Tour On: Gorillas in Uganda

I've recuperated!!!
On my flight to Uganda I met a lovely Indian uncle on the flight. He invited me for lunch the next day in the city and I helped him with his grocery shopping. We had chai at his home and enjoyed conversing about Africa and specifically the history of Uganda. We had such a nice time! That evening my tour group arrived to the campsite and I was happy to rejoin the group! I was up all night playing cards with Kelly, Nev and a few others...so needless to say the next day on the truck was rough! We headed from Kampala to Lake Bunyonyi to an amazingly stunning campsite! Kelly and I upgraded to a pre-erected tent on a balcony overlooking the lake! It was amazing!! When my eyes lay sight on such beautiful scenery I can't believe I'm in Africa. So many commercials on Africa have it all wrong. Uganda, specifically, is a beautiful land full of hills and lush greenery and is a paradise like none other! This campsite is really a place for relaxation...oh and gorilla tracking!!! That night I went to sleep at midnight only to wake at 330am to prepare for the gorilla trek! A minivan picked 8 of us up at 5am and off to Bwindi we went to look for gorillas! When we arrived, we were briefed by our guide on what would be expected of us as we trekked through the rainforest in search of gorillas. Excited and anxious we were off, lead by our guide and followed by an AK47 carrying security guard! Along the way we spotted a really fat and long earthworm and a poisonous snake...which looked more like a harmless gardener snake. After 4 hours of trekking through mud, nettles and swarms of flies we were informed that the gorillas were nearby. As instructed by our guide we left our packs and walking sticks behind and took our cameras in hopes of fantastic photo opportunities of gorillas...and WE SAW GORILLAS!!!! We saw two silverbacks and one black back and one baby! They are amazingly beautiful creatures! Eyes that capture your heart, size of bodies that frighten you and beauty that makes your jaw drop! One of the silverbacks was lying on his belly and eventually rolled over to scratch his arms. The baby was quite active swinging on a vine while another adult gorilla was munching on leaves. Unbelievable...I SAW GORILLAS!!!! The mud was everywhere, nettles got to my hands twice and the terrain was intense at times, but this adventure was priceless!

Tour delayed...in need of Pepto, Cipro, whatever will keep stuff in-o!

So today (Sunday, January 18th) I was supposed to start the overland tour. I attended the meeting yesterday and met the fun bunch I'm going to be with for a while! Yesterday evening I became violently ill...don't read any further if you can't handle it...stuff coming out of both ends simultaneously. Don't worry too much, because I've been fortunate enough to receive many helping hands from multiple individuals. Bob of Bob and Julie ;) helped me obtain some aromatic bitters and hot water to settle my stomach. AJ gave me some meds to stop the vomitting and diarrhea. AJ also helped me book a flight out of Nairobi to Kampala so that I can meet up with my group. I will keep you posted on how I'm feeling, so far 6 hours and nothing coming out. Just took my anti-vomitting and anti-diarrheal medications and so far so good. Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts and remedies!!

Watamu and SCUBA

Watamu, Kenya is a little place about 2hours north of Mombasa on the Kenyan coast...and it is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!! Water as clear as glass, sand as white as...some of my friends ;)...and seafood so fresh!!!
In Watamu I went scubadiving!! An incredible time. The photos will say it all...speaking of photos...it's really hard to upload to my blog, so what I can upload will be on facebook...sorry. Okay back to scuba! It was ridiculously beautiful!
On the 10th I spent a few hours learning how to work my equipment in a swimming pool with a great instructor. The next morning I went out to the Watamu National Park Reserve for the dive. My poor belly was seasick on the way out, which meant I was belching through my regulator while underwater for 45 mins!!! So my instructor helps me gear up and gets me up on the side of the boat and says I'm going to enter the water by backflipping in...I ask him again to slowly talk me through it and as soon as he did he pushed me into the water!!! No worries...I came up laughing!! The descent was pretty easy, but when I got to the bottom I wasn't heavy enough to stay down, so my instructor ended up hanging onto me the entire time...which was good, b/c I felt very safe!! I saw many starfish blue and orange and a parrot fish and an angel fish! The sights were incredible, the thought of it again is unbelieveable...for a girl afraid of the water, especially the ocean...fears are slowly being conquered...one by one!!!

Kilimanjaro...

The days were long and tough! For the experience try walking 1-2miles per hour at a 30 degree incline and have someone blast you with a heater for an hour, then spray you with a hose for another hour and lastly drop the temperature to below freezing for an hour...yes all consecutively!
Pole, pole (pronounced po-lay) means slowly slowly. I was utterly sick and tired of that phrase by the time the day of the ascent came! It was quite useful the entire time, though. For 4 days I had an italian couple with me in my group and on Day 5 they decided to call it quits and descend secondary to a headache. (I don't blame them, headaches at altitude are rough)! So Day 5 I walked, pole pole, to Barafu camp with only my guide. That portion of the trek was easy. Upon arrival I was given some food and advice from other climbers. Thanks to my friends from Spain I had some Chamomile tea to settle my belly. At 700pm I went to sleep in preparation for the 1100pm wake up call to summit Kili in all it's glory. I woke, had some tea and biscuits and suited up with headlamp and all!! Half-way up to Stella Point I became nauseated and nothing would settle my belly this time. I lost all of my energy, but pushed on. I ran into my British friends who offered me some energy boosting supplements, but that really had no effect on me. So I struggled and dry heaved all the way up the mountain, to finally reach Stella Point at 5700m!!! AWESOME!!! The sight was amazing!!! I took out my dad's Steeler's hat and snapped a few quick pics...in between the dry heaving...and then quickly began my descent down the mountain. All my energy was spent and I have no idea how I made it back to camp and then 2 hours later to the next camp!!
On my Kili trek I've made some wonderful friends, without their encouragement I would not have made the summit. Also without the music given to me by my brother and sister-in-law and Tim I wouldn't have had the motivation to get from one camp to the next, so thank you!!!

Transit: All signs point to AFRICA!!!

Upon departure from Pittsburgh International Airport I was checked in by a ticket agent originally from Ghana...sign #1!! The next sign was the best...I walk upstairs to the food court area and realize I can purchase a small Ethopian...coffee...for $1.50!! At that point I knew Africa was calling my name!!
The flight was long, but I got to watch Mama Mia!! It was funny and fantastic. I reached the airport in DAR without a problem and said goodbye to the suckers standing in the long queques for their visa...got mine ahead of time and bypassed all that nonsense. Ali my cabby took me to the Scandanavian Express bus station...and I found out the morning bus to Moshi was full!!! YIKES!!! But, T.I.A. (this is africa) and there is always another way. So my helpful taxi driver took me to another station and I purchased a ticket, so tomorrow at 545a I will be on my way to Moshi!! The African adventure has only begun...

And the Journey Begins...

I depart for Africa on December 26th 2008 for an amazing adventure of a culture that is beyond anything I have ever experienced. My adventure begins in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania for only one day and then I depart for Moshi, where I hope to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro in 8 days!! (Words I never thought I would utter!) Mid-Jan I begin a 56-day overland tour of east and southern Africa. I will be bush-camping most of the time and laying eyes on animals only seen on Nat Geo!! I've been looking forward to this adventure since three of my friends went on a similar trip earlier this year! I hope you will follow me on my African Adventure by visiting this blog. Please feel free to comment on my blogs as I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks to my family and friends for supporting me in the planning process of this incredible opportunity!

See you in '09!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE END...

So I've been home a little over a week and I'm still trying to wrap my head around my 3-month 7-country adventure! I walked on The Great Wall of China, witnessed the beauty of Victoria Harbour from Victoria Peak at sunset, volunteered in Thailand, stood on the skywalk of the Petronas Towers, ate in Little India, Chinatown and the Golden mile all in one day and in one country, stayed at The Ritz, snorkeled and witnessed the most stunning sunsets! Recalling all of that and reviewing all my pictures I realized I've seen/experienced what most people only dream of! Who knew my life would take me to the far east, who knew my life would be enriched by cultures, customs and cuisines, who knew I would hitch a ride with a gracious Thai-family and feel as if I was riding in the car with my own family?? I am grateful for what life has given me. Life gave me a new found sense of INDEPENDENCE, COURAGE and IDENTITY!
This trip has had such a profound effect on me that I am both happy and sad I am home. Happy to feel hugs from my family and friends and sad to leave my Thai family, Malaysian and Singporean friends and of course...THE RITZ! hee hee! I have embarked upon a new chapter in my life...MY LOVE FOR TRAVEL!
Recently I've been watching the Olympics and as I see NBC flash glimpses of The Forbidden City I can say..."I saw that!" And as I watch Matt, Al, Meredith and Ann walk The Great Wall, I can say..."I walked on that!" And I blow my self away when the reality of those words enter my ears and are processed by my brain! Unbelievable...if this is life I want to keep on living!
In the last two years of my 30 years, I feel I've grown tenfold! I have become who I have always destined to be...it just took a little of the far east to bring this "light-bulb" to it's full 100-watt output! I look forward to more adventures overseas!
And I begin that next journey with...AFRICA!!!