Our departure from Kijabe Kenya for Jinja, Uganda was Dec. 27th. We waited at the bus stop atop a mountain for just short of 3 hours until our “deluxe” bus arrived. No explanation as to why it was late---after all, this is Africa. Our journey took over 10 hours on roads that were often dirt, partially paved, or riddled with enormous holes that our driver vainly attempted to avoid. The bus swayed from side to side. Our stops were in small towns where we had to rush to use the squat pots (holes in the ground that hundreds of people used). We carried our own toilet paper and held our breath. The bus was very hot by afternoon and we asked to open the small windows at the top of our seats. It was stifling and the small of body odor was intense. We just kept drinking water . By late afternoon I had cockroaches crawling on the windows beside me. We arrived in Jinja around 9:30 pm and were met by several men on small motorcycles who wanted to take us to our final destination. We declined their offer of a ride (imagine that!) and waited for a “taxi”. We finally arrived at our lodging which was a whopping $25 a night for all 5 of us including breakfast. Scott and I had the “honeymoon suite” loft atop the two beds for the kids. The shower and toilet were “open air” with no roof so that was also interesting. We got there past the dinner time so we went to bed without dinner. None of us complained. We were just glad to have a bed to sleep in.
(May I please interject? My favorite part: "None of us complained." He he he.)
Early the next morning we set off for the rafting company. We rode in the back of an old truck to our destination. We were outfitted in our life jackets, helmets and given breakfast. Our raft included our family, a lawyer from London, a psychiatrist from Ireland, and our South African guide named Jane who had been doing this job for 7 years in Uganda. We were given plenty of instruction and had to practice various steps of rescue and safety. She told us some very sobering details about this recreation and you can imagine how the anxiety level rose as I contemplated what we had gotten ourselves into. I prayed constantly throughout the day.
Our trip took a total of 6 hours. We did SEVERAL class 5 rapids. On our second class 5, all but one in our raft went overboard in very fast moving water. Jane had told us that we would tumble and tumble and feel like it was an eternity before we would surface. I will attest to that!!!! There were Ugandans in Kayaks that accompanied our trip to help rescue us. We had to cross our legs around the front of the kayak and hold on to an attached rope until we could get close enough to our raft and get pulled back in. It was so scary. Of course, we gulped in a great deal of water when we tumbled. Nile River water has a unique taste!!! (amoeba flavored) When we managed to successfully go over a rapid without flipping, we would shout and lift our oars to touch in a high five position. It was hilarious. Talk about a bonding experience. You can imagine how exhausted we were by the end of our 30 kilometer trip down the river. Along the way we saw many beautiful birds, people washing and bathing along the banks of the river, and lots of beautiful scenery. The water moves quickly so it was very clean. We drove back dusty roads in our open truck to our original destination to enjoy a wonderful barbeque overlooking the Nile. The only injury occurred when our Irish friend flipped out at the last rapid and was smacked in the nose with his oar. His wound was bandaged and cleaned but we had to depart before we knew if he had actually broken his nose. He was a good sport about it but this was the first day of his holiday and he was spending two more weeks in Uganda. It was hard to tell if he needed stitches, but our guide didn’t recommend going to the local hospital.
Our 10 hour bus ride back the next day got us back to Kijabe by 7:30pm. We were so dirty but all of us agreed that it was worth every minute. I found out afterwards that many of the missionaries who have lived here for years have yet to attempt the rapids due to the danger involved. I am glad I didn’t know that or I am sure I would have backed out.
Things I just have to add: The actual rafting was AMAZING and definitely terrifying. The last rapid was a class 6 that we had to get out and walk around part of, and then we rafted the last part of it, which was a class 5. Mom stayed on the bank and watched us as we all went flying out of the raft and were sucked under and tossed about. In her words, "I will never regret that decision as long as we live."
So, these pictures aren't that exciting, we didn't take our cameras on the river. But here they are:
FREEZING on top of the hill, waiting for the bus for 3 hours.
Mom wrapped in her hoodie and chatting with the kiddos.
siblings by the river as we got ready to go. cheerful, aren't we?
the choo that we paid 10 shillings to use at the border.
as these types of toilets are fairly uncommon, this sign was available to explain how to use it.
3 comments:
that sign is TOO funny! :) you almost would rather go to the bathroom behind a bush or something.
I'm glad you put that picture up. I was just explaining those signs to some people the other day!
first of all, i told your mom you all were crazy to go rafting down the nile. i believe my mom said it best when she said, "Carol, you know there are CROCODILES in the Nile?" you would never see my family do that. oh wait, you are my family. i mean, sisters and parents. the boys might.
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