On the Road with Rob

A couple explorers like the days of old

This last month we had our first long term visitor from the states.  Rob, a friend since jr. high youth group, and best man in my wedding came and spent a whole month with my family.  We were taking bets on whether he would actually come.  I lost.

Most of our time was spent in Kampala, where I showed him my exhilarating day-to-day life of grocery shopping at the market, taking my kids swimming, discussing the attributes of different super heros, teaching my son to read, cooking meals, etc.  Having a guest in town I upped my evening outings exploring local watering holes, like checking out reggae night, and making our presence known at the newly opened Mojo Lounge, a house converted into a bar down the street from me.

The biggest difference from my average month was the increase of weekend trips including a game safari in Murchinson Falls National Park, a trek to an island on Lake Bunyonyi, and relaxing weekend lazy camping overlooking the rapids of the Nile.  Writing up this Safari recap has taken me a month to get to.  Hopefully I’ll get to the others quicker.    

Early one glorious Kampala morning Rob and I jumped in my Rav 4, armed with a tent, couple sleeping bags, some coconut biscuits, and set of for Murchinson Falls to get better acquainted with some Ugandan wildlife.  After a 5 hour drive, including the obligatory stop for goat muchomo and roasted bananas delivered by vendors standing on the side of the road, we entered the park, but still had another 1.5 hours to the where the boat tour was we were hoping to catch.

Following a couple fishtailing incidents on the roads I slowed down, deciding it was better to miss the boat than die.   We made it to the boat on time and were treated to views of hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and a bunch of crazy birds which I don’t know the names of.

Multitasking: seeing the falls and reading the news.  

The people watching is interesting as well.  A lot of folks are dressed in their “safari gear” of north face pants and shirts, large brimmed hats with huge expensive hiking boots as if they were planning taking a trek across the continent on foot.  When you’re on safari the majority of your time is looking at animals out the window of a truck or boat.  The longest walk most travelers experience is back at their lodge where they have to walk from their cabin to the dinning area to enjoy their four-course meal.

During the boat ride we were feeling a little camera inadequacy.  A number of our fellow passengers pulled out these cameras with lenses that looked more like bazookas.  Meanwhile Rob, who traveled half way around the world for this African adventure, was using the camera function of an old borrowed i-phone.  

After the boat we went back to set up our tent at our budget lodge, chatted with other travelers over dinner and beers.  I was worried how well I would do sleeping on the ground.  Fortunately I slept soundly, not even waking up to the sound of the wart hogs and hippos that were seen traipsing through the camp that night.

The next morning we got up at the butt crack of dawn (technical term) to catch the ferry across the Nile to the area were most of the animals reside.  Before moving to Uganda I never had much desire to go on safari. The idea of traveling half way around the world to see a bunch of animals you can see at the zoo seemed a little ridiculous to me.  That being said, Safari is pretty amazing.  During the morning we were treated to elephants, giraffes, and herds of kobs and antelopes.

I was surprised how often I saw a bunch of different animals hanging together as if they’re auditioning for a Disney movie.  Our guide told us lots of animals hang with the giraffes since they are really good at spotting far off predators.  If they’re chilling with the giraffes and they bolt they know it time to get the hell out of Dodge.  

These are elephants... duh

Half way through our drive our guide told me to stop, and pointed up in a tree.  There sat a leopard, which is a pretty rare sighting.  He slowly came down the tree and walked in front of the car and sat on the other side of the road.  Meanwhile our guide was calling and texting all the other guides to let them know there was a leopard sighting.

Lovely Leopard

Following our drive we got lunch at one of the luxury lodges soaking up the amenities that our budget lodge didn’t have, like a poolside view of the Nile.  Refreshed we returned for a late afternoon drive and again got a view of a big cat.  This time I was driving along when we came upon a lion strolling down the road stalking prey.  After following him a couple minutes it dawned on me I should probably roll up my window.

Stalking the Stalker

This is when our guide said.  "Back up! They're going to charge us!"

That evening we got to trade travel stories with a few fellow travelers and gloat about our big cat sightings.  As we shared stories one guy said, “you were the two guys driving around on your own in the little Rav 4!” Apparently we stood out amongst the Land Rovers, and Overland trucks.  I’m thinking the mighty Rav needs a nickname.  Any suggestions?  

Born to Run

Well maybe not born to run, but I like to get my heart rate going and get out in the neighborhood, but that's not as catchy.  A few times a week I get out on the road, and I thought I'd share with you some of the sights on my route.  I just took some shots on my old iphone along the way, so excuse the picture quality.  

View outside my gate

Taking a right on Stretcher Road and go past the prettiest boda stage in Kampala

Going Down.  Gotta watch out for twisted ankles.

Local "Wildlife"

Beautiful view of the dump burning garbage.  It adds an interesting scent to the air.  

Running up the the Hill of Death

Not a bad view

Running on through Kyambogo University.  Feels like a park.

I'm always looking for running partners.  Let me know if you're in the neighborhood.

A Moment With Ian

Kick'n it Kampala Style

A little less than a year ago we took our son Ian out of his school, away from his Pittsburgh neighborhood, friends, and church and shipped him across the ocean to start a new adventure in Uganda.  Here’s a little check in I had with him to see how he’s doing, what he’s learned, and what he thinks about his African adventure.    

How are doing?

Good (we’re off to a solid start)

What do you think about Uganda? What’s your favorite part?

Hmmm… I like going on Safari and going Swimming.

When did you do that?

Well we went up to Murchison (Murchison Falls National Park), and we can go swimming anytime because it’s always sunny here.

What was the coolest thing you saw on Safari?

I would say crocodiles.

Did you wrestle any of them?

Noooo

Where did you see them?

When we were on the boat

Do you think it would be fun to be crocodile?

Maybe (He’s very political… doesn’t want to get boxed in on the crocodile issue)

(At this point our interview is interrupted by my 2-year-old daughter, Naomi, yelling: “I want ice cream”)

Ian and his class mates doing the "Mexican Hat Dance"  

What’s the biggest difference that you have seen between here and our home in the U.S.?

It has walls

Walls?

Yeah all the houses have walls around them, and a lot of places are made out of tree trunks and mud cause there’s a lot of poor places (Not exactly how I would describe it but I see what he’s getting at)

What’s different that has been a nice surprise?
It’s really sunny  (wouldn’t have thought it would have been a surprise that it’s sunny on the Equator)

(Naomi is again informing us of her interest in having Ice Cream… actually that sounds pretty good right now)

What do you miss about Pittsburgh?

There are a lot funner things to do there than here.  And I miss them and chicken nuggets… good chicken nuggets (Anyone want to mail us some Chick-fil-a?). 

What are the funner things you miss?

Play places.  You know like… the mall

(Of all the things he misses the mall… I’ve failed as a father.  Naomi chimes in repeating, “I want to go to the Mall”)

Interview Intermission while I try to stop Naomi from screaming about the mall. 

Welcome to the Jungle

So you were saying that you miss fun places.

I miss the Children’s Museum.  I miss going with my friends. Especially my friend Sebastion.

(He misses museums and friends. I guess I haven’t totally failed as a father)

What do you think about the work that mommy does here?  How would you describe her job to other people?

I like it

How would you explain what she does?   

She helps people when people try to take their land and push down their houses

Sounds like the big bad wolf blowing down houses

Noooo…. the big bad wolf doesn’t exist

How does she help?

She sends people to arrest them, but I don’t know the rest

What do you want to do when you grow up? 

I want to be a storywriter.

What kind of stories?

(Naomi starts yelling, “I’m hungry”)

Well I haven’t started yet

Tell me about some of the characters you have made up

Well there’s Goo Man he shots Goo out of his hand to stop villains

Fire Ball shoots fire out of his hand.  He’s a hero.  (I think I’d go with Fire Ball instead of a guy who shoots snot out of his hand)

The neighborhood gang admiring the "Dawntreader"

(Naomi interjects repeatedly yelling, “I want to watch dora … super baby dora”.  This results in our third intermission)

If you can be any super hero who would you be?

Can I be two?  Green Lantern and Super Man…. their powers together are really powerful and I would stop bad guys

Who would win a battle between both of them?

Super Man is the most powerful and green lantern is second.

Alright, always bet on the man of steal.

Re-Entry

Ian and his boys

A month ago I woke up in my bed here in Uganda disoriented from 30 hours of travel and time changes the day before, and I asked myself, “what do I do here again?”  Well, to quote Shawshank Redemption “get busy living or get busy dying.”  Here’s some of the highlights of the last month.

Micro Brewery Visit

In Kampala is a night club, (Venom or Viper.. not sure… something that will kill you and starts with a v… I always say it wrong) that claims to be East Africa only microbrewery.  A couple friends and I decided to check it out and sample their oat sodas.  Not wanting to experience the “club” aspect we went early around 8 pm. 

Although it was empty you could see they spent some serious money on the place, evidenced by the light up dance floor, flat screens, and plush seats.  The sound system blared late 90’s rap and r & b.  We walked through the VIP room to see the brewing tanks decked out in neon lights which made them look like the engine room of the starship enterprise.  I guess the owners were like, people like clubs and people like micro brews, why not combine them.  The combination feels a little weird, like gum and nuts, both enjoyable but maybe not at the same time.      

We found a booth but had a hard time getting beverage service as most of the staff were still in a meeting.  Finally we got some Chocolate Stout that was pretty good.  The only problem was that it is was then hard to drink a Ginger Lime Ale after drinking a dark beer… rookie mistake.   We also ordered “nachos.”   When they arrived an hour later they looked like little meatballs.  Apparently nachos meant globs of tomato relish on a cracker with a dollop of sour cream on top.  Overall good times, good beer, weird vibe. 

Rafting

With his time in UG coming to a close, our housemate Tim organized a rafting trip on the Nile.  Although it was a little unnerving to hear the air leaking out the boat as we started we had a great time lead by an expert guide and surrounded by a crew of kayakers that were there to catch people and paddles when they were catapulted out of the boats.  The Nile is a little bio-polar with manic rapids and then long stretches of calm.  Our boat never flipped we all got thrown once.  I’ll let the pictures do most of the story telling here.   

Watch that first step 

A Formidable Crew

Duck and Cover

Tim Falling Out

Me Laughing at Tim Falling Out

Splish Splash.. Taking a Bath

Let's Go Surf'n Now

Birthday Parteee

To celebrate the existence of Kathryn and myself on this planet we had a little party.  Stealing a page from our days in Athens Ohio we made it a talent show party, starting of with the youngest attendees dancing around to the Harlem Shakes.  Talents included limericks, headstands, capitals of the world, ventriloquist (sort of), bad jokes, singing, and my favorite a beat box and rap about the Wilkes Family. 

It was awesome to have settled in enough that we could invite friends for a party.  Unfortunately as we looked around the room about a fourth of the people will be gone in a couple months or less.  Such is the life of the expat. 

Everybody have fun Tonight...Everybody Wang Chung Tonight

Dropping some knowledge

Six Months of Knowledge

Living the Good Life in the U.G. 

We have just passed our 6 month anniversary of our arrival here in Kampala.  After reviewing of our time I’ve come up with the following list of lessons learned. 

Things I’ve learned in my first 6 months

•   Wear sunglasses and avoid eye contact with the traffic police so when they try to pull you over you can pretend you didn’t see them and keep driving.

•   Guinness Foreign Stout is not the same as Guinness. 

•  When buying Raybans from a vendor it’s a good idea to buy two because they will soon be broken. 

•    Although you have to obey the traffic laws, motorcycles and farm animals do not. 

• When playing chicken with a baboon I will lose. 

•  “I’m coming” can mean I’ll be there in a few days.

•  Playing in the Nile is Awesome but the Bilharzia sickness you get a month later sucks.

•  When buying something always ask for a bonus.  

•    If you have furniture made it will probably look nothing like what you asked for.   

•   You can transport anything on the back of a boda (motorcycle).

•   Storks kind of freak me out.

•   Anything can pass as a foreign drivers license (a friend of mine uses his tae kwon do id).

•   When it looks like your kids are playing with a rubber lizard it’s actually a real but dead lizard. 

Just a Touch of Malaria

Hello.. Doctor....

So it appears that we’ve reached that chapter in our time here where we get the crap beat out of us through sickness brought on from transitioning to a tropical environment.  We’ve spent the last weekend trying to purge the whole family of Bilharzia, an infection caused by snails in the water of the Nile and Lake Victoria.  Taking the medicine to eradicate those little buggers actually amplifies the symptoms (nauseau, high fever, body aches, chills, headaches, etc..) you were feeling to begin with.  Kathryn claims it might be the worst she's ever felt.  There has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth, as well as vows to never go near the Nile again. 

This is after only recently recovering from a mystery illness that had me hospitalized overnight and requiring many bottles of saline.  I woke up a little drowsy one morning after feeling fine the night before.  I went into the bathroom to get ready, but felt a little confused on the proper processes.  I proceeded to try to brush my teeth with my deodorant.  After a couple attempts I concluded that I was definitely doing something wrong, and decided to work on getting dress.   I thought I was doing ok till Kathryn asked why I was putting multiple button down shirts over top of each other.    I said oops, and tried again to get some pants only to realize I again had grabbed a shirt.  This happened two more times. 

Finally I was ready, well sort of, for breakfast.  I don’t remember much but apparently I poured myself a large bowl of milk, without cereal, and was very concerned about which seat was mine at the table.  I was eventually sent to bed and spent the remainder of the morning, vomiting, writhing in agony, and breaking glasses or anything breakable within reach.   Kathryn dragged me to the Surgery in the afternoon were they concluded that I “had some kind of infection.”  

By the way I do not recommend brushing your teeth with your deodorant.   

The majestic site of our infection

Fun in the Sun

Say Bilharzia!

Look out for that Crocodile!

To Market, To Market, To Buy Some Fried Food

Although I’m not crazy about Ugandan gastronomy in general, I have found great delight in my trips to the market to sample local street fare.  I mean, if you fry it, almost anything will taste good.... right?  Every few days my two-year-old daughter will start repeating “Market, Market, Chapatti, Samosa.”   It is then that I know that her saturated fat levels are dangerously low.       

Samosas are one of my kids’ favorite market snacks.  At local restaurants they serve veggie or beef samosas.  At the market I have only encountered samosas filled with cow peas, which is some kind of bean.  They’re all right, but not great.  I enjoy the crispy outer dough more than the filling.  Lately I have been passing on samosas, opting instead for a couple fried sticks of cassava.  It’s kind of like a giant french fry, but a little more dried out.  It’s enjoyable with a little bit of salt on it.   Salty, fried, starch… I can get down with that.

Chowing down on Cow Pea Samosas

Another common food at the market, or along the side of the road, is roasted corn.  Women roast the corn on little fire pits made out of old wheel wells.  The corn here is not sweet corn like back in the old U.S. of A, so the first bite is pretty disappointing.  It’s more coarse and starchy, but once you adjust your expectations it can be pretty delightful.   

Hanging out with one of our favorite fruit vendors

The rolex (not the watch) is the quintessential Ugandan street food.  It’s egg mixed with shredded cabbage, fried on a cast iron griddle over coals, and then rolled up with in freshly made chapatti bread along with a little bit of sliced tomato.  Think doughy breakfast burrito.  It’s great for a big snack or a cheap meal.  They’re pretty greasy, but you’re getting protein and veggies, they're filling, and they cost less than a dollar.  They are decent as is, but I feel they need a little help to really make them good.  Last week I added some sirachia, which took it up a few notches.  

Roll it Up! Roll it Up!

Although you can get it in town, one of my favorite parts of our trips out of Kampala has been the muchomo breaks.  Along the road there are stops where vendors have a bounty of grilled meat on sticks waiting for cars and buses to stop.  It can be a little overwhelming as they rush the car waiving around skewers of charred flesh, but that’s part of the adventure.  On our way up to Gula we sampled some goat that was quite tasty, but my stomach was not happy that I decided to eat 4 sticks worth. 

A couple weeks ago we went for a hike in the Mabira Rainforest.  Near the end of our hike we crossed a main road at a chicken muchomo stop.  A quarter chicken seasoned and roasted on a stick, paired with roasted sweet bananas, tasted fantastic and was an awesome way to round out the hike.  The vendors were also helpful in showing us where the trail stated again on the other side, so double score. 

          

GOAT!

       If stateside, and getting tired of snacking on Doritos, consider coming for a visit to Kampala.  I’ll buy you a Rolex and we can wash it down with a Nile Special Premium Lager. 

Yes, we have pizza as well