Update from Uganda

It's Saturday afternoon, Nov. 10th, 2:30 p.m., Ugandan time. Dave and I are having a restful day back in Kampala after spending 2 days away . We ventured out once again by bus, this time to the colorful town of Masindi, 5 hours away, which we used as a base for our visit to Murchison Falls.

Murchison is home to hippos, crocodiles, pumbas, chimps, elephants, birds, and giraffes! This place was a highlight of Dave's trip here 2 years ago, something he enthusiastically recommended that we recreate. We were able to hire Sam, the same driver Dave used on that last trip here, a local who has had his own business driving foreigners for the past 4 years. Sam lives just outside the park with his family of 5 children and 5 siblings. As he skillfully negotiated the remote roads, he shared some stories of his life here. A couple of years ago, the Lord's Resistance Army (the Lord is the rebel fighter Kony - not Jesus!) was a huge security threat to visitors in the park. Civilians, not military personnel, were being targeted and murdered. And shortly before Dave's last visit, a Brit - Steve Willis- who had lived and owned a restaurant and safari camp in the park for years, was shot and killed. That same day, Sam was driving visitors around the park and encountered a very distraught giraffe. The agitated giraffe stopped the car and motioned his head in the direction of Steve's murder. One of the tourists had binoculars and looked through them at a distance. He saw the murderous rebels advancing by foot. Thanks to the giraffe's warning, Sam was able to make a quick getaway and escape any harm. (Security in the park is excellent now, and the rebels have since moved to the Sudan, much to everyone's relief - except the Sudenese, I'm sure).

Another story Sam shared was how during dry season, poisonous snakes have entered his home! He has a sharp "snake stick" to kill them! (And the whole family knows how to use it!!) A neighbor's 3 year old baby was killed a couple of days ago by a snake he tried to pick up.

Traveling is always such a revelation. I am continually awed and humbled by the difficult lives our friends in developing countries lead and am always grateful to be a part of volunteer efforts to help. On that note, I look forward to sharing volunteer opportunities with some of my high school students next year when I return to teaching at the end of my sabbatical. I'm excited to have been selected for a new program called O Ambassadors - O standing for Oprah - which is a new collaboration of the Angel Network and Free the Children to encourage concern and volunteerism in the world by U.S. and Canadian elementary and high school students and teachers. The goal is to help alleviate poverty and promote peace in the world, part of Millenium Goals. Before I left Santa Barbara, I applied to be a teacher/mentor for a club program at San Marcos and was pleasantly surprised to be selected! O Ambassadors attempts to teach students (and teachers) about the lives and cultures of various people of the world. It encourages ways we all can help the global community. I listed West and East Africa on my application as first areas of interest and have been consciously scouting possibilities for future volunteerism - especially in orphanages and in cross cultural situations.

Many of you are aware that I traveled to Ghana in June with 4 other members of Goleta Presbyterian Church to begin a long term relationship with a church in the remote town of Patriensa, encouraging micro enterprise and solar initiatives. And in Tanzania, Dave and I connected with a number of Masai tribes and a brilliant young Masai director named Eli who heads an organization called Ilkidinga which needs volunteers to work in Masai villages. Through Eli, we attended church services at his Catholic church which seeks a sister church relationship with an American Catholic Church. We also met Dora, the director of the Living Water orphanage which also seeks volunteers, especially teachers. Any interested adults out there?

Sorry to get sidetracked! Anyway, we did have a wonderful time at Murchison Falls. First Sam drove us to the head of the beautiful and powerful falls on the Victorian Nile, the source of some of the best river rafting in the world. The gorge the water passes through is only 6 m; Lonely Planet guide says it may be the most powerful surge of water in the world. We were also treated to a view of the bottom of the falls from a 4 hour ride on an aging tourist boat full of foreign visitors (many Dutch, Steve H. , so you could've "talked the lingo" - though they all speak good English!)

I was thrilled to see many birds, crocs and hippos from the boat, though disappointed that the new driver didn't go as close to the animals as the driver of Dave's boat 2 years ago. I consoled myself, however, with memories (and photos) of our outstanding week long Tanzanian safari, where we saw ALL the "big five" in the various parks we visited - black rhinos, elephants, a leopard, a cheetah, and many lions (including 2 up close after mating, where they were hanging out lazily near the road!!) - plus hundreds of beautiful giraffes, zebras, baboons, monkeys, and rare birds!! Truly an awesome experience.

I have yet to fill you in on the details of the Kilimanjaro climb but will later. Some of you already know that I made it to the top of the crater's edge, became mildly hypothermic, and was forced to call it quits without reaching the "true" summit. I did, however, receive a silver certificate from the park since Gilman's Point is considered a worthy achievement, the first of the 3 highest points on Kilimanjaro. It's only a couple of hundred meters short of Uhuru Peak, which Dave, of course, reached. I must say under the difficult circumstances, I was thrilled to make it to Gilman's. I saw many people turning back on the way up from altitude sickness (and could hear people puking in the dark; the climb begins at midnight while the scree is still frozen). I actually stood at close to 20,000 feet - the highest I'd ever climbed - at the edge of the highest point on the African continent! And a bonus is that I've lost at least 5 pounds without trying as part of Dave's "boot camp"!!

More later. Thanks to those of you who responded to my last log! I loved hearing from so many of you. Please continue to write to me and to keep us in your prayers. Thanks! Off to Rwanda tomorrow.

Love,
Judy