Before our group leaves Uganda and heads to the tropical island of Zanzibar, we have one week of free travel! This means that our group is in charge of all accommodation, transportation, and activities for the whole week! It is basically a test to see how much we have learned about international traveling and budgeting…
Since we have had a jam-packed schedule for the past few weeks, we decided to make free travel laid-back and relaxing. To start the week off, we returned to Nile River Camp, which is the beautiful campsite we stayed when we went white-water rafting. We spent a day just relaxing by the pool, swimming in the river, watching the red-tailed and green vervet monkeys who frequented the campsite, and eating LOTS of chapatti. We also spent a day in the town of Jinja, doing some exploring and shopping. We even got to play a (not-so intense) game of mini-golf!
Then, we headed to Mabira Forest Reserve, a beautiful, remote forest outside the city of Kampala. We spent a night at Griffen Falls Community Campsite, where all 7 of our group members were crammed into a dorm room meant for 4 people…it was “cozy”! We spent our time at Mabira hiking through the forest and soaking in our beautiful surroundings! We saw the waterfalls in the middle of the forest, and we learned that just up the road, a huge sugar plantation owned by foreigners was polluting the river. They were dumping all of their waste right into the river because there are very few regulations in Uganda that would outlaw such actions. It was disheartening to see the direct effects of the pollution- the water was brown and foamy, and as soon as we got to the edge of the falls, we got a strong odor of sugary sewage. But it reminded us that EVERYTHING we do has an effect on the environment. While we were at Griffen Falls, we met Aaron. Aaron is a Peace Corps volunteer building a zipline through Mabira Forest. He hopes that the zipline will employ locals (that would otherwise earn a living by cutting down the trees in the forest) and encourage more tourists to visit the forest. I hope that if I ever return to Uganda, I can experience the “Super Skyway” (as Aaron calls it)!
After spending one short day in the forest (even though I could have stayed another week), we were on our way to Entebbe. Once we arrived in Entebbe (after HOURS of traffic) we got settled into our hostel and had a good night’s sleep.
Which brings me to today- Thanksgiving! It is definitely strange to be away from home today, but I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Our leaders surprised us by finding a restaurant called “Faze 3″ that was offering a Thanksgiving special. We got to sit outside, overlooking Lake Victoria, and pig out on pumpkin soup, honey baked ham, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie & cherry strudel for dessert! The food was delicious, and I am still recovering from my food coma!
Our group is going to spend the rest of our time in Entebbe exploring the town and taking in the beautiful views. Then, on Saturday, we say goodbye to Uganda! It still feels unreal that in less than two weeks, I will be heading home!
Love,
Katie