Sorry for the long break. I will explain later. I have much to write. I left Fort Portal in the front seat of a share taxi for the next town of Kasese. The driver didn't know where the taxi park was so he paid for a boda boda to take me to it. It was only a few minutes away. When I went to put my pack into the back of a minivan for the next stretch I was surprised to see that my waterproof raincover had somewhere blown off as I was on the boda. This sucks! It isn't replaceable here but shouldn't be a big problem. I was using it more to keep my pack clean anyway. I have my pack now for 6 trips and it's still in very good condition because I always keep a cover on it. I have an idea to replace with something later. The minibus only took me as far as a junction. The road straight is where I was going but the minibus was going right, towards the border with DRCongo. I got into another minivan here. We were in the area of Queen Elizabeth National Park now. I could tell because from the bus I could see many herds of Kob antelope, a few herds of buffalo, the odd waterbuck and even a lone elephant. Once I saw some wildlife I got into safari mode and started to keep a good look out of both sides of the bus. I finally got to the small village of Chambura. I was here to track chimpanzees living in the Chambura gorge. I was already really happy with my previous chimp experience but I wanted to see them again. This time inside the forest.
A guy who worked for the UWA got off the bus at the same place and felt it was his duty to tell me and help me about the park because he worked there. That was nice of him. I appreciated that because it would have been difficult without his help. He called the booking office for me and they had an open space on the 2pm chimp walk. It was now 1.50. I said I was coming right away and took all my luggage with me on the boda boda ride 4km to the booking office. There were others there but they weren't ready yet, so I was holding no one up. We finally set off at 2.30. I hitched a lift to the starting point into the gorge with a very friendly Swedish couple. It was them, 3 Danish guys ( who never said on word to me), me and our guide, Ben. We descended into the cooler, darker, lusher world of the gorge.
The Chambura gorge is an oasis of forest in the mostly savanna landscape of Q. Elizabeth N.P. It runs 14 km and is home to many primates including chimps, black and white colobus, red tailed monkey, vervet monkeys and also crocodiles, hippos and sometime lions and other animals. The were signs of hippos everywhere, big, muddy footprints, dung and sounds of their calling. The chimp tracking here is all by luck and they are not always seen. Ben said there were only 19 habituated chimps in the gorge! If I would have known this I probably wouldn't have tried tracking chimps here. Since I had to pay $50Us for the walk and then the $30US entrance, and all this for luck? We searched for 2 hours and saw many tracks of the chimps but didn't hear them or see them. At this point the Danes had to go but the Swedes and I stayed on because we were entitled to at least a 3 hour walk. We continued to search. We saw monkeys and some hippos but no chimps. I was utterly disappointed. This was big waste of money. Although the gorge was cool and I really liked it and could have explored it more, it wasn't worth $80. Now the Swedes and I are going to go away with this and tell everyone not to try chimps at Chambura gorge. The park should realize they are not getting good reviews with this. What they should do is what they do for the gorillas. They send out a scout in the moring to find the gorillas and then radio the locations back to the guides. Could you imagine paying $500 ( the cost of a gorilla permit) and not seeing the gorillas?
I hitched a ride with the Swedes. They were on a short tour and had their own driver and vehicle. I still needed a hotel and their's was too expensive, so their driver, Baker, said he would take me to the place he was staying. This worked out even better because it was closer to my next destination, Kalinzu Forest Reserve.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Fort Portal....for the last time
I walked from the bus to Continental hotel. I had breakfast and then crashed. I needed more sleep. I woke at one and casually washed clothes and arranged things in my pack. Today was to be a chill out day, writing, reading and relaxing. I planned on spending today and tomorrow in Ft. Portal to totally catch everyone up on my blog as to what I've been doing. It takes me a lot of time to write the way I do. I always forget things I want to say because it's tough sometimes to remember everything while I sit in an internet cafe but I hope I've been keeping everyone interested who's reading along. For my trip next year, I'm definitely buying a digital voice recorder so I can record more details and my thoughts/insights as I have them. I come up with some good stuff but it doesn't always make it to the blog. It would be nice if I could write at my own pace in the comfort of my hotel room. I must apologize too for not adding any photos or a map. I will try to add a map soon but the photos probably won't come, it can take a painfully long time to upload photos. My second day in Ft. Portal was uneventful, exactly what I wanted. I wrote more and got my things ready for travel tomorrow, Jan 19.
Semliki National Park part III
I woke up naturally at 7.30. I ate my cornflakes with water and a banana. Tadeo made me tea. He's a super nice guy and a great guide. He seems to really care about the park and it's animals. He's always smiling and willing to give any help I need. We set off at 815. No epic hike today though, I just want to stay around the swamp forest area looking for De brazza monkey again. We get to the area and venture off trail. Tadeo sees a De brazza on the ground but I don't see it. We search and search, it' really quiet. We often stop to listen for movement or the call of the e brazza which sounds like air being forcefully blown over the top of an empty glass bottle. When we hear it, we move in that direction. Some of the vegetation we struggle through is extremely thick and mosts small shrubs have thorns. Rattan, a spiky vine used for making furniture, is abundant and it always catches me as I pass by, tearing at my flesh and clothes. It catches on to me at the slightest passing. We keep crisscrossing from the trailless forest to a trail and then back into the forest. Tadeo is putting in a lot of effort and trying is best, the De brazza just seems to be particularly elusive today. We pass one spot of brush and I get covered in my arch enemny - ants! Man, do I hate ants! These ones are very small and seem to get in every corner of my skin and clothes. Not only are their bites painfully for being so small but they are also itchy. Even a while after passing through the area, I keep getting bit by ants who have taken their time to wander on my clothes before they decide to latch for dear life on my tender skin. I have to take off my shirt so Tadeo can kill the unreachable ants on my back. He's getting bit too. Back at camp my body is covered in cuts,red marks and raised bites. We searched for the De brazza monkey for 4 hours straight but with no success. Can't say I didn't try though. I'm glad I saw them yesterday or else I would have stayed another day but I'm happy with my experience in the park and will leave tomorrow.
I would love to stay another night at the park campsite but this means I will have to pay the $20 park entrance fee, so I move to the village of Ntandi, 2.5km away. I eat rice and beans for lunch at camp and then Tadeo accompanies me to Ntandi. He shows me a 'guesthouse' I can stay, run my Anette. It's a concrete cell of a room that someone obviously lives in most of the time, but it will do for one night. I don't like small villages and this one is no exception. There's no privacy, constant noise from goats, chickens, dogs, crying babies and everyone watches every move I make. I try to sit outside my room to write in my journal but this attracts little kids who won't leave me alone. Sure, they don't mean anything by it, I just like my alone time. I don't mind when it whenm they are interested in me and ask my name and country but get annoyed when they start asking for money and gifts. I bucket shower in a stall that also functions as the urinal and it reeks badly. I can't wait to leave this place. There's no electricity but most villages, like Ntandi, have a generator and someone plays terrible music full blast. I miss the campsite. I eat g-nut sauce over rice for dinner and read in my room till bed.
There are many transport options back to Fort Portal but the safest and most comfortable is the daily bus which leaves at 5am. Anette said she would wake me but I woke up with my internal alarm clock at 4.45am. I didn't sleep well, they didn't provide a mosquito net ( I left it, along with some books, in Ft. Portal, damn!) and it felt like things were on me and mossies buzzing around and I was itching periodically enough to disrupt any sound sleep. I was on the main road at 5am and sat on a log in the darkness to wait for the bus. A few other waited as well. At 5.30, the guy from the village mosque starting going off. There is no electricity so he just sang/yelled at the top of his lungs. Why do mosques always have to call people to prayer over a loudspeaker at ridiculous times of the day? Though there isn't many mosques in Uganda, it was quite annoying at times in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The bus finally comes by at 6.30 and I get a seat by the conductor on the left side close to the window and side door of the bus. The bus is almost packed. It's still dark but warm. We beging to climb the narrow road of the Rwenzori mountains. The driver is cautious and slow, I like that. There's one scary bit as we have to make room for a huge truck to pass us. They drive on the left in Uganda, so we were on the outside, close to the cliff edge. The conductor got out to direct the driver while backing up. He backed up slowly and the cliff edge came closer and closer until I couldn't see any road looking straight down out of my window, we were that close. My heart was pounding, as I'm sure others where. We were so close to the edge and then we moved forward a bit and then backed up more! This was intense. Finally there was enough room for the truck to squeeze by and we carried on to Ft. Portal.
I would love to stay another night at the park campsite but this means I will have to pay the $20 park entrance fee, so I move to the village of Ntandi, 2.5km away. I eat rice and beans for lunch at camp and then Tadeo accompanies me to Ntandi. He shows me a 'guesthouse' I can stay, run my Anette. It's a concrete cell of a room that someone obviously lives in most of the time, but it will do for one night. I don't like small villages and this one is no exception. There's no privacy, constant noise from goats, chickens, dogs, crying babies and everyone watches every move I make. I try to sit outside my room to write in my journal but this attracts little kids who won't leave me alone. Sure, they don't mean anything by it, I just like my alone time. I don't mind when it whenm they are interested in me and ask my name and country but get annoyed when they start asking for money and gifts. I bucket shower in a stall that also functions as the urinal and it reeks badly. I can't wait to leave this place. There's no electricity but most villages, like Ntandi, have a generator and someone plays terrible music full blast. I miss the campsite. I eat g-nut sauce over rice for dinner and read in my room till bed.
There are many transport options back to Fort Portal but the safest and most comfortable is the daily bus which leaves at 5am. Anette said she would wake me but I woke up with my internal alarm clock at 4.45am. I didn't sleep well, they didn't provide a mosquito net ( I left it, along with some books, in Ft. Portal, damn!) and it felt like things were on me and mossies buzzing around and I was itching periodically enough to disrupt any sound sleep. I was on the main road at 5am and sat on a log in the darkness to wait for the bus. A few other waited as well. At 5.30, the guy from the village mosque starting going off. There is no electricity so he just sang/yelled at the top of his lungs. Why do mosques always have to call people to prayer over a loudspeaker at ridiculous times of the day? Though there isn't many mosques in Uganda, it was quite annoying at times in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The bus finally comes by at 6.30 and I get a seat by the conductor on the left side close to the window and side door of the bus. The bus is almost packed. It's still dark but warm. We beging to climb the narrow road of the Rwenzori mountains. The driver is cautious and slow, I like that. There's one scary bit as we have to make room for a huge truck to pass us. They drive on the left in Uganda, so we were on the outside, close to the cliff edge. The conductor got out to direct the driver while backing up. He backed up slowly and the cliff edge came closer and closer until I couldn't see any road looking straight down out of my window, we were that close. My heart was pounding, as I'm sure others where. We were so close to the edge and then we moved forward a bit and then backed up more! This was intense. Finally there was enough room for the truck to squeeze by and we carried on to Ft. Portal.
Semliki National Park part II
I woke up at 7am with first light, no alarm needed. Today Tadeo and I would be looking for the De brazza monkey and walking to the Semliki river, where we would see primary forest along the way. I eat my cereal and banana for breakfast and at 7.45 we are on our way. We start in the dry swamp forest, the preferred home of the De brazza monkey. There is a lot of mud on the trail and the forest here is very lush and green. We glimpse a De brazza monkey fleeing from us and follow in hot pursuit off the trail. It's sometimes rough going off the trail but at other times we are following old elephant tracks and it's more open. We see many other monkeys - black and white colobus, red tailed and grey cheeked mangabeys but the De brazza remain hidden. Tadeo says they are a shy monkey. After 1.5 hour searching, I suggest we give up for now because we still have a 12km walk to the Semliki river. As we leave the swamp forest, the forest gets very dry. Everything is wilting and the forest appears lifeless. There are no more monkeys, only a few birds. The forest is eerily silent, not even an insect makes a sound. We pass a few large holes in the ground, home of the aardvark, Tadeo explains. The aardvark is one nocturnal animal, along with the pangolin, that I am dying to see. They are both found here but they don't offer nocturnal walks, so there's no chance of encountering them.
We walk for hours without stopping till we reach the Semliki river. The trail is very flat so the walking isn't strenous and its shaded from the fierce sun. We rest at the Semliki river where I purify some water and eat passionfruits and bananas. Across the wide, light brown and swift flowing river is the DRC. It has been the scene of fighting in less peaceful time and Tadeo has heard gunshots before. Tadeo carries binoculars and an AK-47, the usual companions of a national park ranger. Further down river on the DRC side is a wide sandbank. After a few minutes, 2 men appear. Tadeo and both think they are fisherman but then through the binoculars we can see one of them is carrying an AK-47! I don't think they do much fishing with that! If they were soldiers or park rangers of the Ituri forest, they would have uniforms on but they only have civilian clothes on. They are poachers. They spot us and the guy with the gun waves to us. Tadeo waves back while I zoom in for a picture. Tadeo can't do anything since they are in the Congo but he does report them back to his boss. It's kind of exciting seeing poachers, at a safe distance. The area on the other side of the river is wild and there are no close villages but I hope the poachers are caught. They disappear back into the forest and we start walking back.
The walk back is uneventful for hours, that is until we see a small green mamba snake. Mamba's are some of the most poisonous snakes in Africa. I see it clearly but it retreats too fast for a photo and I'm not going to scramble through the bush to go after it. Later on as we near the lush swamp forest, we are crossing one of numerous log bridges. We passed tons of small streams during our long hike but they were all dried up. I can see when the rains start in April that there must be a lot of water. This log bridge differs from the rest in that there is a snake on it. It's about 1m long and as wide as my thumb but tapers very gradually to it's tail. It's green but black on top and Tadeo isn't sure what it is. The snake moves off its perch further away from us but then decides he wants to investigate us and comes closer. Tadeo is getting scared and retreats to the safety of land. I stand my ground on the bridge with my camera. The snake is on a branch with his head and neck outstretched towards me. I resist the urge to move away. I'll play chicken with him! Tadeo thinks it wants to jump and attack me but this seems unlikely, he can't eat me and I'm not bothering him. The snake backs away ( I win!) and moves under the bridge. It moves quick and I take many photos until he is out of sight.
We passed 2 small patches of 'primary' forest on our hike but they aren't primary forest like I know. Villlagers used to live in the forest and told Tadeo these 2 patches they left untouched but it doesn't look much different than the rest of the secondary forest. I was disappointed because I choose to walk this long trail because I thought I would see primary forest. I didn't like the swamp forest so much because it was very dense with limited visibility but after seeing the rest of the forest here, I began to like the swamp forest because it was lush and everything seemed to live in it.
De brazza monkey associate freely with other monkeys and whenever we heard monkeys crashing we had to scan the troupe to make sure there wasn't a De brazza monkey with them. By this point we had been hiking for 8 hours and I was a little tired and hungry but Tadeo still had the motivation to look for De brazza and this inspired me not wimp out and go back but stay with him and keep searching. Then the moment of truth came....we disturbed a small troupe of De brazza monkey on the ground. They like to be on the ground more than most monkeys. I watched as one climbed up a phoenix palm, their favourite food, to hide in the canopy. There was no mistaking it, it was a De brazza monkey but I wanted a better sighting. We stayed still and I scanned around the treetops for others. In the distance I found a single De brazza monkey in the top of a palm. He must have seen us but was not moving. I was able to watch him for minutes through my binoculars. It was the best sighting of the day. My reason ( or partial obsession) with seeing the De brazza was because it was rare and it's appearance. It's body is mostly a grey/green with black legs and a white stripe down its back legs but it's the face that is most striking. It has a long white beard ( we are beard bothers!) and a orange band on the top of its head followed by a thin white band and then a black band. My description doesn't do it justice though and I urge everyone to take a minute and go to google images to get a better look at this fascinating primate. Go ahead, it's OK, I'll wait, I'll even make a break in the story so you know where you left off.
We arrived back in camp tired, hungry and dirty after our 9 hour hike but I was really happy I got to see the De brazza. Now that I knew De brazza are in the forest and possible to see, I decided to stay one more day just to look for them again. I showered and waited for Tadeo to cook our dinner of rice and beans. All my food for dinner is gone. Tadeo's wife is here now.
The locals burn the dry grass on the slopes of the mountain and at night it appears the whole side is on fire. There is a strong breeze and ash is falling on everything. The wind is blowing in our direction and we are even feeling the heat from the fire. It's still 30 C long after the sun has set. It's too hot for a shirt. I again go to sleep with the fly off my tent but wake up in the middle of the night by the sound of rain drops. I get out and quickly and put on the fly.
I wake up in the morning to see tons of tiny ants in my tent. They have chewed a hole in the screen to get inside. I had some food in there with me but they don't seem to be after that. I don't know what they want but I kill them as I see them. My tent becomes a mass grave of ants. Basically anthing that gets in my tent is sentenced to death unless it's something really cool like a moth, which I will catch and let out. Years ago, camping at Lake Volta in Ghana, some insect chewed about 30 small holes in my tent, but I don't know why. Was it eating it? Is my tent screen that tasty?
We walk for hours without stopping till we reach the Semliki river. The trail is very flat so the walking isn't strenous and its shaded from the fierce sun. We rest at the Semliki river where I purify some water and eat passionfruits and bananas. Across the wide, light brown and swift flowing river is the DRC. It has been the scene of fighting in less peaceful time and Tadeo has heard gunshots before. Tadeo carries binoculars and an AK-47, the usual companions of a national park ranger. Further down river on the DRC side is a wide sandbank. After a few minutes, 2 men appear. Tadeo and both think they are fisherman but then through the binoculars we can see one of them is carrying an AK-47! I don't think they do much fishing with that! If they were soldiers or park rangers of the Ituri forest, they would have uniforms on but they only have civilian clothes on. They are poachers. They spot us and the guy with the gun waves to us. Tadeo waves back while I zoom in for a picture. Tadeo can't do anything since they are in the Congo but he does report them back to his boss. It's kind of exciting seeing poachers, at a safe distance. The area on the other side of the river is wild and there are no close villages but I hope the poachers are caught. They disappear back into the forest and we start walking back.
The walk back is uneventful for hours, that is until we see a small green mamba snake. Mamba's are some of the most poisonous snakes in Africa. I see it clearly but it retreats too fast for a photo and I'm not going to scramble through the bush to go after it. Later on as we near the lush swamp forest, we are crossing one of numerous log bridges. We passed tons of small streams during our long hike but they were all dried up. I can see when the rains start in April that there must be a lot of water. This log bridge differs from the rest in that there is a snake on it. It's about 1m long and as wide as my thumb but tapers very gradually to it's tail. It's green but black on top and Tadeo isn't sure what it is. The snake moves off its perch further away from us but then decides he wants to investigate us and comes closer. Tadeo is getting scared and retreats to the safety of land. I stand my ground on the bridge with my camera. The snake is on a branch with his head and neck outstretched towards me. I resist the urge to move away. I'll play chicken with him! Tadeo thinks it wants to jump and attack me but this seems unlikely, he can't eat me and I'm not bothering him. The snake backs away ( I win!) and moves under the bridge. It moves quick and I take many photos until he is out of sight.
We passed 2 small patches of 'primary' forest on our hike but they aren't primary forest like I know. Villlagers used to live in the forest and told Tadeo these 2 patches they left untouched but it doesn't look much different than the rest of the secondary forest. I was disappointed because I choose to walk this long trail because I thought I would see primary forest. I didn't like the swamp forest so much because it was very dense with limited visibility but after seeing the rest of the forest here, I began to like the swamp forest because it was lush and everything seemed to live in it.
De brazza monkey associate freely with other monkeys and whenever we heard monkeys crashing we had to scan the troupe to make sure there wasn't a De brazza monkey with them. By this point we had been hiking for 8 hours and I was a little tired and hungry but Tadeo still had the motivation to look for De brazza and this inspired me not wimp out and go back but stay with him and keep searching. Then the moment of truth came....we disturbed a small troupe of De brazza monkey on the ground. They like to be on the ground more than most monkeys. I watched as one climbed up a phoenix palm, their favourite food, to hide in the canopy. There was no mistaking it, it was a De brazza monkey but I wanted a better sighting. We stayed still and I scanned around the treetops for others. In the distance I found a single De brazza monkey in the top of a palm. He must have seen us but was not moving. I was able to watch him for minutes through my binoculars. It was the best sighting of the day. My reason ( or partial obsession) with seeing the De brazza was because it was rare and it's appearance. It's body is mostly a grey/green with black legs and a white stripe down its back legs but it's the face that is most striking. It has a long white beard ( we are beard bothers!) and a orange band on the top of its head followed by a thin white band and then a black band. My description doesn't do it justice though and I urge everyone to take a minute and go to google images to get a better look at this fascinating primate. Go ahead, it's OK, I'll wait, I'll even make a break in the story so you know where you left off.
We arrived back in camp tired, hungry and dirty after our 9 hour hike but I was really happy I got to see the De brazza. Now that I knew De brazza are in the forest and possible to see, I decided to stay one more day just to look for them again. I showered and waited for Tadeo to cook our dinner of rice and beans. All my food for dinner is gone. Tadeo's wife is here now.
The locals burn the dry grass on the slopes of the mountain and at night it appears the whole side is on fire. There is a strong breeze and ash is falling on everything. The wind is blowing in our direction and we are even feeling the heat from the fire. It's still 30 C long after the sun has set. It's too hot for a shirt. I again go to sleep with the fly off my tent but wake up in the middle of the night by the sound of rain drops. I get out and quickly and put on the fly.
I wake up in the morning to see tons of tiny ants in my tent. They have chewed a hole in the screen to get inside. I had some food in there with me but they don't seem to be after that. I don't know what they want but I kill them as I see them. My tent becomes a mass grave of ants. Basically anthing that gets in my tent is sentenced to death unless it's something really cool like a moth, which I will catch and let out. Years ago, camping at Lake Volta in Ghana, some insect chewed about 30 small holes in my tent, but I don't know why. Was it eating it? Is my tent screen that tasty?
Semliki National Park
The road to Semliki is only 52km but it's all unsurfaced. Minutes after leaving our hotel, the road turns into a bumpy mess. After an hour we reach the northern end of the Rwenzori mountains and cling to their steep sides for another hour. The park is on the other side of the mountains, close to the border with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The road offers superb views over the Semliki valley and on clear days, to Lake Albert, but it's very hazy today. We stop a few times at strategic lookout points. We finally reach the park reception at noon. We pay our entrance fees and get a guide, Bosco is his name.
Semliki national park is a continuation of the huge Ituri forest in DRC. It has many plants and animals normally found in central Africa which are at the eastern most limit of their range here. Forest elephants,forest buffalo, certain species of duiker and monkey are only found in this part of Uganda. The forest rests at one of the lowest elevations in Uganda at 600m. It's certainly the lowest point that I will visit in Uganda. I came here to see the hotsprings, the lowland forest and De brazza's monkey. I knew the hotsprings would be easy to see but I wasn't sure about the others. The 40 minute trail to the hotsprings led through a swamp forest with many phoenix palms, though the forest was dry now. Black and white colobus and red tailed monkeys fled upon our approach.
There are 2 hotsprings, for some reason named the male and female. We visited the female first. They are a primevil site, sulphur water bubbles out of geysers and small pools everywhere at a scalding temperature of 106 C! There are numerous shallow small streams with steam blowing off them. When the wind blows the steam in my direction, it really is super hot. The air temperature is already about 32 C, seems a bit funny to be visiting hot springs in the heat. We need a cold spring! Simone bought eggs and plantains in a village on the way and our driver, Richard, sets out to cook these in one of the small pools for lunch. The springs are truly impressive and aren't like other hotsprings I've seen. We eat our hard boiled eggs and plantains for lunch and then walk for 30 minutes to the male springs. The male springs are smaller than the female and consist mostly of a small bubbling pool, depth unknown. The springs are reached via a raised wooden board walk which is in a state of repair as we speak. We left the forest to see a very unimpressive waterfall outside of the park, across a road which forms the park boundary. The forest is very thin before the steep Rwenzori mountains begin, or should I say what's left of the forest. It's been recently cut down to make room for a powerline. Ah, the benefits of modernization! It seems a bit extreme to me as they cut down trees far from the road and even trees on the park side of the road. They burn the trees to sell as charcoal.
Ntandi village is located about 5km from the park and is the home of some displaced Pygmies. The pygmies have had it rough here after being forced out of their forest home into a small village. They have been reduced to commercializing their identity and culture to make money. Our guide said the village, which you must pay to see, isn't much different than any other African village and I decide to give it a miss. Only Simone still wants to see it. While waiting to be picked up after the waterfall, a group of 4 pygmies, in tattered clothes, are walking down the street. They are obviously different than other locals, their faces, body and hair structure and their short stature. I'm not tall by any means ( 5'8", Ok, 5' 7.5"!) but none of them come close to my height. They all appear to be at least in their 30's and the shortest guy maybe comes up to my shoulders. I thought of asking for a photo but they would surely charge and I'm not in the habit of paying people for their photo.
Richie, Ed and Simone head towards the pygmie village but I get dropped off at the Bumaga campsite, 2km from reception. I will be staying here for a few days. I say bye to everyone and walk to the camp. I like the location of the campground. No one is around while I set up my tent as close to the forest as I can. Red tailed monkeys and baboons are in the trees. For me it's weird to see baboons in the trees. They are large monkeys and are usually on the ground. They are heavy and really take a toll on the trees while jumping around. A large male watches me curiously while I wash clothes.
A ranger/guide arrives. His name is Tadeo, he's 49, very short and skinny but no relation to any pygmies. He was away buying tomatoes, he explains. After an overhead shower, I ask Tadeo if I can use the fire to boil some water for noodles. I brought some food with me from Fort Portal. It's no problem and I'm eating my dinner in no time. Due to the low elevation, it's still very warm even after the sun has set. I ask Tadeo if he's ever seen any noctural animals around. He says he hasn't seen much. I ask him about bushbabies, if he's ever seen them. He says no and I ask him why. He says he has never taken a torch out to look for them! Oh well, that makes obvious sense, can't see what you're not looking for. I walk around for half an hour but see nothing. I crash in my tent but since it's so warm, I take the fly off my tent for circulation and a view. It's almost like sleeping outside in a mosquito net. It's usually been to chilly or wet to leave my fly off for the night so I'm happy I finally got the chance to do it.
Semliki national park is a continuation of the huge Ituri forest in DRC. It has many plants and animals normally found in central Africa which are at the eastern most limit of their range here. Forest elephants,forest buffalo, certain species of duiker and monkey are only found in this part of Uganda. The forest rests at one of the lowest elevations in Uganda at 600m. It's certainly the lowest point that I will visit in Uganda. I came here to see the hotsprings, the lowland forest and De brazza's monkey. I knew the hotsprings would be easy to see but I wasn't sure about the others. The 40 minute trail to the hotsprings led through a swamp forest with many phoenix palms, though the forest was dry now. Black and white colobus and red tailed monkeys fled upon our approach.
There are 2 hotsprings, for some reason named the male and female. We visited the female first. They are a primevil site, sulphur water bubbles out of geysers and small pools everywhere at a scalding temperature of 106 C! There are numerous shallow small streams with steam blowing off them. When the wind blows the steam in my direction, it really is super hot. The air temperature is already about 32 C, seems a bit funny to be visiting hot springs in the heat. We need a cold spring! Simone bought eggs and plantains in a village on the way and our driver, Richard, sets out to cook these in one of the small pools for lunch. The springs are truly impressive and aren't like other hotsprings I've seen. We eat our hard boiled eggs and plantains for lunch and then walk for 30 minutes to the male springs. The male springs are smaller than the female and consist mostly of a small bubbling pool, depth unknown. The springs are reached via a raised wooden board walk which is in a state of repair as we speak. We left the forest to see a very unimpressive waterfall outside of the park, across a road which forms the park boundary. The forest is very thin before the steep Rwenzori mountains begin, or should I say what's left of the forest. It's been recently cut down to make room for a powerline. Ah, the benefits of modernization! It seems a bit extreme to me as they cut down trees far from the road and even trees on the park side of the road. They burn the trees to sell as charcoal.
Ntandi village is located about 5km from the park and is the home of some displaced Pygmies. The pygmies have had it rough here after being forced out of their forest home into a small village. They have been reduced to commercializing their identity and culture to make money. Our guide said the village, which you must pay to see, isn't much different than any other African village and I decide to give it a miss. Only Simone still wants to see it. While waiting to be picked up after the waterfall, a group of 4 pygmies, in tattered clothes, are walking down the street. They are obviously different than other locals, their faces, body and hair structure and their short stature. I'm not tall by any means ( 5'8", Ok, 5' 7.5"!) but none of them come close to my height. They all appear to be at least in their 30's and the shortest guy maybe comes up to my shoulders. I thought of asking for a photo but they would surely charge and I'm not in the habit of paying people for their photo.
Richie, Ed and Simone head towards the pygmie village but I get dropped off at the Bumaga campsite, 2km from reception. I will be staying here for a few days. I say bye to everyone and walk to the camp. I like the location of the campground. No one is around while I set up my tent as close to the forest as I can. Red tailed monkeys and baboons are in the trees. For me it's weird to see baboons in the trees. They are large monkeys and are usually on the ground. They are heavy and really take a toll on the trees while jumping around. A large male watches me curiously while I wash clothes.
A ranger/guide arrives. His name is Tadeo, he's 49, very short and skinny but no relation to any pygmies. He was away buying tomatoes, he explains. After an overhead shower, I ask Tadeo if I can use the fire to boil some water for noodles. I brought some food with me from Fort Portal. It's no problem and I'm eating my dinner in no time. Due to the low elevation, it's still very warm even after the sun has set. I ask Tadeo if he's ever seen any noctural animals around. He says he hasn't seen much. I ask him about bushbabies, if he's ever seen them. He says no and I ask him why. He says he has never taken a torch out to look for them! Oh well, that makes obvious sense, can't see what you're not looking for. I walk around for half an hour but see nothing. I crash in my tent but since it's so warm, I take the fly off my tent for circulation and a view. It's almost like sleeping outside in a mosquito net. It's usually been to chilly or wet to leave my fly off for the night so I'm happy I finally got the chance to do it.
Fort Portal....again...
First thing I wanted to do in Fort Portal was go to an internet cafe, but the connection can be unreliable during the day. Richie bought some DVD's and we watched Hotel Rwanda in our room. I've already seen it and it's a great movie but Richie had not yet seen it. I go out and write for an hour before dinner. At the internet cafe I run into Simone, a German girl who I met during the Murchison Falls tour a few weeks ago. She is going to visit Semliki national park in 2 days and that's where I am going too. She is hiring a car because she will come back the same day. We discuss about sharing the price of the car for the journey there. It sounds like a good idea. It's more expensive than local transport but infinitely more comfortable. We will meet later this evening to sort out the details.
We eat at Rwenzoris Travellers Inn. I have veggie curry and it's the best curry I've had in Uganda, it actually tastes like curry. I have a few beers. Richie already had a few before we met up and is ready to go out late. I'm not up for that. I drink anymore and I'll be sick. I'm not as social as he is and I go back to the room and he stays out. He comes in late. He sleeps till 1.30pm the next day. I got up at 9, washed clothes, read and went to the bank to change travellers cheques. I finished this at 1.30 and was heading back to the room to check on Richie's status when at the same time he was walking down the street. Perfect timing. We went to our usually cheap place for lunch, rice and beans. Except this time I had g-nut sauce on my rice. G-nut is short for groundnut and it's like a thai non-spicy sauce, pinkish in color. I really like it. Richie got his haircut and a shave while I went to the Forestry office. I didn't get much info there but a pamphlet on the areas they manage. Back in the room we watched a Mr. Bean movie, it was quite funny. I visit an internet cafe and then we go to the Gardens to eat. We run into Ed here, a Brit who we've been seeing around town. We join him. It turns out Ed is also interested in visiting Semlike N.P. and I tell him about my ride there with Simone. I talk with Simone later and we all agree to meet at my hotel the following morning at 8.30.
Before crashing Richie and I watch Kickin It Old School, about a 12 year kid in 1986, who goes into a coma for 20 years after a botched breakdancing move. He wakes up when he's 30 but is still a breakdancing 12 year old from the 80's, cue funny senarios! It was funnier that I thought with a lot of 80's jokes and slang. I think you have to be at least 30 years to fully enjoy this movie.
We were woken up the next morning by blasting pop music outside our window at 7.30. Ugandans aren't always that considerate. If their awake, that's all that matters and they blast their music. Doesn't matter that there is a hotel beside them. We go downstairs at 8.30 to the courtyard for the included breakfast at 8. I think this should be enough time to eat and be ready for Simone at 8.30, but it takes them almost 40 minutes to boil water and cook a few omelettes. Simone shows up on time, as does Ed, but they have to wait for me. Richie was going to go back to Kampala but decides last minute to join us to the park and come back with Simone later. He has never seen hotsprings before. That makes the cost of the ride there very affordable split 4 ways. We finally get on the road just after 9.
We eat at Rwenzoris Travellers Inn. I have veggie curry and it's the best curry I've had in Uganda, it actually tastes like curry. I have a few beers. Richie already had a few before we met up and is ready to go out late. I'm not up for that. I drink anymore and I'll be sick. I'm not as social as he is and I go back to the room and he stays out. He comes in late. He sleeps till 1.30pm the next day. I got up at 9, washed clothes, read and went to the bank to change travellers cheques. I finished this at 1.30 and was heading back to the room to check on Richie's status when at the same time he was walking down the street. Perfect timing. We went to our usually cheap place for lunch, rice and beans. Except this time I had g-nut sauce on my rice. G-nut is short for groundnut and it's like a thai non-spicy sauce, pinkish in color. I really like it. Richie got his haircut and a shave while I went to the Forestry office. I didn't get much info there but a pamphlet on the areas they manage. Back in the room we watched a Mr. Bean movie, it was quite funny. I visit an internet cafe and then we go to the Gardens to eat. We run into Ed here, a Brit who we've been seeing around town. We join him. It turns out Ed is also interested in visiting Semlike N.P. and I tell him about my ride there with Simone. I talk with Simone later and we all agree to meet at my hotel the following morning at 8.30.
Before crashing Richie and I watch Kickin It Old School, about a 12 year kid in 1986, who goes into a coma for 20 years after a botched breakdancing move. He wakes up when he's 30 but is still a breakdancing 12 year old from the 80's, cue funny senarios! It was funnier that I thought with a lot of 80's jokes and slang. I think you have to be at least 30 years to fully enjoy this movie.
We were woken up the next morning by blasting pop music outside our window at 7.30. Ugandans aren't always that considerate. If their awake, that's all that matters and they blast their music. Doesn't matter that there is a hotel beside them. We go downstairs at 8.30 to the courtyard for the included breakfast at 8. I think this should be enough time to eat and be ready for Simone at 8.30, but it takes them almost 40 minutes to boil water and cook a few omelettes. Simone shows up on time, as does Ed, but they have to wait for me. Richie was going to go back to Kampala but decides last minute to join us to the park and come back with Simone later. He has never seen hotsprings before. That makes the cost of the ride there very affordable split 4 ways. We finally get on the road just after 9.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Crater Lakes part III
Nothing strange wakes me up today and I sleep in till 9. While eating breakfast, Olga, a solo Israeli traveller arrives. Richie and I both think it's strange. We hardly ever meet solo female travellers and now we meet 2 here. We invite her to join us mountain biking but she decides just to hangout instead. I ask Richie if he wants to rent bikes today and tell him the area I want to visit. Like my walk yesterday, he asks ' What's there?' I'm like, ' Uhhhh, crater lakes.....? Visiting the lakes is the main reason I came to this area but it doesn't excite Richie much, but what else is there to do? He hung around all day yesterday and is looking to get out and do something. We both rent ' sport' bikes, really just shitty mountain bikes. Once on the road, Richie is having problems with his. Gears are changing by themselves and his chain keeps falling off. He's understandably frustrated and takes the bike back to camp. Looks like I'll be biking alone. I again leave at noon and it's hot and sunny.
I'm visiting the Kasenda region of crater lakes, the furthest area south on my map. The road is mostly downhill and bumpy as hell. I have to sit tight to the bike because the bumps bounce my feet right off the pedals. There's no suspension on this bike, unlike my mountain bike at home which I can take down mountains in comfort. I reach Kasenda in 45 minutes. It'a a beautiful but very small crater lake. I down a somewhat cold soda and relax for half an hour. The way back is mostly uphill but doable and sweaty. There are a lot of locals about it gets tiring the constant brigade of 'How are you?' children. Even when I answer, they keep asking or switch to ' Give me money.' Some kids can be great and others damn annoying. As I fly downhill, brakes slightly on (I don't trust this bike to go too fast), I hit a rock and the back tire hisses flat. Shit, this sucks, I'm still about 5km from camp. Amazingly, just down the road is a makeshift bike repair house. The guy is fixing a bike when I pull up but begins working on mine right away. A crowd gathers of mostly little kids. I'm getting annoyed and I feel like I'm in a zoo so I give them a short chase ( a few steps is all it takes), a false charge and this sends most of them running for their lives. White man is chasing me, run! It's all in good fun and they are laughing as they run. They learn to keep their distance after this and I know what to do if I get annoyed again. After some tedious but thorough roughing of the puncture, the guy cuts a rubber patch and glues it on. I'm back in business! I quickly ride away, happy to be on the move again.
The sky has become darkly overcast and a few drops of rain fall. I don't think it's going to materialize into anything but starting pedalling faster just in case. As soon as I reach the market village of Rwaihambo, 2km from camp and get under shelter, the sky opens up. Rain pounds the dust and creates small streams everywhere. People run for cover and the streets are empty. I duck into a super small shack with a few other guys. I eat a huge intact piece of sweet potatoe for 20 cents. A man comes in ( drunk, as a few others were who approached me early), he starts telling me I'm rude because I didn't offer him any of my sweet root. I almost finished and tell him there is a huge basket of them on the counter. He says he has no money. Oh well, I don't feel sorry for him. I tell him that he has no money for food but like many rural Ugandans has enough money to get drunk. Everyone laughs and he tries to tell me something but he generally just keeps repeating himself, telling me I'm welcome and not to be worried. I'm not worried and I thank him for the welcome. He leaves and the rain stops and has really cooled down the air. I arrive back at camp after 4 hours. I take a bucket shower and read till dinner. I actually wear a longsleeve shirt and my boots at dinner to ward of the chill, even though in reality it's only 15 C. However anything below 22 C, feels cold to me. I've really become a huge wimp for the cold and don't deny it. My blood has significantly thinned.
I pull out my other sleeping bag liner to keep me toasty for the night. I planned on spending about 6 days here and I did and really enjoyed it. Now it's time to move on. Richie and I call our driver, Gideon to come pick us up. He's there fast and in no time we are back in our same double room in Fort Portal.
I'm visiting the Kasenda region of crater lakes, the furthest area south on my map. The road is mostly downhill and bumpy as hell. I have to sit tight to the bike because the bumps bounce my feet right off the pedals. There's no suspension on this bike, unlike my mountain bike at home which I can take down mountains in comfort. I reach Kasenda in 45 minutes. It'a a beautiful but very small crater lake. I down a somewhat cold soda and relax for half an hour. The way back is mostly uphill but doable and sweaty. There are a lot of locals about it gets tiring the constant brigade of 'How are you?' children. Even when I answer, they keep asking or switch to ' Give me money.' Some kids can be great and others damn annoying. As I fly downhill, brakes slightly on (I don't trust this bike to go too fast), I hit a rock and the back tire hisses flat. Shit, this sucks, I'm still about 5km from camp. Amazingly, just down the road is a makeshift bike repair house. The guy is fixing a bike when I pull up but begins working on mine right away. A crowd gathers of mostly little kids. I'm getting annoyed and I feel like I'm in a zoo so I give them a short chase ( a few steps is all it takes), a false charge and this sends most of them running for their lives. White man is chasing me, run! It's all in good fun and they are laughing as they run. They learn to keep their distance after this and I know what to do if I get annoyed again. After some tedious but thorough roughing of the puncture, the guy cuts a rubber patch and glues it on. I'm back in business! I quickly ride away, happy to be on the move again.
The sky has become darkly overcast and a few drops of rain fall. I don't think it's going to materialize into anything but starting pedalling faster just in case. As soon as I reach the market village of Rwaihambo, 2km from camp and get under shelter, the sky opens up. Rain pounds the dust and creates small streams everywhere. People run for cover and the streets are empty. I duck into a super small shack with a few other guys. I eat a huge intact piece of sweet potatoe for 20 cents. A man comes in ( drunk, as a few others were who approached me early), he starts telling me I'm rude because I didn't offer him any of my sweet root. I almost finished and tell him there is a huge basket of them on the counter. He says he has no money. Oh well, I don't feel sorry for him. I tell him that he has no money for food but like many rural Ugandans has enough money to get drunk. Everyone laughs and he tries to tell me something but he generally just keeps repeating himself, telling me I'm welcome and not to be worried. I'm not worried and I thank him for the welcome. He leaves and the rain stops and has really cooled down the air. I arrive back at camp after 4 hours. I take a bucket shower and read till dinner. I actually wear a longsleeve shirt and my boots at dinner to ward of the chill, even though in reality it's only 15 C. However anything below 22 C, feels cold to me. I've really become a huge wimp for the cold and don't deny it. My blood has significantly thinned.
I pull out my other sleeping bag liner to keep me toasty for the night. I planned on spending about 6 days here and I did and really enjoyed it. Now it's time to move on. Richie and I call our driver, Gideon to come pick us up. He's there fast and in no time we are back in our same double room in Fort Portal.
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