Beginning of a series of updates

Ok, so I have very much dropped the ball on this whole "blogging" thing recently and since it is a slow day at work thought it about time for an update.

Round 1: Rafting.

Three weeks ago (wow) I spent my first Ugandan national holiday, the country's 45th Independence Day, and first day off of work in a raft on the Nile. Not the most relaxing of all holidays but definitely one of my most fun.

After literally months of anticipation and a couple of celebratory beers at Steak Out the night before, Carrie, Ryan and I boarded the 7:30 am Adrift bus bound for Jinja. Two stops, 15 Danish teenagers and two hours later we found ourselves on the banks of the Nile watching two older gentleman and one bikini-clad woman bungee jumping. After that show came to an end (it was really special let me tell you) and a brief safety talk, we, along with three new Australian friends and a toothless guide named Tutu, were ready to hit the water. The first boat out, "team Tutu" set the pace for a wild day.

I have been fortunate enough to take several whitewater rafting trips (family trip on the Salmon, family trip to Costa Rica, Outward Bound course, etc.) but none come even close to comparing to the Nile. I have never seen water/rapids like this before. I think the real kicker was a rapid called "Big Brother," the second of the Class 5 rapids on the trip, which consists of 4 waves- each one bigger than the next- and is stumbled upon less than a half an hour into the trip. After mastering the first two, I think it is safe to say that all 5 of us on the raft were convinced we were going to be victims of the third and in certain ways we were as our ENTIRE RAFT submerged however somehow the raft made it through without flipping and Tutu just laughed at our lack of faith. Sidenote on Tutu, not only has he been leading trips since the rafting company started 12 years ago, but in addition to the absence of pearly whites he also has a gnarly scar across his face that none of us had the guts to ask him where he got it from. I have no doubt that it comes with a great story, though.

And so went the rest of our day. Only flipping once (and only on a class 3 after we had all stood up to dance for the videographer) I think our raft definitely deserved the prize for "most talented" of the day. Seriously. Between that and the delicious lunch spread (avocado, tomato and cheese sandwiches, some of the freshest pineapple I have ever tasted...) I can hardly wait to get back on the river.

The day didn't end with the last rapid (the notorious "Bad Place") either. Taking full advantage of the promise of all-you-can-drink free beer, team Tutu boarded the bus back to Kampala with a vengeance. Spreading our wings to include a Canadian, Croatian and Brit, the bus ride seemed to fly by in the midst of some very fun conversations (and the Croatian's insisting that we stop at a bar to replenish a beer drought) and stories. Happy with one another's company, after a warm shower at each of our respective houses/hotels/hostels the group met up at one of the "native Kampala-ans'" favorite Indian restaurants (have I mentioned how good the Indian food here is?) to continue the festivities. Unfortunately my 8 am report time to the office the next day cut my night short at the first bar after dinner, but I still managed to have a very fun evening.

I think my favorite part of the whole day was the reminder of some of the amazing people who come through here. Kampala can be a very small city at times so it is always so refreshing to meet new people. What made this group especially great was I completely forgot how bonding of an activity rafting is- and what an eclectic mix of people it can attract. Now if only any of the wayfarers stayed around for longer than 24 hours. Oh well. Guess that just means I will have to get back on the river soon (or try and carry out my new alernative life goal of becoming a raft guide)...