Bubbles and Hairy Lemon Island

Trip Start Jul 27, 2005

Trip End Aug 03, 2005

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Flag of Uganda Kampala, Uganda
Saturday, July 30, 2005

More visits to other branches and to immigration to extend my visa. Ida and I have been planning a trip to Sudan to visit her sister who is there with her husband teaching in different schools. Getting a visa was a bit of a challenge and we finally gave up. Obviously this was a blessing in disguise because of the recent riots that broke out because of the helicopter crash that killed their vice president.

Friday night I met up with Kim and her friend from college, Chris for a drink at Bubbles, the Irish Pub. The place is such a scene -about 85% of the crowd expatriates and the other 15% locals. Chris is earning her PHD in education at Columbia and just completed a research project in Sudan. She is here for a month touring Uganda.

Saturday I went with them to Hairy Lemon Island, a resort that is popular with the Kayakers that come from all parts of the world to experience the Nile Special, a part of the Nile River that offers some of the best river rafting

Chris with our dinner

. For thousands of years the source of the Nile remained a mystery and it wasn't until the late 1800's that the British Explorer John Hanning Speke was credited with discovering the source of the mighty river at Lake Victoria.

The drive was 2 hours north and carried us to a remote area where we parked, tapped on an old wheel rim tire and were immediately greeted by a boat man who picked us up in a canoe. As we rounded the island, we were greeted by a group of people playing water volleyball. We met some of Kim's European friends who had arrived earlier - all working for non-govt groups. Dinner was the slow cooked pork that had been roasting for hours.

Sunday Ida returned from Gulu and it was great to see her and hear about her trip.