Pearls from Africa: January 2014

The Linghams chimp trekking in Kyambura Gorge, Queen Elizabeth National Park
Photos courtesy of Jim Tanton

Well, that happened. I miss my family already, it was so utterly wonderful to have them visit me here in Uganda.

They flew to Kigali, Claire (who came a week early, little stinker!) and I held up our "Welcome to Africa" sign that I used to welcome Jim's friend Curt, Claire and now the Linghams. We had so many visitors over the holidays, it was great. We welcomed my parents, my older sister Lillian and Jim's mom, Carol to Kigali. We stayed for two nights in Kigali, visiting the genocide memorial museum, the Craft Co-op for some African treasures and Meze Fresh for some Chipotle-style burritos. After adjusting a bit in Kigali , we set off for the border to Uganda and right to Lake Bunyonyi. I loved everyone's enthusiasm about the place, asking a lot of good questions (many of which, between Jim and I, we didn't know the answers) and making me look at my home in a new way. We stayed on Itambira Island at Byoona Amagara, renting out a family cottage and Geodome. Highlights include going off the "lope-swing" (!!!!) and drinking a lot of wine. A lot of wine.

Welcoming le petit Buddha to Kigali

After Byoona, we headed south to Kisoro to Jim's new site, and the home of the Virunga mountains. Claire, Dad, Lillian and I climbed Mt Sabinyo (almost killed ya Dad, sorry) and had a phenomenal(ly) long day. Mt Sabinyo borders three countries (Uganda, Rwanda, Congo) and has three distinct peaks on the top. The third peak is covered in steep ladders that can cause one's heart to skip a beat. My sisters rocked it, espeically Lillian, who did that hike with barely anything to eat save for the world's smallest granola bar (she's gluten free, in case you haven't heard, which would be weird, if you haven't..). It was a cold, rainy way down, we practically slid our way down the mountain. We got stuck in another hail storm, second time for me and Claire, and were ducking from lightning right above us.

Jim and Carol went gorilla trekking that day in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest while my mom relaxed at Volcanoes Safari Lodge in Mgahinga, up in the mountains.

We got our kitenge fix in Kisoro, picking out colorful fabrics to make clothing, tablecloths, even scarfs. We found some time to play Salad Bowl and getting in some quality game time.

From Kisoro, we headed up to Queen Elizabeth National Park. We stopped first at my site in Bukinda to see my house and my primary school. The school was closed for holidays so unfortunately we didn't get to meet many folks, but it was special to show them around my stomping grounds.

The drive out to QENP is one of my favorite in the world-- as you're driving west, the escarpment drops off and the Rift Valley is as flat as an ocean. Behind the Rift Valley rises up the Rwenzori range, the highest in Uganda. It's a stunning landscape, and our hotel (Twin Lakes Lodge) was perched right on the edge of the escarpment, looking out over Queen. I've seen an elephant right from my balcony before! Our family loved the location and the hotel, and we were able to dine two nights with the owner of Twin Lakes, the Honorable Katurebe, a Supreme Court justice for Uganda.

We visited Jim's old stomping grounds of Kichwamba in Ruburizi district and visited all the wonderful kids at House of Love. We also visited his old house and the whole neighborhood came out to greet us! His old site is one of the most stunning places in the country, the village looks out over Queen Elizabeth and has crater lakes sprinkled around.

The next morning we met James, our lion-tracking guide and researcher. He and a German researcher study the lion population in Queen Elizabeth and have tagged the lions in the park with collars. We were able to drive near to two lions mating, and view two other groups of lions. Their social hierarchy is fascinating, but unfortunately lion numbers in the park are plummeting due to poaching. We had a fancy-schmancy lunch at Mweya Safari Lodge before heading off to the Gazinga Channel boat cruise. The boat cruise was a great way to check out elephants cooling off in the river, crocodiles patiently waiting for their next victim, hippos languishing in the hot mud and giant monitor lizards soaking up some sun. On our game drive that afternoon, a whole herd of elephants crossed in front of us, including a few baby elephants! That night we had dinner at the House of Love, the kids performed for us a few dances they made up.

We went chimp-trekking the next morning in Kyambura Gorge, a gorgeous and lush gorge that is chock full of cool animals: chimps, crocs, pythons, elephants, hippos, water buffalo, lions, leopards. We hiked around the gorge up and down for a bit but the chimps had already headed into the swamp area to find new fruit. Too late, no chimps! While I was bummed out, my family kept their spirits up and enjoyed being in the lovely gorge. We got close to some hippos who were guffawing at us.

Everyone was near exhausted after a two-week vacation, so we headed back to Lake Bunyonyi's Bird Nest for a night to enjoy a relaxing dinner and send-off. It was so wonderful to have my family here, they were such good sports and good travelers (that includes you Carol!) I was so pleased to have such easy-going and enthusiastic visitors, it made the trip ten times better. Webale munonga!