Uganda - Safari First Day

This morning started out with a bang as we rose early and got our personal gear packed up and ready to leave. 

We had a rabid squirrel in our camp this morning!

 We pulled away from the school a little after 8am as the village children in their royal blue and white uniforms were showing up for school.  School didn't start until 9am but they were showing up in not so insignificant numbers well before 8am.  Showing up early for school is a problem that my kids have ever had!  

Whether they were just curious about us or always showed up early, these kids were hanging around way before school started.

Jerry sat in the front seat so Mary and I told him that he had to be the First Presbyterian Goodwill Ambassador and had to wave at folks as we drove past.  Here we are giving him pointers in the fine art of beauty queen waving:

The perfect beauty queen wave comes from the elbow, not the wrist. 

I think he has it!

We had a 4-hour drive to reach Paraa Safari Lodge.  Once we turned off of the main road (the Kampala/Gulu Road?) into the game reserve we started seeing animals.

Beautiful and graceful giraffes

Waterbocks: smell like skunks, taste like chicken :)

  During the 25km drive through the reserve we managed to see a dozen or more elephants, giraffes, antelope herds, waterbocks, cape, warthogs, many varieties of birds, and baboons.  As we arrived at the lodge we realized that we were someplace really special.  By the way this is the area, Murchison Falls, where the Amazon Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn was filmed.  

tired, hot, sweaty  

We make an attractive bunch, no?

 We were greeted with a glass of fresh juice and a cool washcloth with which to freshen up.  Patricia and I arrived to find that our room was not only charming but it has a covered balcony that overlooks the River Nile.  From the rustic furniture to the mosquito netting, this is what a safari lodge should look like!  What a special place!  

Wow.  Upgrade from the tent/cot situation. 

That shower was my friend. 

My cool, refreshing friend.

Our beautiful balcony...

overlooking the pool and the River Nile.

The first order of business was to shower!  After having not had a shower since Tuesday morning at the Tick Hotel in Kampala I gotta tell you that this shower was the bomb!  It felt good to wash away all of the road dirt, sweat, and baby wipe and hand sanitizer residue from the previous days.  A real, honest to goodness shower followed by a nice, long nap.  Heaven!  After the nap Patricia and I went down and dangled our legs in the pool with Roy and Mary as the members of our group trickled in to dangle also. 

This group is looking a little more chipper now.

 Our group enjoyed a couple of hours of laughing and fellowship while enjoying our cold beverages of choice.  BTW, Nile Special Lager is not only brewed at Jinja, Uganda at the headwaters of the Nile, it is very tasty - and cold.  We haven't had anything cooler than room-temp since we boarded the plane to Entebbe on Tuesday.  

There were warthogs in the front yard the evening we first arrived.  The first floor residents were told to not leave their balcony doors open because the baboons will enter your room and steal your stuff.  Oh yeah, and there is the leopard that keeps being spotted around the pool at night.

The original wild animal - fraternius dudecia.

Dinner was wonderful too.  Not only because of the buffet - which had very tasty selections, but because of a gift our group was able to bestow to Dr. Mike.  A few days ago we found out from Steve that Dr. Mike hasn't been paid by the hospital where he works for about 6 months.  He has just finished his residency and will be starting a surgical residency soon and evidently the hospital doesn't pay their residents.  He has had some financial hardships because of this.  Our group took up a collection and was able to gift him with enough money to pay his rent for several months.  Mary and I noticed on Wednesday when we started clinic that Dr. Mike used one of our otoscopes because he didn't have one of his own.  The church had purchased one and I had purchased one for my personal use before this trip.  We felt that he really could use an otoscope of his own so as a thank you for all of his patience with us and for being such a wonderful Christian example to us we gave him my otoscope, a book on Tropical Medicine and a drug reference book.  Dr. Jeff gave him his book called "Handbook of Medicine in Developing Countries" from the Christian Medical and Dental Association.   This just seemed like the right thing to do.  He was very humble but grateful for the gifts.  I know he was glad to get the items, but we were the ones who received the blessing knowing that these gifts will be a significant, much needed help to him.  

BTW, as I sit here at 11:30pm it is very quiet here on the balcony.  The heat of the day has finally disipated and the only sound I hear are the tree frogs, hippos grunting in the Nile, and occassionally the flap of bat wings as they keep flying by the balconies snatching up mosquitos that are attracted to the lights around the lodge. The staff came in hours ago and turned down the beds and closed the mosquito netting.  This place is so cool!

What a romantic place!

  I think it is time for me to take my second shower of the day and turn in.  We have a big day in store for tomorrow.  I am so excited I hope I can sleep!