Another early day but so worth it except it was so hard getting out of my warm bed with the hot water bottle at my feet (when I go back to MN in the cold that is how I am sleeping at night Katherine I will need to borrow your hot water bottle!) But J'lein and I got up and all ready and went to breakfast (Dax stayed with Ethan he is to little to go trekking so they had a very fun boys day) then we headed to the lodge they got us all checked in and gave us out guides and we headed on a very bumpy road I was surprised the car made it and there were points we didn't think it would. But we made it, met our porters, got out walking sticks and started on the trek. We started on flat farm land and walked to the stone wall that is the start of the Jungle, it is there to keep the buffalo, elephants, and gorillas in. So we climbed the wall and started the journey. We saw fresh elephant tracks right away so the guides had to make sure they were not near or we didn't go where they were. We also saw fresh buffalo tracks. We had only been trekking about 20 minuets when we got to the place or rather right by it to the gorillas. So we left our sticks, bags, and water with the porters and headed up to where they were located. We came across the Sliver back which is the only older male and the leader of the group. We spent some time with him and we were very close to him! Then we moved on and saw little ones playing they were so cute just wrestling and swinging in the trees then the mom came and they all followed her so we did also and we also saw a little baby who must have been about 3 months old (or that is what they think). The hour went really fast and it was time to head down, we climbed back over the wall, through the farm, and to the cars. Then we went on a still bumpy road but not as bad and went back to the lodge where we ate lunch and got our papers saying we we saw the gorilla's and headed back to the hotel where a hot shower felt so good and then after some soup and a walk and I finished "The Kite Runner" which is so good and the best part was I got to sit outside in the cool fresh air and read while Ethan played with his toys! We were very sad to hear that the dancing would not be back tonight but we are going back in 2 weeks over my birthday actually! and then early to bed again because tomorrow is another early day!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Day 18 (July 28, 2009)
HANNAH'S BIRTHDAY 2 WEEKS TILL MINE!
We started today early again! It will be so exciting to sleep when I get home. But we finished packing, had breakfast, played outside, then the 25 and up group of people left for a sight visit and Ethan, Dax, Alexa, Greg, my self and Moses (our driver) went to find a FedEx or DHL to ship drums back for Greg and Alexa and after at least 3 hours we were finally on the road to to the Gorilla's Nest! The whole drive was up and then down a mountain but for the most part it was all paved which made it so nice. Plus it was nice to hang out with people my age! We got to the hotel and raced to the bathroom (I don't pee in bushes and there were people or villages the whole way up anyways) we saw our rooms and finally ate lunch at like 4 pm breakfast was hours ago... Then we all put on warmer clothes because it was much cooler here! And we went for a walk and we saw a lot of kids playing soccer so we went and talked to them and got a lot of emails address from the boys (they kept asking me to email them pictures of me...) And Ethan and the kids found frogs, and ran around it was very cute. We met some really nice and smart boys who I hope can reach their dreams. We then walked back to the hotel to get drinks and wait for the African Dancers to come! It was so cool to watch them dance and we even got to dance with them. Then it was dinner and bed time ready for another early day tomorrow!
Day 17 (July 27, 2009) In Rwanda
Today started early but not early like what the last few days had been. It started a little after 7 Rwanda time which was 8 Uganda time. After breakfast and getting the laundry sent to be done Ethan put on his suit and we headed down to the pool. Which I was told was very cold... I didn't swim :) then Ethan and a little girl who speaks French ran around for a long time trying to catch a crane. After a wonderful lunch of toasted cheese sandwhich and fries (Rwanda is a French country) We were back outside running, and swimming! We had a low key night of packing basically is a new everyday thing, showers, spongebob, toys, books, and bed! It was nice to have a relaxing day.
Side Note: Got a weird sun burn today. My tan lines are going to be funky... And not in a good way.
Day 16 (July 26, 2009)
Another early morning (I am so not a morning person either...) But we had to get up, finish packing, have breakfast and be in the car before 7 AM. We had a long busy day ahead of us. We had to take the boat across the Nile, and then we were back on our way to Kampala it was a very long drive that turned longer when we had to stop at a little outside resturant for the breaks to be fixed in the van, then back on the road again. When we finally made it to Kampala we stopped at a really good Indian resturant and I ate so much good food full of great flavor oh it was good! Then we went to this little outside shopping place with lots of fun little shops and most people shopped and Ethan and I sat and played in the grass, but first we looked for presents for his "brothers" Jackjack and Spencer and for Ms. Kate it was very cute. Then off to the airport again in had been all of 12 days since we were last on a plane LOL. We finally boarded the small plane and 50 mins later we landed in Rwanda country number 4 or 7 this summer. We got to the hotel and have a great room because there is a bedroom which is big and a living room which is big so its great! After Ethan's Mac and Cheese and J'lein and I had Bolognaise and the best french fries ever it was bedtime and it must have been after midnight at that point. It was a ling day but lots of fun and I have never been so excited for sleep in my life!
Day 15 (July 25, 2009)
After a very early morning we had a nice breakfast and went out on another game drive. The goal today was to find a lion! after seeing lots of animals another car stopped us saying they saw LIONS so we headed in that direction where tons and tons of cars with people were looking. And we saw nothing so we drove to another place and we saw them! We were pretty far away and I'm told in Kenya we will see lots and up close but it was still cool! Then back to the lodge after a little (or big) lunch and some lizard catching it was time for the boat safari and hike. The boat was fun we saw hippos and crocodiles and more of the other animals we had seen already. Then we went went on a nice hike which Ethan did really well for and it was super hot and then I got to see Murchison Fall's. It was breath taking words can't even describe how beautiful it is or even how amazing it is. Then we went back to the lodge by car and boat it took 1 1/2 hours of bumps to get there and Ethan had dinner, shower and bed then I went and hung out with Dax and ate it was a very fun filled, full day!
Day 14 (July 24, 2009)
After a VERY long night we got all ready to go back into the car to go to the Parra Safari Lodge and Murchison Fall's. When we finally got to the park they popped the top of the cars and we got to stand up and see all the animals on the drive in! We saw elephants, giraffes, birds of all kinds, warthogs, monkeys, buffalo's then when we got to the lodge we got all checked in, had lunch, Ethan chased lizards then it was time for the first game drive of the summer! We had two request we wanted to see lions and leopards. Well we got half of what we wanted and we saw a leopard and it was so cool. We saw lots of other animals that we had seen earlier and they were up super close to the car it was really cool! After dinner and showers it was bed time so we could be ip at 5:45 AM...
Day 13 (July 23, 2009)
Ethan and I spent the day at the hotel playing by the pond with the fish and frogs, running in the grass, scaring birds, eating lunch. Just our normal day for us, which is nice to have. We went to bed early because we had an early start to the day on Friday getting ready and going on Game drives! But at about 1AM J'lein and Ethan are knocking on my door because their room had been taken over by flying ants... So we all "slept" in my bed. Then at about 5 AM Ethan got sick. So at about 5:30 J'lein and I were wide awake so I offered to go pack everything up once more because I was so not sleeping any more...
