A tourist becomes me

It's been a physically and mentally draining couple of weeks for me, but I am still grinning ear to ear. I spent this last weekend in Murchison Falls National Park in northwest Uganda. We (me and 7 strangers) hiked around the falls, did the traditional road safari, boat launch up to the falls (or booze cruise as an Aussie in our group preferred to call it - he also referred to the big dipper as the dirty saucepan), and chimpanzee trekking in a nearby forest. I saw a wide range of wildlife: lions, elephants, crocs, hippos, antelope, warthogs, giraffes, baboons, colobus monkeys, chimpanzees, etc. I am still mesmerized by the Nile River and could spend forever gazing out at it...And if you can believe it, Kelly Fish survived sleeping in a sweltering tent with gillions of biting bugs (and a spider, though it was already dead) for an entire weekend. And even more, I woke up before the sun! Check out the pictures below that were graciously posted by my relentless techmaster friend.

Event of the week: seeing President Museveni. Richard, one of my boda drivers, was taking me home on Monday night when we came across a massive traffic jam. Traffic jams in Kampala are nothing new, but sure enough the president was traveling from the airport back home. So we pulled to the side of the road where children were running along the road, shouting their greetings to the president. I sat there dumbly on the back of the boda and made eye contact with Museveni as he drove by (in a Mercedes of course) - he had a strange expression as he looked back me as though it was peculiar to see a silly mzungu woman among the crowds on the back of a boda boda. So I just grinned and waved like a moron, but all the while thinking that this man might mean the demise of his country if he doesn't get his act together.

Next week I will be touring northern Uganda (or at least the districts composing Acholiland) with some work colleauges for a few days - I will finally experience Kitgum and Pader districts for myself. We are receiving reports that there was an LRA ambush along the Gulu-Kitgum road yesterday (resulting in deaths), so I think we will be flying. There has been a new ceasefire signed, which is supposed to pave the way for further peace talks, and another high-ranking LRA commander has come out of the bush (and even warmly received in Gulu). So it appears that the peace process is pushing forward. Mission number one for Gulu is to visit baby Kelly and get a photo (yes, I think proof is necessary).

I also have a special trip planned for a few days at the end of next week that I won't yet reveal for fear that you will all be distracted by envy.

P.S. Yes! The electricity has been repaired and even without the use of monetary bribes.