You truly are “The Pearl of Africa.”
Today’s adventure was an exercise in patience and bureaucracy. The HOOPS to jump in order to cross from Rwanda to Uganda?! Park there. Documents? No, not here, across the street. Cross the street, wait in line only to be told we were in the right place in the beginning. All that just to get past the gate into the crossworld purgatory–exit stamp for Rwanda, entry stamp for Uganda, car registrationin three different places, all to get two tiny slips of paper to get through into Uganda. Nope. Car needs a tiny slip, too. Back to the lean-to for more Post-Its. No wonder things take an eternity to get done around here.
BUT OH, THE PAYOFF! Off-roading to Kabale to spend the night in an island paradise, catching THREE baboons en route! Being accosted by a gaggle of giggle and clamor while stopping to take pictures of Lake Bunyoni, little hands extended demanding “sweets.” I was caught with NO candy for these children (never again–we bought a sack of 60 for the next encounter), but I had stickers, which is better for young teeth. And the gloriously lush and varied landscape as we wound our way through the country? Like something out of a magazine.
Confession: this trip to Africa is one of the craziest, scariest things I’ve done in a long while. Everest was HUGE–a brilliant story to tell around a campfire, boring friends who’ve heard it all before, fielding a few eyebrows when the tale gets a little taller from last telling. But this trip promises to be just as incredible.
