COS Trip: Long Drive to Kisoro

Early 6am morning departure in the rain…I’m glad I was not in a tent last night! We don’t stop too much, but we did stop for breakfast on the equator, lunch at a little restaurant, a grocery store, and 2 bush toilet stops. The equator was a little bit anticlimactic, but there was a nice marker to identify the spot. One of the guys was going to do the water experiment, but somehow didn’t. I think we may have run out of time. We are racing another truck to the campsite to get the best spot for tents and cooking. We arrived at the campsite just in time to set up our tents before dark. Since I’m #11 and the rest of the group has been traveling for a while together now, I get my own tent. I’m not sure if that is nice or bad. I have to set up and take down and carry alone, but I also get to sleep alone. I guess I’ll find out if it’s good or bad. Tomorrow, I will be tracking gorillas. YAY!!!

COS Trip: Kampala After a Few Days Too Many

I decided to take it easy today, repack my bags (placing 1 in storage for my gorilla trip), and sit by the pool. Somehow, my stuff has multiplied. I can’t seem to fit it all back in my bags. This could be a problem later. I am still okay for weight, but size is now my problem. Once I managed to get sorted, I went out to the pool for a nice cool off and a little warm equatorial sun. In the afternoon, several overland trucks stopped at the backpacker. Once tents were set up, I met the group I will be traveling with. They all joined me by the pool. I also me the driver who invited me to join them for dinner. It was nice to meet my crew and they seem nice enough. There are 2 German girls, 1 Dutch girl, 2 Irish making a couple, 1 Scottish girl, and 3 British boys and 1 British girl making an interesting mix of accents and personalities. Our driver is from Kenya and seems quite nice as well. I think this will be a good trip.

COS Trip: Kampala Market

So with 2 days left before my gorilla trip, I needed to find something to do. According to my schedule, I will be in Kampala for 2 more days on my trip with the others from my group, so I don’t want to hit all the attractions alone. I took my time and finally met a lady who I convinced to accompany me to the craft market in town. I’m not sure how it all happened, but somehow I ended up on the back of a motorcycle in the middle of town. I wasn’t so excited for it, but my first motorcycle ride was ok. I can see how it’s a successful business in the city and I can also see how it could be a fun recreational activity for people, but I’m not convinced it’s for me. The craft market wasn’t that great of a market having nothing really unique and it was the first place in Africa that I have been where they wouldn’t bargain. We stopped at a little restaurant for lunch and I had the most wonderful fresh passion fruit juice and some Chinese food. It was delicious and hit the spot. I ended up on the back of another motorcycle that took me to the door of the backpacker. Interesting day, but not one I’d want to really repeat.

COS Trip: Entebbe Zoo

I got up nice and early to prepare my lunch and self for the chimpanzee reserve on Ngamba Island this morning. I was going a little slower than I had planned, but I got out the door on time. I started walking down the road (mistake 1). It looked like the cars weren’t moving, so I went all the way to the next street where I discovered a person directing traffic. I should have gotten in one of the taxis on the last road which were now whizzing by me.

The motorcycle taxis wanted to drive me but I refused (mistake 2). They look so scary but get where they’re going. They weave in and out of traffic and make it in good time when traffic is thick. So I kept searching. But no, now there were no taxis going the right way.

I finally got in a taxi that I wasn’t positive where it was going, but he assured me to get in (mistake 3). The taxi turned well before my stop, so I asked again where it was going. He finally stopped and let me off. He wasn’t going anywhere near where I needed to go. So I started walking again back in the direction I came from. There were few taxis on the road.

I finally got on one and the man was very clear it went to the Nakawa taxi park where I needed to be (mistake 4). When we got to the road where I started, he turned the wrong direction. He brought me back to where I started before I demanded to get off. I was glad I had hitched a ride to the store the day before otherwise I would not have known where I was going and would have ended up in the way way wrong place.

Finally I got onto a taxi that was going where I needed to be. Thank goodness. When I got to the taxi park, I had 1 hour left to get to Entebbe where my boat would leave for Ngamba Island. I got on the taxi and we took off right away, thank goodness. As we started driving, I realized I would be late, but since my cell phone isn’t working anymore, I couldn’t call and tell them. We stopped and let people off/on the entire way to Entebbe. The 45 min ride took about 1.5 hours. I was getting antsy, but the taxi man didn’t care. I never said anything, but I must have looked distressed because he eventually said to me, “Just be patient.” Easy for him to say, he’s not rushing to a boat that leaves on time. By the time he let me off, I was already 15 minutes late.

I thought the education center was about 500 meters, so I decided not to get on the motorcycle waiting for me who wanted to charge me more than 3 times the price of my 1.5 hour taxi ride just to go down the hill (mistake 5). I started down the hill at a good pace. It was much farther away than I had realized and by the time I got to the gate, I was over a half hour late. The boat had waited, but just left. GREAT! Now what do I do?

I looked around and decided to go to the Uganda Wildlife Educational Center/Entebbe Zoo. I walked in and wandered around. It was a nice zoo with tons of animals. They were in little habitats instead of cages which I thought was very nice. There were free roaming monkeys everywhere and I was almost run down by some camels walking down to the beach where I splashed around in Lake Victoria and watched some monkeys playing in the trees by the shore. After a while I wandered around and watched the rhinos as they were fed and saw some of the other animals during their feeding as well.

I eventually found the chimpanzee area. There was a couple just hanging out there so I sat down and watched the chimps for a while as well. There were about 3 chimps chilling in their area. One was hanging out in the crux of the tree while one was lounging on the ground and 1 was hanging on the ropes. They were so fun to watch and 2 of them were playing around a little bit, but nothing too extravagant. It didn’t feel weird sitting there since there were other people too. I’m glad I did because after about 45 minutes, there was quite some big excitement. It was feeding time. I watched as the zookeeper threw apples and other tasty items over the river into their area. They chimps were so fun to watch. Some were very greedy and hoarded the food. Others hung back and waited their turn. Some ate right there while some when up the tree and others went off on their own to find a quiet spot to eat. After the feeding, I headed out to see some more. There were several school groups and several families making their way through the zoo as well.

As the clouds rolled in, I decided to head out. I wanted to go the botanical gardens, but decided I needed to get out before the rain. I walked up the road and found a woman selling some things on the side of the road. I stopped and talked with her for a bit and bought a few necklaces that she had made to sell. Then I got on the taxi and made my way back from Entebbe to Kampala. Just before we got to the city center, it stated to rain. I’ve not seen it rain so badly in a long time. We came to a stop when the roads were so flooded that no one could make their way through.

But…the stubborn bad driving men in Uganda didn’t let that stop them and we trudged through the water. It was over the wheels of most of the vehicles, yet the motorcycles, taxis, and cars kept going. The people riding bicycles mostly stopped and the people were trying to get out of the water by stepping up into the shop doorways. I finally got out of that taxi and onto another that would take me to the taxi park where I could catch yet another taxi to the backpacker. Today was definitely a make the best of a day gone wrong kind of day.

COS Trip: Kampala and the Grocery Store Adventure

Still exhausted but needing to get some food, I headed into Kampala today. I managed to hitch a ride to the Lungogo Mall from the manager of the backpacker. There I went to Game (kind of like a Target) and Shoprite (a grocery store with some other regular supplies as well). I managed to find some good deals on 5liters of water, 2liters of soda, and some other snacks and food essentials. Eating at the backpacker is expensive and they mark up their water and snacks a whole lot. Their food they cook in the kitchen is quite overpriced too. So I’m glad I got some food to eat.

Getting back to the backpacker was quite the adventure. None of the local taxis that drove by were willing to stop. I found where they do stop and discovered none of them went my way. I had to carry my heavy load up the huge hill to the taxi park. Here, the people were not very helpful and totally frustrated me as they sent me from one end to the other and back. Finally I got into one of the taxis and the marshal was trying to get me out. He kept saying it would be cheaper for me to take the ______. I never did get what he was saying. I think he might have meant one of the motorcycles. I stuck my ground and eventually it was full and took off. It went right where I needed to be. I had another block uphill to walk before arriving back “home.” After 3 weeks of not pumping or hauling any water, my arms have lost their abilities. I struggled so much with my 5 liters and 2 liters and other stuff. I don’t remember the last time my arms were so tired. Guess I need to work them a bit before I go white water rafting on the Nile.

When I got back, I jumped in the pool to cool off, right before the rain started spitting unevenly from the clouds. It was a successful trip, but way more work than I had anticipated. Since I’ve been back, I’ve just spent my time relaxing. I think I may cave and even though I bought a bunch of food, join the overpriced barbeque tonight at the backpacker. It smells so good and I’m quite hungry. Hopefully I’ll get a good night sleep before my trip to Ngamba Island in the morning.

COS Trip: Kampala by the Pool

Nice and relaxing day today. I lounged around all morning, finding things in the area to do. I booked a day trip for Monday and a 3 day trip in October after my Gorilla Trip. I sat for a bit by the pool and watched the monkeys playing in the trees. I am so excited about my Uganda adventures. I didn’t really enjoy Tanzania and am glad to be out of there.

COS Trip: Arrive in Kampala, Uganda

4:30am wakeup call from the ferry’s horn. We were arriving at the port. I was quite surprised as I thought we would be arriving between 6 and 6:30. I got up and asked my roommate where we were. No one had informed me we would be stopping at a port before Bokoba. She was getting off and I went back to sleep. At 5:45, a man came knocking at my door looking for the key. I turned in the key, grabbed my bags, and headed to the rail to watch as we docked. I raced off the boat and got in the first taxi. It took me to the bus station in Bokoba. I arrived around 6:30 and got my bus ticket straight to Kampala. The bus was only half full when I bought my ticket, but by the time we left at 7:00, it was overcrowded. I guess the bus caters to the ferry. We hit the Tanzania/Uganda border and went quickly through. I was surprised how quick it went. Then we were back on the bus. It was a BEAUTIFUL ride through the country. The bus was a bit sketchy, but the view made up for it. Around 12:00, we hit the outskirts of Kampala. The traffic was INSANE. I thought it was bad in the other cities, not like this. We finally hit the bus station in the city center around 1:45. I got off and checked with the other white guy on the bus. We were going to the same backpacker and so shared a cab. Luck was with us. The cab ride was quite scary as we were bumper to bumper the entire ride. We convinced the driver to stop at an ATM which was good, and got to see a bit of the city center. Once checked in at Red Chilli, I found myself some food at the bar and then took a nap. I was so exhausted after the stressful trip to Mwanza and hectic departure. I awoke with a horrible headache. Realizing it had been about 24 hours since my last drink of water, I quickly gulped 1.5 liters of water with rehydration powder, had a small sandwich, and am heading back to bed. What a long day of doing nothing!

COS Trip: Mwaza and the Night Ferry

I stared my day off fairly early heading to the market. I searched and searched and searched, so lost in the market trying to find the souvenirish place in the middle. I found it and spent a long time trying to figure out what I wanted exactly. I ended up buying a basket from a lady who wasn’t so keen on bargaining, but I was done looking. I then took some of my fabric I had bought in Dar es Salaam and found a man on the street with a sewing machine and hired him to sew me a liner for the basket. It was kind of cool and I felt I needed to experience that. There were people all over the sidewalks with sewing machines. It was a bit insane. While he was working on my bag, I headed back to the pizzeria to get a platter of fresh fruit and some fresh squeezed juice. As I was finishing, I heard some Americans and got a little excited. They were the first white people I’ve seen. They were surgical residents at the hospital and were quite shocked to find a tourist in Mwanza.

After talking to them a while, they convinced me to eat my bus ticket and take the ferry out tonight. It would cost about the same to travel around the west side as it would for me to travel around the east side even after I bought my bus ticket. It would also get me to Kampala around 12-2 instead of 10-11. One of the women walked me down the dock and bought my ticket for me (in Swahili). I then headed back to the hotel, packed my bags and checked out. I grabbed a quick omelet dinner at the hotel restaurant and hired a taxi to take me to the dock.

It was so disorganized at the dock and I arrived at 6:30 for the 9:00 ferry. I sat on my bags for about an hour before boarding. I had a first class sleeping cabin. I put my bags in and went to the bar for a drink. I met a couple from Holland than were just starting a yearlong tour of Africa and enjoyed some conversation. Then the ship man came looking for me. My roommate had arrived. She was a quite woman who headed straight to bed. I headed back to the bar for a bit and we finally set sail on Lake Victoria, from Mwanza to Bokoba. I wandered around the ship for a while taking some pictures before heading to bed myself. What a crazy day!

COS Trip: Mwanza

I was up early since it was so hot in that tiny room. I stumbled out for an early breakfast and a quest to find a new place to stay. I will not stay at Lake Hotel again! I found a nice looking hotel on the main street in the city center and booked a single room for the night. I moved my stuff in and headed out to find some internet and activities. Mwanza definitely is a hole I would not recommend to anyone. It’s the second largest city in Tanzania and the hub for Lake Victoria’s industry. People are not so friendly, they don’t speak English, and no one seems to be able/willing to help me. I guess Mwanza was a mistake. The streets are chaotic and traffic is horrible; motorcycles and cars and trucks and bicycles and people. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It was way worse than it was in Dar. I first checked out the safari tour booking place and found exorbitant priced safaris in the Serengeti that would end me in Arusha (the tourist hub of Tanzania) and then made my way to the bus ticket office and found a bus ticket out on Friday morning. Buses don’t run every day. Then I searched out the market and wandered around a bit. A man started following me and eventually tried to be my city tour guide. I let him show me around the market, but regretted it later as he wanted me to pay him for a city tour. Um…no! I found a local pizzeria that was recommended in Lonely Planet that had wonderful sandwiches and headed back to the hotel. I went to a little park on Lake Victoria to watch the sunset and it was lovely. Then, not knowing how safe I really was in this city I stumbled into, I booked it back to the hotel for the night. In the morning, I think I’ll head back out to the market and find a few things I’ve been wanting to get for a while.

COS Trip: Moving on from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza

The couple I would go to the bus with this morning had ordered breakfast for 5:15. We showed up to find an empty kitchen. No breakfast today. :( Our taxi was right on time and we headed to our respective buses. My bus left it’s spot at 6:30am, but there was a traffic jam in front of us and we didn’t actually leave the bus station until about7:30ish. The bus trip promised to be a long one, so I rationed my water intake. After 3 hours, the bus pulled over to the side of the road for a toilet break. I don’t think I could have peed even if I had to since there were so many people just squatting wherever they found. It was about a 5 min stop for the entire bus. We wouldn’t stop again for another 4 hours. We stopped at a petrol station for lunch…10 minutes. I skipped out on finding food since I had snacks with me and found a squat toilet behind the building. I’ve never used a squat toilet before, but found it not too horrible. Back on the bus we all went. There was 1 more bush toilet stop before we arrived in Mwanza around 10pm. I found someone on the bus who spoke English and we got talking. He had family picking him up and offered me a ride to the Lake Hotel. It sounded nice enough. I arrived at the hotel around 10:45 to find my room hotter than hot, no fan, no running water in the bathroom (only a working sink in the main room), mosquitoes EVERYWHERE, holey mosquito net, and dirty sheets. Thank goodness for my sleeping bag and mosquito coil.

COS Trip: Dar es Salaam Errands

Today I went in search of a bus ticket out of Dar. I wasn’t sure where I really wanted to go and thought maybe I’d take the less traveled route around the west side of Lake Victoria. I figured this would save me a long journey (including travel visa through Kenya) to get to Kampala. I also figured a safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater would be nice but way too expensive, as would visiting Mt. Kilimanjaro. So I headed into town by foot. There was a taxi driver at the YMCA who was a travel expert and pointed me in the right direction…off my map of the city center. I wandered my way though the busy streets of Dar’s city center and off my map in search of the Sumry Bus Ticket office. I passed an amazing section where there were fabric shops. Tons and tons of fabric! I managed to make my way to the office right as it started to sprinkle a little. I found the price of the ticket and headed back out to find an ATM. Credit cards are not used in Eastern Africa and ATMs are the best way to get money if you don’t have cash to change at a bureau de change. I found one and headed back to the Sumry office. I got the last ticket on the bust to Mwanza. It would leave at 6:30 in the morning. On my way back to the Y, I stopped to buy some fabric, found a grocery store to get some bread and snacks for the long bus trip in the morning and checked prices for sending my things home via Fed Ex, UPS, DHL, and Post Office. I ended up not sending my things home. I wish I didn’t have to keep track of it, but decided it wasn’t worth sending. The post office was decent price, but would take 12 months and may or may not arrive in the states. So, with extra box in tow now, I got my bags together for the early morning wake up and headed out for dinner. I met a couple from Finland who would also be traveling in the morning, so we booked a taxi together to the bus at 5:30am. They joined me for dinner slightly after I had ordered already, so I ate while they were deciding on their choice. It was the same restaurant I ate at the other night on the rooftop and I enjoyed my dinner again. It was more than twice what I could eat and spicier than anything I’ve eaten in a long, long time but really good (besides the chili I added to my spice tour lunch). Time to head to bed early.

COS Trip: Dar es Salaam

Hmmm…Sunday…EVERYTHING in Dar is closed. Bad timing!

COS Trip: Farewell Zanzibar, Hello Dar es Salaam

Packed and ready, I headed out to the port at 8:00 to buy my ticket and head to the docks. I made it through customs and waited for my travel companion. About 9:15 as we were standing in the ferry line, someone walked through and told us we had missed the ferry to Dar es Salaam. The 9:30 ferry had left at 9. So, the ferry line weeded it’s way smaller as people realized the only ferry that would be departing at 9:30 was to Pemba Island, not Dar es Salaam. What a joke. We were so mad! Now what?!? The lady I was traveling with and I managed to find a place to stash our bags and we went into town for some coffee and a break.

We returned at 11:00 hoping to get onto the 12:30 ferry with our 9:30 tickets. It was crazy as everyone pushed and shoved to get to the front of the line. As the ferry arrived, they cleared a path and a bunch of kids did this ceremony thing. I think one of the presidential candidates got off the ferry. Then, all craziness broke loose as everyone fought to get on the ferry. Luckily, they honored my ticket, but the ferry was definitely overloaded and I ended up sitting on the floor in the isle. Shortly after our ferry left at 1:30 (yes an hour late), a man came around handing out sea sick bags. I thought that strange. He got really upset when I refused to take one. A few minutes later, the rough water hit. Holy cow was it bad. My guess, about 75% of the people were vomiting into their bags. Now I get it. I survived the trip, but it took forever! Our 2 hour ride took about 3 hours.

When we got off the ferry, the lady I was traveling with and I tried to find a bed to stay. We followed the map, kind of. I got the scale wrong and we walked WAY WAY Way out of the way before having to hail a cab to get to the YMCA. The cab driver proceeded to drive horribly, turning the wrong way down a 1 way street…twice! Both times we were stopped by an armed army man and having to pay a hefty bribe each time. I’m not a fan of the taxi drivers in Dar…I can tell you that. We arrived at the YMCA exhausted and hungry. After stashing our bags, we headed to a nearby restaurant that had a very large menu with anything you could ever want on it. I’m going to sleep well tonight!

COS Trip: Stone Town

Up with the sun again, I decided to take one last walk on the beach. Morning is so nice, because most of the men aren’t out heckling yet. There were a few kids out, but they aren’t as bad. I headed back to Stone Town on the 10:00 shared taxi. I’ve never been so cramped on a private shuttle before. The group in the car had so many bags, they were stacked to the ceiling and at one point the tailgate opened up and all the bags fell out the back of the van. I made it back into town and checked out the post office. Next task, find a box to send home. The man at my inn emptied a box of water for me, so I packed it up, settled into my room, and headed out to the main market. It was insane. People everywhere! I wove my way through the shops searching for some local fabric. Everywhere I stopped, the price was Tsh12,000. So not cool. I wandered way into the market and stumbled upon a little shop that a woman was working in. Ah, what a lovely conversation. It was refreshing for a change. I’ve become quite jaded already by the Tanzanian men here. They are relentless everywhere. This woman and I had a long conversation about life and all sorts of things. She was not married, but said she has been proposed to many times. In this culture, I was shocked. I picked out the perfect fabric for a local price of Tsh3,000. Much better! I love my new fabric. The message on it says in Swahili, “love is patient.” I think it the perfect saying for my perfect fabric. :) I headed back into stone town went to the square for sundown again. I met another American who was traveling on the ferry in the morning and going to ship some things home upon arrival as well. We decided to travel together in the morning and parted ways. I had some of the local food again from the stands and headed in to bed. Any more walking and I think my legs may fall off.

COS Trip: Nungwi Beach

Today I just hung out on the beach. I walked up the beach, mostly through the water since the tide was still too high. The beach boys were awful and so relentless. It made the beach not enjoyable, which was sad. So I headed into the village to get to the internet. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to get to Kampala from Dar Es Salaam. I think I might try to ship some of my stuff home then head to Arusha. From there, I’m hoping I can find my way over to Kigali, Rwanda to visit some PCVs and then get up to Kampala, Uganda for my gorilla tour. Let me just say that finding accurate information on the internet is SOOOOO difficult. I miss the American ease of planning with so many options that are easily accessible. For dinner, I headed out to the beach again and sat at a little restaurant that I heard had the best food on the beach. After I ordered my food, 2 couples that were on the snorkel tour with me came up and sat down to keep me company. They were good company as well. They were Dutch and just finishing their 2 week Tanzanian vacation.