Lions, Hippos and Hogs Ohhh my!

So much to catch up on...and so little time. Well, since the new group has been here, work has been a little stressful...but put eight people in any house and see what happens. So time for a get-away? Yes.
The choice: Murchison Falls in Northern Uganda. So, Ron, Allan, Lizzy, Shawna, Emily and I loaded up and headed off to Kampala to meet our driver. As we sat on the bus beginning our three hour coach ride all I could think about was all of the emotions this journey has pulled me through...happiness, anger, joy, sadness, frustration, hope, love, peace, inspiration and despair. But in that moment I simply felt content. I put on my earphones, a small smile and closed my eyes.
Next thing I knew it we were in a Safari van headed to the top of a waterfall. And when I say waterfall I mean more like a giant, violent rapid that is oddly calming and peaceful. Then we headed to our beautiful cottage at Sambiya Lodge for lunch, unpacking and preparing for a boat ride to the base of Merchison Falls, so we could hike to the top and enjoy the view of the Nile. After a good sweat and lots of beautiful views we were ready for a glass of wine and bed.
The following day we were up at 5 am and ready for our game drive. (This was my highlight) At this point we had already seen crocodiles, hippos, baboons and elephants but as we headed out to the west shore of the Nile we got to add numerous gazelles and deer, giraffes, hogs and even lions to the list.
It was great, because we had a ranger with us we were able to go off trail to see some lions and right as we approached, we scared some unsuspecting deer into the direction of a ready lion, so just meters away we witnessed the kill...it was incredible. The game ride lasted about 5-6 hours, but we never got bored. If we weren’t spotting creatures out the windows we were sitting on the roof just enjoying the African sun and the morning breeze. To end our day in the park we tried to go chimp tracking but they only had three permits left, so Ron, Lizzy and I sat out and went for the nature walk while the rest of the crew went searching for the chimps. (I figured I still have a few months to cross that one off my list) Unfortunately, for the chimp trackers, no chimps were to be found....but we had a great nature tour. We got to see some shy black and white monkeys, a slug with a shell bigger than my hand, vibrating ants, tree bark used for “juju” (witch craft), parasitic trees and a 500 year old mahogany tree. We also had a wonderful guide, Justin, who told us stories about his relationships with the chimps, and his favorite chimp he calls “Joe” who once saved him from a 15 ft python. Justin said for $100 I can get a permit to sit all day with him and the chimps....hard to resist, but we will have to see what my budget and time allows.
Well, now that I have very thoroughly rambled about my latest adventure I will briefly say that I also got to stay the night in the Jewish capital of Uganda which was only five minutes up a hill from Mbale. I’m not Jewish, but I look like I could be, and it was kind of fun having people think I was. It was absolutely peaceful, no 5 am call of prayer, 6 am rooster call, or 7 am alarm of screaming kids out my window. We just got in for dinner, a good night of sleep, and some quality reading time with a beautiful view. There are three Jewish villages in Uganda and it was very interesting to go to the largest. (Which was still very small) Most Ugandans follow some form of Christianity or Islam, so to see a different religious influence so ingrained in the culture was very interesting.
Any who, I’d like for y’all to keep reading my blog so I’m going to stop before I bore you to death. And just a shout out to Auntie and Ma, thanks for calling it is always fun to chat with you and I love hearing about all the exciting news from home ;) Aunt Sierra and Jeremiah, you are in my thoughts :) :) :) hugs n luv to all!