We are on our way. The sightings are many and all special. I enjoy Henry’s knowledgable, enthusiastic descriptions of the animals. We might see a giraffe eating a type of tree. Henry will tell us, with a unique melody to his voice, that the giraffes “love the acacia tree SOOO much.” The pictures tell most of the story. The most exciting things to me are theclose-up encounters with the giraffes, the elephants, and the various types of deer and antelope.
We all had hoped to see a lion, but our guide Henry warned us that it would be difficult with the grass so high. As we are driving, David in our group says that he thinks he sees a lion. He noticed movement in the grass, then could see the back of the lion. Soon, we can all see it. Our excitement and awareness of our environments jumps. I am sitting in the front seat without access to the roof. I can see the lion a little, but have no chance of getting a decent photo because of the tall grass and my low position. I have to open the door, get out, and stand up. Using the top of the door as a rest for the lens, I am able to get some shots of this wonderful animal.
Henry quietly and urgently tells us to get inside. He is tracking the path of this male lion and can see that we will get a much closer look if we move forward to converge with the lion’s path. We do, and our driver pulls ahead to a meeting with the lion’s expected path and kills the engine. We wait. Sure enough, here comes the lion to the road and crosses in front of us, giving us a look or two. It is an incredible moment. We watch him with his slow gait, continuing in the same line. As all but his back disappears into the tall grass, he has the full attention of antelope in the field in the direction which he is headed.
What a thrill. After we see the lion, we have close up encounters with these giraffes and others along the way. We then come across two very large male elephants. We are so close to them that I have to take the telephoto extender off my camera to get a picture of the closest one’s full body. I still have some work to do on those photos, so please check the blog again later for those photos. Below are photos of some of the other animals we saw:
Shortly after we see the elephants, we arrive directly at the small stucco building that is the airport at the Murchison Falls National Park. Our chartered planes to Entebbe are supposed to leave at noon. Our first reminder that we are on Africa time, something we have experienced from time to time during the week, is when we walk into the main room of the airport and see that the clock on the wall is twenty-five minutes off. We wait, passing the time, not too worried about it, just enjoyed the extra minutes here. Justin in our group shares an appropriate story for the situation. He was in Kenya before meeting us in Uganda. A Kenyan relayed to him and the other Americans there that “you have the watch, we have the time.” Very fitting.
Our planes arrive at 1:00 p.m. I can see so many people like me that have been forever affected by this experience. They steal one more look around as we board. They watch through the windows as we gather speed on the dirt runway and take off above the savannah.
We arrive to the sunshine of Entebbe and the vastness of Lake Victoria in front of us. We drive to the Imperial Royale beach hotel for about six hours of rest, showers, and packing before we depart tonight at 11:00 p.m. A monkey is hanging on the fence as we pull in. In walking around the grounds down to the lake front, there are a dozen monkeys or more all around – sunning, preening, wrestling, eating. What a nice, last wildlife treat.
Although my last meal in Uganda offers me the choice of a steak or hamburger, I choose a traditional Ugandan meal – Goat, chicken, matooke, groundnut sauce, and fresh pineapple. Not only do I like it, but I want to soak up every last experience of this that I can.
After an unusually long time of working our way through security, checking luggage and waiting in the terminal, we walk out on the tarmac and climb the stairs onto the plane. I take an Ambien to get me to sleep so that I will be closer to USA time when I return home. I’ve only taken a few Ambien ever, but this time confirms that they can sometimes have a strange effect. I have the vaguest recollection of being served dinner. Everything else is a blank up until my memory of partially waking up with my chin on my chest, staring into a small tray with rice in it six inches from my face, and a spoon in my right hand with some food on it. Blank space again until I remember being offered tea, saying, “Yes, please,” and then I don’t remember anything after that. The good news is that I slept well up until the announcement for breakfast and feel fairly rested.
Following the eight hour flight from Entebbe, we land in Brussels for a four hour layover and some chocolate shopping. It is also time to say goodbye to many of our party, since we head off in different directions to our homes. Although most, but not all, are recovered from stomach ailments, an ugly cold has swept through much of the group. More than just a cold, they feel miserable. I am sorry for them and so thankful I have felt great, if not exhausted now and then, for the entire trip.
Once on the plane bound for Chicago on American flight 89, I get settled in for the 8 ½ hour flight. Unfortunately, the people on each side of me provide some fairly regular coughing. I may not dodge that cold after all.
After a tight connection in Chicago (the plane is boarding when we arrive at the gate), I finally arrive home. After twenty-nine hours of travel door to door, I don't really feel too bad. I'm thankful! I do, however, fall asleep at 6:30 p.m. and sleep for ten hours. Hopefully, that will be good rest to propel me back into life here.
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