Journey home

We asked my daughters friend to pick us up at 7.30 pm but by 8pm there was no sign of him. A phone call ensued and he was apparently on his way - having spent 2 weeks there I should have know Ugandan time is a loose term. The pacing up and down the reception was in full flow but to huge relief he turned up at 8.30pm

We had to drive back into Kampala to then take the road south down to the airport. As we tried to make our way out of kam we got stuck in a traffic jam for nearly an hour. I asked the driver how long it would take and he said if this continues it could be another 2 hours... feck... I was going to miss my flight at this rate and the driver knew it.

The hour of driving was spent mostly on the other side of the road playing chicken with the on coming traffic. The concentration levels were immense from all of us in the vehicle.

There is no dual carriageway just one lane either way with very little or no markings at all until you are about 2 miles from airport where it turns into a dual carr. and the traffic is deserted.

Just before you enter airport there is security which, to be fair is a good thing but adds to the hold up if you are running late.

I was just relieved to make it in one piece and to make my flight back home.

I said my goodbyes and told them to relax on the journey back to Kampala.

Boarded flight and ended up sitting next to a chap with one leg. As I had the window seat I could see it was going to be a pain for him to get up if I had to go to the toilet etc but luckily there 2 spare seats on the other side of the aircraft - job done and I settled there for the night.

As morning broke I could see us flying over Monte Carlo quickly followed by the Alps.

Then over the English Channel..

Passing by the south side of London...

... and back to heathrow where I had to catch a connection flight back to Edinburgh. Following the purple connection signs I didn't realise how many hoops you have to jump through to catch your next flight so be prepared.

Boarded next flight but sat at stand for what felt like an hour but was probably only 30 mins until we eventually moved, only to find a traffic jam of planes waiting for a slot to take off....

This big boy bullied his way to the front of the queue - nothing ever changes in life does it?!

... and before I knew it I was back home where everything is ordered, everyone follows rules, and life is less chaotic.

Goodbye Uganda

It's been a blast but all good things come to an end....

It's been great seeing my daughter again but will no doubt undergo interrogation from the rest of the family back in Scotland tomorrow night as to how she is doing.

Last dinner on the balcony below...

From the the basic accommodation of Backpackers to the looksherry of Cassia Lodge I've enjoyed every moment.

Uganda is a fascinating place and has great potential. It will be sad to say cheerio but I will take many great memories with me.

Hope you've enjoyed the blog..

9 hour flight awaits......

Adios

Graeme

Shop t'ya drop & Pizza - Kampala City

Another hot day in Kampala... and it was time to collect some physical memories of the trip to Uganda but before we could set off Annabel required a few hours relaxing by the pool!

Then we were off for a walk down do Gaba road in the blistering heat - at least it was downhill!

It wasn't before we caught a Matatu (minbus/taxi) and within 30 mins we were in the centre of Kampala.

The sun was so strong we decided to get another taxi to Oasis Mall to exchange some Dollars for Schillings where we got a private taxi to the African markets.

My daughter then went into full swing bargaining mode and before long we were fully laden, dehydrated and ready for drink and nosh.

Taxi called and back to bank to exchange more Dollars.... spent too much in market!

Then onto a fab Italian restaurant for Pizza and drinks.

Annabel waiting patiently for her pizza....

Pizzas arrive!

Time to call a private taxi back to Cassia Lodge...after a superb meal....

A couple of bottles of water overlooking Kampala city and a early night....

Cycle Tour - Kampala Cultural trip

I could see my daughter could see this tour far enough - she isn't into cycling and wasn't sure her lungs could cope with a 16 mile cycle in the heat of Kampala but I convinced her to go anyway!

Bert (a Dutchman who speaks excellent English, as most Dutch people do), was our bicycle tour company leader who came to pick us up.

His website is at www.ugandabicycle.com

We drove down to his house which is quite close to Cassia Lodge and got the bikes set up for the ride.

Our heads were now peering skywards as dark clouds seemed to be approaching. This looked like a heavy dose of rain and my thoughts were confirmed when it started to lash down - we took cover in his house!

We thought our trainers would be ok sitting under the eaves of the house but because this had turned into a full electrical storm our shoes were now full of water with the rain swirling around - it had even taken out one the palm tree type plants which was lying horizontal on his driveway!

Storm over, Berts other cycle guide helper took us on the run (on mountain bikes, useful or the local side roads which are tricky to say the least - actually, it made it more fun!) and down to a small fishing village where we loaded the bikes onto an oversized wooden motorised Kayak.

Bikes on board we headed across Lake Victoria to visit some local villages along relatively smooth orange country dirt tracks.

Was that gritted teeth or a natural smile??!

One good thing about this trip is that guide carries water for you and if we run out he just buys it at the next village we come to - just as well as the sky was blue and very hot. Shame we had forgotten our sun screen though! How long would our factor 50 last??!

We came to a crossroads where there was a small village and our guide bought us a chapata each to eat - we sat down in the shade for a breather!

We turned left and headed down back towards another part of the lake through tiny wee villages where the kids would shout 'Muzungo' to us... this is the name people describe white persons - we laughed, said hello and carried on where the road now turned into a path which eventually lead to a tiny harbour in the middle of a swamp.

Bikes back on the wooden boat we headed through this narrow channel surrounded by reeds. This part of the journey was amazing, just so different and unexpected.

The only problem with holding your camera up in the air is that there is a chance you can block the view of any on coming traffic - no guesses what happened next!  We hit and scraped another wooden boat fully laden with passengers. I sensed choice words spoken in Lugandan as the ships passed.

Soon we were out and into the open waters of Lake Victoria. However, I could see the ships Captain having trouble with the outboard motor which eventually stopped. We were now drifting. Thoughts were now going through my head. However, our cycle guide seem unperturbed which gave me confidence we would make it back to shore.

It's not a good sign when the motor that is supposed to be propelling you across the water is sitting inside the boat!

All systems go and we were on our way again back to the small port where we started from. Our guode then took us round the fruit and fish market where we tasted some mangos and headed back to Berts house.

....and back to the hotel pool for some serious relaxing...

I would definitely recommend this cycle tour if you ever come to Kampala, great fun and a chance to see the local culture first hand.

The route to Cassia Lodge - Kampala

The constant drifting from one location to another and meeting new people can sometimes mean you may be going in the same direction as someone else. This was the case when Ian (who helps out part time with the vols) was leaving our river Nile lodge around the same time and heading for Kampala also - stroke of luck and we shared a private hire taxi for the 3 hour ride to Cassia lodge. A bargain of a total price of 120,000 Ugandan Schillings or approx £30 split three ways.

Considering I was still feeling somewhat fragile from the night before this was a bit of a bonus.

We stopped in Lugazi at a Barclays cashline machine and made sure we had enough to pay the driver!

As we carried on towards Kampala we could see bicycles carrying anything from bananas to lumps of long grass... each to their own I suppose...

I saw this sign...which made me think... are they trying to put a positive spin on plastics???

We dropped Ian off at Kabalagala in Kampala and headed up to the creature comforts of Cassia Lodge - Absolutely stunning views from this hotel/lodge.

Each of the 20 rooms have a stunning view over Kampala and Lake Victoria. The accommodation is first class and so is the food - finally got my steak!

The restaurant has a balcony or you can sit inside and eat.

We chose to sit outside on the balcony and have dinner - this was sheer luxsherry compared to where we had just come from....

Nite nite from Cassia Lodge in Kampala...

White water rafting down the river Nile

An early start again for a 0730 pick up by the Nabula rafting company.

They took us to their base in Jinja and gave us breakfast which was called a Rolex (not the watch I hasten to add) but egg and stuff rolled up into a chipata or whatever...  anyway, I dislike egg and ended up with just the chipata and fresh orange juice.

We were then kitted out with safety gear including helmets and life jackets. Luckily there was a fitting on one of the helmets to fit my GoPro to show any final moments of my life lol!

After all the paperwork was done, ie signing your life away etc we jumped up on the back of an open truck towing the 3 rafts behind us.

We arrived at our set off point, jumped on board our raft where our Kiwi raft instructor/guide explained all the safety instructions and taught how to get back in the raft if it flipped over - now they tell us!

During the practice session of swimming under the raft and popping out the other side it became clear that the GoPro projecting several inches above my helmet could increase the chances of me drowning somewhat as I had to swim deeper! At this point Annabel was concerned for her dad but didn't tell me this until we had finished!

So, as the sun was beating down, it was 4 Italians on one raft and the Scots and Aussies on the other. They also had a safety raft which followed us along with 4 safety Kayakers.

It was a grade 5 to start but that didn't mean much to me until I saw it. Didn't want to show it to my daughter (who had already done this event last December) but I was shitting myself.

As we thundered in the instructor told us to get down and hold the rope - I was hanging on for dear life but although there waves of water pounding the raft it was all over after about 15/20 seconds. The adrenalin rush is something else though.

This was then followed by pleasant drifting down the Nile before another two grade 4's and another grade 4 - four rapids done and no flipping and no casualties - felt like experts before we stopped for lunch. This included cheese and ham rolled up in a chipata, cakes, sliced pineapple and juice or water.

Lunch done we climbed on board for more of the same. However, on the last rapid our Kiwi wanted to surf it - I think that was code for your going to make a sharp exit as we charge the rapids. To expedite this event he deflated parts of the raft.

As we headed in full steam I could see this wall of water coming towards us - it was like a tsunami charging at full pelt.

As it hit us the front of the raft lifted up to near vertical. As the impending doom of all the folk falling on top of me I decided to let go and get out of the way. As I did this my daughter followed suit and the raft bent in the middle and then straightened up but only leaving 2 managing to stay in the raft.

I ended up floating down the Nile in a life jacket with my daughter but the Kayakers were there to clean up the mess!

We climbed back on board and headed for shore. We had survived... geez.... I can tick that box and try something else now.

River Nile beers were consumed and we headed back on the truck where more beers were handed out - this would come to haunt me later.

Back at the River Nile camp my daughter and I got ready for dinner and headed up to a fancy restaurant near to the camp.

Food ordered, we talked over the days events. Soup arrived and we got stuck in. With the last few spoon fulls I could sense something wasn't right. I started to sweat and felt light headed.

My daughter sensed that I wasn't looking my best as I headed for the door to an eating area outside but I only made it half way before collapsing in a heap.

The 4 Italians came to the rescue along with an Englishman and a Polish couple who help run the resort. Two of the Italians had my legs in the air (to get the blood rushing to my head) - I must have looked a sight....  probably didn't look good for publicising the restaurant but it was absolutely nothing to do with their food, honest.

Water mixed with dehydration tablets soon had me back on my feet - lesson here - drink plenty water during a hot sunny day (not out of the river Nile)...

Several litres of water later I headed to bed bemoaning the Steak I had missed out on (and paid for btw).

Drinking copious amounts of water leads to one thing - several trips to the loo equals not much sleep!

Pictures of rafting to follow later but here is one of the sunset at the lodge...