him to know who we are.

There are 32 different gorilla families within this park, which covers parts of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The rangers track only 7 of these 32 families and use them for tourism. The other 25 families' whereabouts is unknown but can be anywhere at anytime. We did not get as close as we would have liked to this group but the rangers did a good job cutting vegetation out of the way to get the best viewing opportunities. The next day we trekked the "R" group with two other people from the US and a father/daughter from Holland. This was a 20 minute hike and there they were in a clear area all hanging out eating and playing. We were able to get the best photography opportunities as well as some amazing video. Each visit with the gorillas lasts a maximum of 1 hr then we have to leave them alone.

We were able to walk into the nearby village where we purchased some great souvenirs. On the last day we did a guided waterfall hike that took us back into the rainforest. It was a relaxing hike and we were back within 3 hours. That night we went to the nearby orphanage to watch school children do traditional African singing and dancing. Afterwards we purchased some crafts made by the children and donated $130 for clothes and school fees. It was an amazing experience and we only wish we could have done more.

In the morning we loaded up and made our way back to Kampala. The drive took us through Queen Elizabeth National Park where we tried our luck at spotting 'tree climbing lions'. None were spotted. We did, however, spot a few groups of African Elephants and many baboons.

The next morning we met our tour guide, John, who drove us to an orphanage/Sunday school in Kampala. I should add in here that before we left for Uganda Kelly talked about our intentions with her students and they decided to make donate some supplies to the kids we meet. So this orphanage was where we brought the suitcase (full) of pens, paper, toys, teddy bears, games, pencil crayons, and other assorted goods. When we arrived we got a tour of the whole facility which was pretty nice by Ugandan standards. There were many classrooms divided by age groups, teenagers were in one, small children in one and so on. We went into one of the classrooms with some adults from the orphanage and made the announcement to the children. They were so happy they all cheered and clapped for us. Apparently this year they are having a Christmas gathering at the orphanage so they were told that the toys and supplies would be given out at Christmas for all the children.

School is out for the summer in Uganda right now so this orphanage serves as Sunday school only. This basically means that ANY young person within the area is very welcome to walk into the orphanage and have a seat in class and begin to take place in singing songs, reading, writing, and more importantly socializing with others. This is a very special day of the week and time for these children as they are also served a meal of one boiled egg and a cup of porridge. May not sound like much but for many it is the only meal they have had in 3 days. The excitement and smiles on their faces while they were eating said it all. We were also told that many of these children love this place so much that they get up at 3 am to begin walking up to 10 kilometers to get there. It was very moving and if I may add Kelly did tear up at one point and had to leave the classroom. As for myself.....well someone had to hold it together, but it wasn't easy. Right before we left Kelly got a big hug from one little girl and before she could let go Kelly handed her 3000 Shillings. The equivalent of $2, but in true economic equivalency about $150 so you could imagine the look on her face. She followed us to the car and ran down the road after us with the biggest smile I've ever seen. You may now take a break from reading to wipe the tears from your eyes.

Now, later that afternoon we headed for Entebbe to catch our 6pm flight back to Kuwait. The flight took us to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where we met up with friends who were traveling there at the same time. A quick layover and we were on our way to Dubai and then to Kuwait. Cannot say enough about Uganda and can't return soon enough.

From Kuwait, Ryan

Lake Victoria

Looking out our hotel window

Truly the impenetrable, we made our way straight across that.

Our hotel in the park

This lady almost stepped on my foot

Orphanage at the park

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Orphanage in Kampala

Iraq

So we finally decided to take the drive to the Iraq border yesterday. A group of friends came with us and we headed out of Kuwait about 120kms. On the way we were lucky enough to see some camel farmers herding their camels along the highway so we stopped for some pictures. The border was not nearly as intimidating as I thought it would be. There were a whole bunch of vehicles all around and a little grocery store just on the Kuwait side. Pretty uneventful but non the less very interesting to finally see IRAQ. Here are some pics.

A random dog running away

They throw those spikes down if a car tries to run the border

On the other side of those canopy's is Iraq

Never take a sports car golfing

I can say one thing, trying to fit two sets up golf clubs into a Porsche Boxster is a dumb idea. A friend and I woke up at 7am on Friday to go golfing. I told him i'd pick him up so when I got there we loaded up with our clubs in our laps and drove 50kms to the golf course. When we got there the workers ran out to the parking lot to carry our clubs to the clubhouse for us (this is normal and free). We soon found out that we would have to wait almost 2hrs before we could get on the course because it was so busy. We decided to leave. The workers brought the clubs out to the car for us and didn't realize how we brought them there. So I said to my buddy, "watch this" I popped the trunk and the guy took one look in and started laughing, "they aren't going to fit in there!" So we laughed and I said no no sir in the front it's ok. So I popped the hood, he opened it and looked in, "where the engine?" I laughed and replied, "no no it's ok they will fit" so he tried to position them in the front trunk but every way he tried they still stuck out of the hood about a foot. I said, "it's good and I shut the hood, which came down on the clubs and sat about a foot or more wide open. "It's good thank you sir", his eyes lit up, "no no you will drive like this?" my buddy and I both burst out laughing. What a bunch of losers the guy probably thought. But he laughed with us and we loaded them back into our laps in the car and laughed the whole way home. It's one of those times you just had to be there to see how smooth it all went down. Here are some pictures of how the golf course worker thought we were driving down the highway. Next time I will be taking the Honda.

A Weekend of Fun!

Well, this weekend was one many of us Western teaching staff look forward to from the beginning of the year... The Annual Rugby Ball at the Hilton Resort. Everybody gets dressed up to the nines and heads out to party like it's going out of style. What a riot we had! Unintentionally, Ryan and I matched in our black and white ensembles and we danced the whole night away.

We are really thinking about next fall and how excited and jealous we are that you guys have snow right now. We both are really missing the chilly weather of fall. It's still 38 everyday here but we are used to it and it just feels like a hot summer day at the lake everyday... minus the lake and add a REALLY big sandbox.

We had a great Thanksgiving meal for the Canadians on our floor last Monday. It was wonderful and we managed to gorge ourselves with enough turkey to feed an army. Being the little suzy homemaker that I am, I decided to try my hand at making turkey soup. It took forever to boil the bones (who knew real soup took so long??) and it turns out it came at the right time! Everyone, save Ryan and I thus far, is getting very ill even within our teacher building. Ryan's class had only 4 students on Thursday! All of Kuwait is extremely paranoid of H1N1 right now so when their children get even a sniffle they yank them out of school. It's quite ridiculous. So far my classroom on the girls campus hasn't been too badly effected as I still have a full room every morning.

We decided that we needed to book another trip to go somewhere for New Years so we booked tickets to Beirut to go snowboarding for New Years. Some friends of ours have a little chalet out in the mountains and they are going to lend it to our group of people to enjoy for 2 days... how nice!!! We just couldn't give up the opportunity so we booked tickets early.

We also got excellent news yesterday from our friends, Daena and Gabe who work with us and live on our floor of the apartment building. They are 4 months pregnant! They have been married for 5 years and will have the baby here in Kuwait.

Other news... Ryan got the Porsche back to do a bit of engine repair. So he will be car-sitting again for the next few months. Having two cars is Awesome!

Golfing in the Desert....or is it?

Well a friend of mine finally got me out to golf 9 with him last week. We drove for 1/2 an hour and ended up in the middle of the desert, 44kms from the Saudi border, at this amazing golf course. 10kd or $38.00 for 9 holes . That sounds like a lot by Canadian standards but in Canada golf courses are a lot easier to come by. Looks like we will try and get on once a week or every second week for the winter. Here is a look at some pictures I took.