Happy Returns
May 23rd, 2007, 12:34 PM
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Happy Returns
Hello Everyone,
Just wanted to say thank you to the Fodor's family for all your help. Returned from East Africa last night and will try to get trip report out this weekend. We were blessed with the weather and pretty much ignored by biting or stinging things. Booked Kenya and Tanzania using Africa Serendipity (thanks Sandi) http://www.africaserendipity.com/ and Uganda was self planned although used Gorilla Tours http://www.gorillatours.com/ for the gorilla trek. Highly recommend both.
Cheers,
Juliet
Just wanted to say thank you to the Fodor's family for all your help. Returned from East Africa last night and will try to get trip report out this weekend. We were blessed with the weather and pretty much ignored by biting or stinging things. Booked Kenya and Tanzania using Africa Serendipity (thanks Sandi) http://www.africaserendipity.com/ and Uganda was self planned although used Gorilla Tours http://www.gorillatours.com/ for the gorilla trek. Highly recommend both.
Cheers,
Juliet
May 23rd, 2007, 02:09 PM
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julimbo, welcome back. I'm glad--but not surprised--you had a great trip. I am looking hard at Uganda and/or Rwanda in the next couple of years, so I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences.
But take your time!
But take your time!
Jun 11th, 2007, 06:45 AM
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So, it's been a couple of weeks and I have yet to post my trip report. In my defence ... well I have none other than to say it's amazing how quickly you get wrapped up in work and family stuff. I haven't even had a chance to go through our photos yet for printing and there's 3400 of them. I do promise to start tonight with the first posting.
Thanks again to everyone who helped me plan this.
Juliet
Thanks again to everyone who helped me plan this.
Juliet
Aug 27th, 2007, 06:41 AM
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Oh boy, this is going to take forever isn't it. I have sooooo much respect for people who get there trip reports done in time. Have been sorting out all the photos to plug online. Here's the rest of it.
Sat April 28 Toronto to England:
So we flew into Heathrow with British Airways (BA). Made sure we booked the seats at the start of each section that way we would have the most leg room. I told my brother to get the emergency exit seating as he is 6 feet 2 inches and would need all the leg room he could get. This was easily accomplished as BA provides seat selection as a free service 24 hours prior to departure. Our flight was uneventful except for a screaming toddler (not baby so I was more annoyed), which is the only downside to choosing those seats, as they are reserved for parents with young ones.
Sun April 29 Arrive in England:
We decided that since we had more then 12 hours until our flight to Uganda to leave the airport and head into London. Other options were to get a day room at a hotel so we could nap and/or freshen up but fairly pricey, or to book a stay at the KLM lounge in Heathrow. We were going to take an express train in but one of my Mother’s old and dear friends had her son pick us up form the airport and drive us in. Poor Ronald ending up waiting two hours for us because customs was taxingly slow. Once at their house her husband Peter took myself, Alan and Edward through London while my Mom stayed behind to catch up. We took the train from Waterloo station to Wimbledon and just walked about. We saw Covent Garden, Soho district, Leicaster Square, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, the Parliament buildings, Big Ben, and lots more. It was great as Alan and Edward had not been to London before. Glad I packed snack bag for everyone (don’t like airplane food) that included veggies and fruit with granola bars and bottles of water as this came in super handy while we walked about and didn’t need to spend money on food. All day the weather was unseasonably warm which was awesome, as they had called for it to rain. This was a sign of the things to come as we were truly blessed with the weather throughout our trip. We then returned in time for dinner before Ronald dropped us back at Heathrow. At Heathrow, we went walking around while waiting for our plane and Alan and I found a ten thousand pound bottle of Glenfiddich (whiskey) that we looked at with envy. Flight was on time and excellent. Good food (for airplane) and great movie/TV selection. Sunday was also day one of our Malarone dosing.
Sat April 28 Toronto to England:
So we flew into Heathrow with British Airways (BA). Made sure we booked the seats at the start of each section that way we would have the most leg room. I told my brother to get the emergency exit seating as he is 6 feet 2 inches and would need all the leg room he could get. This was easily accomplished as BA provides seat selection as a free service 24 hours prior to departure. Our flight was uneventful except for a screaming toddler (not baby so I was more annoyed), which is the only downside to choosing those seats, as they are reserved for parents with young ones.
Sun April 29 Arrive in England:
We decided that since we had more then 12 hours until our flight to Uganda to leave the airport and head into London. Other options were to get a day room at a hotel so we could nap and/or freshen up but fairly pricey, or to book a stay at the KLM lounge in Heathrow. We were going to take an express train in but one of my Mother’s old and dear friends had her son pick us up form the airport and drive us in. Poor Ronald ending up waiting two hours for us because customs was taxingly slow. Once at their house her husband Peter took myself, Alan and Edward through London while my Mom stayed behind to catch up. We took the train from Waterloo station to Wimbledon and just walked about. We saw Covent Garden, Soho district, Leicaster Square, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, the Parliament buildings, Big Ben, and lots more. It was great as Alan and Edward had not been to London before. Glad I packed snack bag for everyone (don’t like airplane food) that included veggies and fruit with granola bars and bottles of water as this came in super handy while we walked about and didn’t need to spend money on food. All day the weather was unseasonably warm which was awesome, as they had called for it to rain. This was a sign of the things to come as we were truly blessed with the weather throughout our trip. We then returned in time for dinner before Ronald dropped us back at Heathrow. At Heathrow, we went walking around while waiting for our plane and Alan and I found a ten thousand pound bottle of Glenfiddich (whiskey) that we looked at with envy. Flight was on time and excellent. Good food (for airplane) and great movie/TV selection. Sunday was also day one of our Malarone dosing.
Aug 27th, 2007, 06:41 AM
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Mon April 30 Arrive in Uganda:
The weather was forecasted to be sunny for today only and rainstorms through the rest of the week. How wonderful for a gorilla trek I thought hence all the rain gear I packed. We arrived a bit earlier then scheduled and I felt like a movie star as we descended from the plane on the tarmac until the heat and humidity hit me. We did not get any of our visas while still in Toronto so we lined up in the Visa line, which was the longest line but only took 5 minutes to get through (could teach those agents at Heathrow a thing or two). Very efficient. We obtained our luggage and then changed some of our USD into smaller bills and walked out to find our driver from Gorilla Tours waiting for us. Since we did not book our nights stay at a standard hotel I needed to book airport transfers for us and Gorilla Tours provides that service. The vehicle wasn’t the most appealing looks wise (old 4x4) but it was comfortable and got us where we needed. The drive took about an hour until we hit traffic in Kampala – chaos indeed but fun. The transfer cost $50USD and we tipped our driver $20USD as he was friendly and very informative.
We arrived at Mosa Court Apartments and the total for one week’s stay in a three-bedroom apartment with three separate bathrooms was $1698USD. Paying took awhile as Alan and Ed forgot my reminder that US bills must be from 2001 or newer. I was annoyed as I had told them, emailed them, Sandi’s tip sheet mentioned as much as did the guide books. Not much of a problem for Ed but Alan had $1000 bills that were now useless. We could and should have put it on our credit card but 1) didn’t want to pay the surcharge of 15% and 2) really didn’t want to walk around with that much cash on us plus Alan and I still had our payment to Gorilla Tours on us in cash. Our apartment was located on the third floor and included a sitting area with TV and dining table as well as a kitchen that we really didn’t use since the fridge did not work. We promptly showered (no hot water – would be like this for most of the stay) and went in search of water to drink, cell phones to maintain communication for times when we would be separated, a place to exchange our old bills, an ATM to withdraw cash from our Visas, and some small food items to snack on.
We went to Barclays to exchange our money and while I line were informed by a very nice gentleman to go across the street to the foreign exchange place as the rates would be far better for exchanging old bills as well as for buying Ugandan shillings. The rate at the time was 1 USD = 1754 USH and 1 old USD = 1500 USH. We then went in search of the cell phones through Celtel as these would be use din three countries but we couldn’t find a dealer. E then went a most ridiculous search for a supermarket based on my Mother’s memory of twenty plus years ago. Needless to say we couldn’t find that either but stopped at a gas station to get water and snacks. When we went back outside it began to pour. We tried to wait it out but gave up and took a taxi (you negotiate the rate) and it cost us 3000USH. Upon our arrival we found some family members from my Mom’s side waiting for us (it was a revolving door from this point on as my Mom hadn’t been back for a long time) and the rest of us had lunch at Mosa. Now breakfast at Mosa, which is included in your stay, is very good but the rest of the meals are adequate but not worth the price. We return to our room to unpack our things and then Alan and I go for a walk. We find a Celtel dealer but they are out of the cheapest phone but are told that we can buy the Celtel phone with SIM card from the post office which isn’t far at all. The phone with 1000USH worth of minutes cost 69,000USD = $40USD and can be used in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It took us awhile to figure out how to dial out from it but Mom showed us and Ed ended getting one for himself and Mom to use the next day. Ed slept through dinner and the three of us just had dinner at Mosa for the ease of things. Alan and I then went for a walk at night and found Debonairs and ordered a plate of chips (2,000USH) and a coke as he was still hungry, then went back to our home base. Tried to take a shower but the water was cold so I phoned downstairs to let them know we had not had hot water all day. Just before I fall asleep someone shows up to turn the hot water on (why was it off in the first palce?).
Our first day was eventful and we were all super excited. Kampala is a safe and easily navigated city. Alan and I would go walking by ourselves many times while there, even in the dark. Warning, it can get very dusty though with the red earth but we loved it.
The weather was forecasted to be sunny for today only and rainstorms through the rest of the week. How wonderful for a gorilla trek I thought hence all the rain gear I packed. We arrived a bit earlier then scheduled and I felt like a movie star as we descended from the plane on the tarmac until the heat and humidity hit me. We did not get any of our visas while still in Toronto so we lined up in the Visa line, which was the longest line but only took 5 minutes to get through (could teach those agents at Heathrow a thing or two). Very efficient. We obtained our luggage and then changed some of our USD into smaller bills and walked out to find our driver from Gorilla Tours waiting for us. Since we did not book our nights stay at a standard hotel I needed to book airport transfers for us and Gorilla Tours provides that service. The vehicle wasn’t the most appealing looks wise (old 4x4) but it was comfortable and got us where we needed. The drive took about an hour until we hit traffic in Kampala – chaos indeed but fun. The transfer cost $50USD and we tipped our driver $20USD as he was friendly and very informative.
We arrived at Mosa Court Apartments and the total for one week’s stay in a three-bedroom apartment with three separate bathrooms was $1698USD. Paying took awhile as Alan and Ed forgot my reminder that US bills must be from 2001 or newer. I was annoyed as I had told them, emailed them, Sandi’s tip sheet mentioned as much as did the guide books. Not much of a problem for Ed but Alan had $1000 bills that were now useless. We could and should have put it on our credit card but 1) didn’t want to pay the surcharge of 15% and 2) really didn’t want to walk around with that much cash on us plus Alan and I still had our payment to Gorilla Tours on us in cash. Our apartment was located on the third floor and included a sitting area with TV and dining table as well as a kitchen that we really didn’t use since the fridge did not work. We promptly showered (no hot water – would be like this for most of the stay) and went in search of water to drink, cell phones to maintain communication for times when we would be separated, a place to exchange our old bills, an ATM to withdraw cash from our Visas, and some small food items to snack on.
We went to Barclays to exchange our money and while I line were informed by a very nice gentleman to go across the street to the foreign exchange place as the rates would be far better for exchanging old bills as well as for buying Ugandan shillings. The rate at the time was 1 USD = 1754 USH and 1 old USD = 1500 USH. We then went in search of the cell phones through Celtel as these would be use din three countries but we couldn’t find a dealer. E then went a most ridiculous search for a supermarket based on my Mother’s memory of twenty plus years ago. Needless to say we couldn’t find that either but stopped at a gas station to get water and snacks. When we went back outside it began to pour. We tried to wait it out but gave up and took a taxi (you negotiate the rate) and it cost us 3000USH. Upon our arrival we found some family members from my Mom’s side waiting for us (it was a revolving door from this point on as my Mom hadn’t been back for a long time) and the rest of us had lunch at Mosa. Now breakfast at Mosa, which is included in your stay, is very good but the rest of the meals are adequate but not worth the price. We return to our room to unpack our things and then Alan and I go for a walk. We find a Celtel dealer but they are out of the cheapest phone but are told that we can buy the Celtel phone with SIM card from the post office which isn’t far at all. The phone with 1000USH worth of minutes cost 69,000USD = $40USD and can be used in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It took us awhile to figure out how to dial out from it but Mom showed us and Ed ended getting one for himself and Mom to use the next day. Ed slept through dinner and the three of us just had dinner at Mosa for the ease of things. Alan and I then went for a walk at night and found Debonairs and ordered a plate of chips (2,000USH) and a coke as he was still hungry, then went back to our home base. Tried to take a shower but the water was cold so I phoned downstairs to let them know we had not had hot water all day. Just before I fall asleep someone shows up to turn the hot water on (why was it off in the first palce?).
Our first day was eventful and we were all super excited. Kampala is a safe and easily navigated city. Alan and I would go walking by ourselves many times while there, even in the dark. Warning, it can get very dusty though with the red earth but we loved it.
Aug 27th, 2007, 06:41 AM
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Tues May 1
Phoned Gorilla Tours to confirm our pick-up time of 7am. Spent most of today at my Mom’s friend Mary’s house then her brother’s outside of the city as they were having a wedding shower for her sister who was going to get married on Friday. It is custom back home to have a “send-off” for the bride to be where in all her family gathers and offers her well wishes, advice and prayers. At the start Mary’s brother spoke in English to welcome Alan and let him know that he should feel at home (Alan is Scottish) which was really sweet. After the mini Catholic mass (yawn and LOL! Alan thought I was lying and since he hasn’t been to mass in ages forgot how long Catholic masses can be and how repetitive some of the hymns are), we were fed (Matoke, chicken, chapatti, peanut sauce, kale, ugali, etc.), and music played and we all danced the night away. We retuned and all of us except for my Mom go for a walk and withdraw some funds form Barclays ATM using our Visa. Ed had a MasterCard which wouldn’t work there. Advice: Go online prior to leaving. Visa and MasterCard both have an on-line feature where you can locate ATMs that accept your card anywhere in the world. We then stopped at Grand Imperial hotel and had some Indian food and a few bevies at Goddfellas bar before ending back to sleep. Very yummy.
Phoned Gorilla Tours to confirm our pick-up time of 7am. Spent most of today at my Mom’s friend Mary’s house then her brother’s outside of the city as they were having a wedding shower for her sister who was going to get married on Friday. It is custom back home to have a “send-off” for the bride to be where in all her family gathers and offers her well wishes, advice and prayers. At the start Mary’s brother spoke in English to welcome Alan and let him know that he should feel at home (Alan is Scottish) which was really sweet. After the mini Catholic mass (yawn and LOL! Alan thought I was lying and since he hasn’t been to mass in ages forgot how long Catholic masses can be and how repetitive some of the hymns are), we were fed (Matoke, chicken, chapatti, peanut sauce, kale, ugali, etc.), and music played and we all danced the night away. We retuned and all of us except for my Mom go for a walk and withdraw some funds form Barclays ATM using our Visa. Ed had a MasterCard which wouldn’t work there. Advice: Go online prior to leaving. Visa and MasterCard both have an on-line feature where you can locate ATMs that accept your card anywhere in the world. We then stopped at Grand Imperial hotel and had some Indian food and a few bevies at Goddfellas bar before ending back to sleep. Very yummy.
Aug 27th, 2007, 07:21 AM
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Wed May 2 Kampala to Kisoro
Alan and I woke up early and we grabbed some food and waited. At quarter past 7 I was nervous and started to phone the office. Just before I had a total freak-out Richard pulls in with the car. Richard’s wife Abifnay (sp?) and his children Susan and Ronald were seated in the very back of the 4x4 and Anne and Iain were seated in the middle. Originally when we had booked our tour it was just Alan and I but three weeks beforehand Virgo had emailed me to inform that two others would be joining us. At first I was apprehensive but I’m so glad we agreed as Iain and Anne turned out to be the best tripmates. Introductions were made, money handed over (we had paid Gorilla Tours for our gorilla permits via money transfer beforehand and had to pay the remainder of $325USD), and Richard told us that we would be dropping his family off en route for holidays. This was fine as there was ample room. The vehicle wasn’t the newest 4x4 but this yellow Toyota Landcrusier would be our trusted steed. Water was provided for our trip and was in a large cooler and after getting gas and we had our first stop at the Equator a little over an hour later. The roads were smooth and there is a clean bathroom located here for 200USH each. Alan and I took some pictures at the sign, paid for the experiments and received a certificate. Well worth it and I found the equator presentation in Kenya to be very low-key, boring and not in very nice areas. Nicer certificate here as well. We all went to the bathroom and I paid, as the smallest amount of money anyone had was 1000USH that the poor girl couldn’t break. Right next door is a very nice restaurant and arts place that we stopped at on the way back. Highly recommend it and it is owned a charity organization.
We continue on and stop occasionally for the bathroom (I have a tiny bladder and first bush pee. LOL!). It is obvious from this point on that Uganda is not flat like ‘the plains of East Africa’. Oh no. Hills and more hills everywhere and breath taking scenery. We stop for lunch in _______________ (oh, so bad with names will have to fill in later once I retrieve my notebook) and are a little disappointed. It’s more of a bakery with cakes and other sweet stuff. But whatever, at least we can get tea for me and coffee for the rest. We continue on for another hour and drop his family off where they will continue on in a hired car. Finally get a smile out of his little boy – way too cute.
About six hours in we arrive in Kabale. We stop off here to get a leg stretch, have a bathroom break and have a cold bevvie. It is at this point that I really wish I had thought to a small bottle of liquid hand soap as most places did not have soap or had a small communal bar. This is also where we have one of our most memorable encounters. As we exited our vehicles these two girls who could have been no more than 11 years of age approach us with a basket of bananas on each of their heads. Richard says something to them and they do not approach. We go upstairs to the restaurant, use their facilities, order a drink and sit on the patio. While waiting for our bevies, the girls approach and the shorter one asks in the most eloquent English “Would you like to buy some yellow bananas?” We say no thank you and they ask again. Richard starts speaking to them but not in English. They continue to try and push their way with Richard and the shorter tells her partner to do the same (not in English of course). Why waste time when you could be selling to someone else. Savvy indeed. Just as she turns her back Richard says something and she snaps back around, looks at Richard and asks us in the same perfect English “Have you already bought some yellow bananas?” We say no and she starts waving her pointed finger at Richard and speaking to him as one would to a naughty child. We ask Richard what had just happened and he explains that he had said to them in hopes of finally getting them to leave that we had already bought some bananas but our darling business woman thought aha, let me ask them then to see if you are telling the truth. So she caught him in his lie and we then bought some ‘Yellow bananas’ that turned out to be the best tasting bananas we had the whole time we were in East Africa. Alan and I followed them downstairs and asked if we could have their photo which they complied to and then we each took a photo with them. We handed one of the girls 1000USH to share between them and then the other girl asked where hers was so to avoid any wrong doing we gave each of them her own 500USH.
After saying our goodbyes to the most business savvy girls I’ve ever met, we continued on. Now, the Gorilla Tours website describes the rest of the journey as “the bad road takes us through a beautiful landscape known as the Switzerland of Africa”. I thought this was just improper grammar and exaggeration. Oh no, they were dead on. On a map the journey looks like it should only take one hour at most but what it does not account for is the unpaved road that begins just outside of Kibale, and the winding through the hills both horizontally and vertically. Also not mentioned is the sheer depth of the drop-offs into water, farmland or forest next to the same road you are driving on. Not for the faint of heart. A true testament to the skills of our driver Richard is the fact that even after the most tiring of drives ever I would not do it any other way. Yes you can fly in to Kisoro from Entebbe or take another road route but the scenery is breath taking. I could not believe the absolute beauty of our surroundings. En route we drove by Lake Bunyonyi, the second deepest lake in Africa and saw the strength of the locals as we saw them climb up and down these near vertical slopes with incredible weights on their heads or shoulders of crops, wood, you name it. We also had the pleasur eof slowly creeping up to the Virungus and seeing them in all their majesty. It was non-stop bumpiness and just when we were ready to give up we arrived in Kisoro. Thank you God for getitng us here safe we all thought.
Kisoro is a bustling town close to the border of Rwanda. Travellers Rest hotel is located just outside and very beautiful. Payment was made by Richard as the hotel is included in the trekking fee paid to Gorilla Tours and we were greated with passion fruit juice. The rooms have double beds in them, hot water is plentiful, the layout is great and the food outstanding. It really was my favourite place out of all our trip. The Virungus are in the background and the location is peaceful. They was only one other group there that night and they only came in for dinner.The staff were friendly and felt more like co-owners. There is a dog on the property whose name is Simba. Alan went to pet and he barked and put up a fuss but he was backing off as he did this and didn’t feel safe unitl he found one of the hotel employees. It was quite cute – he’s just a big baby who puts on a big show. He doesn’t bother anyone and is usally found in a big heap laying on the floor outside of the dining area.I really wish I had planned it so we would stay one extra day instead of two nights only. The manager who was there at the time had only been there for two weeks as the previous manager had suddenly left one day and he was doing the owners a favour. He was from Belgium and staying in Kampala with his girlfriend who is a diplomat with the Chinese embassy. We unpacked, showered, walked around, had dinner, ordered our lunch to go for the next day and went to bed. We were so excited for the next day as that was when we would trek the mountain gorilla.
Alan and I woke up early and we grabbed some food and waited. At quarter past 7 I was nervous and started to phone the office. Just before I had a total freak-out Richard pulls in with the car. Richard’s wife Abifnay (sp?) and his children Susan and Ronald were seated in the very back of the 4x4 and Anne and Iain were seated in the middle. Originally when we had booked our tour it was just Alan and I but three weeks beforehand Virgo had emailed me to inform that two others would be joining us. At first I was apprehensive but I’m so glad we agreed as Iain and Anne turned out to be the best tripmates. Introductions were made, money handed over (we had paid Gorilla Tours for our gorilla permits via money transfer beforehand and had to pay the remainder of $325USD), and Richard told us that we would be dropping his family off en route for holidays. This was fine as there was ample room. The vehicle wasn’t the newest 4x4 but this yellow Toyota Landcrusier would be our trusted steed. Water was provided for our trip and was in a large cooler and after getting gas and we had our first stop at the Equator a little over an hour later. The roads were smooth and there is a clean bathroom located here for 200USH each. Alan and I took some pictures at the sign, paid for the experiments and received a certificate. Well worth it and I found the equator presentation in Kenya to be very low-key, boring and not in very nice areas. Nicer certificate here as well. We all went to the bathroom and I paid, as the smallest amount of money anyone had was 1000USH that the poor girl couldn’t break. Right next door is a very nice restaurant and arts place that we stopped at on the way back. Highly recommend it and it is owned a charity organization.
We continue on and stop occasionally for the bathroom (I have a tiny bladder and first bush pee. LOL!). It is obvious from this point on that Uganda is not flat like ‘the plains of East Africa’. Oh no. Hills and more hills everywhere and breath taking scenery. We stop for lunch in _______________ (oh, so bad with names will have to fill in later once I retrieve my notebook) and are a little disappointed. It’s more of a bakery with cakes and other sweet stuff. But whatever, at least we can get tea for me and coffee for the rest. We continue on for another hour and drop his family off where they will continue on in a hired car. Finally get a smile out of his little boy – way too cute.
About six hours in we arrive in Kabale. We stop off here to get a leg stretch, have a bathroom break and have a cold bevvie. It is at this point that I really wish I had thought to a small bottle of liquid hand soap as most places did not have soap or had a small communal bar. This is also where we have one of our most memorable encounters. As we exited our vehicles these two girls who could have been no more than 11 years of age approach us with a basket of bananas on each of their heads. Richard says something to them and they do not approach. We go upstairs to the restaurant, use their facilities, order a drink and sit on the patio. While waiting for our bevies, the girls approach and the shorter one asks in the most eloquent English “Would you like to buy some yellow bananas?” We say no thank you and they ask again. Richard starts speaking to them but not in English. They continue to try and push their way with Richard and the shorter tells her partner to do the same (not in English of course). Why waste time when you could be selling to someone else. Savvy indeed. Just as she turns her back Richard says something and she snaps back around, looks at Richard and asks us in the same perfect English “Have you already bought some yellow bananas?” We say no and she starts waving her pointed finger at Richard and speaking to him as one would to a naughty child. We ask Richard what had just happened and he explains that he had said to them in hopes of finally getting them to leave that we had already bought some bananas but our darling business woman thought aha, let me ask them then to see if you are telling the truth. So she caught him in his lie and we then bought some ‘Yellow bananas’ that turned out to be the best tasting bananas we had the whole time we were in East Africa. Alan and I followed them downstairs and asked if we could have their photo which they complied to and then we each took a photo with them. We handed one of the girls 1000USH to share between them and then the other girl asked where hers was so to avoid any wrong doing we gave each of them her own 500USH.
After saying our goodbyes to the most business savvy girls I’ve ever met, we continued on. Now, the Gorilla Tours website describes the rest of the journey as “the bad road takes us through a beautiful landscape known as the Switzerland of Africa”. I thought this was just improper grammar and exaggeration. Oh no, they were dead on. On a map the journey looks like it should only take one hour at most but what it does not account for is the unpaved road that begins just outside of Kibale, and the winding through the hills both horizontally and vertically. Also not mentioned is the sheer depth of the drop-offs into water, farmland or forest next to the same road you are driving on. Not for the faint of heart. A true testament to the skills of our driver Richard is the fact that even after the most tiring of drives ever I would not do it any other way. Yes you can fly in to Kisoro from Entebbe or take another road route but the scenery is breath taking. I could not believe the absolute beauty of our surroundings. En route we drove by Lake Bunyonyi, the second deepest lake in Africa and saw the strength of the locals as we saw them climb up and down these near vertical slopes with incredible weights on their heads or shoulders of crops, wood, you name it. We also had the pleasur eof slowly creeping up to the Virungus and seeing them in all their majesty. It was non-stop bumpiness and just when we were ready to give up we arrived in Kisoro. Thank you God for getitng us here safe we all thought.
Kisoro is a bustling town close to the border of Rwanda. Travellers Rest hotel is located just outside and very beautiful. Payment was made by Richard as the hotel is included in the trekking fee paid to Gorilla Tours and we were greated with passion fruit juice. The rooms have double beds in them, hot water is plentiful, the layout is great and the food outstanding. It really was my favourite place out of all our trip. The Virungus are in the background and the location is peaceful. They was only one other group there that night and they only came in for dinner.The staff were friendly and felt more like co-owners. There is a dog on the property whose name is Simba. Alan went to pet and he barked and put up a fuss but he was backing off as he did this and didn’t feel safe unitl he found one of the hotel employees. It was quite cute – he’s just a big baby who puts on a big show. He doesn’t bother anyone and is usally found in a big heap laying on the floor outside of the dining area.I really wish I had planned it so we would stay one extra day instead of two nights only. The manager who was there at the time had only been there for two weeks as the previous manager had suddenly left one day and he was doing the owners a favour. He was from Belgium and staying in Kampala with his girlfriend who is a diplomat with the Chinese embassy. We unpacked, showered, walked around, had dinner, ordered our lunch to go for the next day and went to bed. We were so excited for the next day as that was when we would trek the mountain gorilla.
Aug 27th, 2007, 09:11 AM
#18
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Oh boy, silly me. I started a new thread for the trip report a while back that I have the beginnig portion of trip report on. I clikce don my name and this page came up and I just adde don here. Please go here http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1 to view. Called Book it Now - A trip report.
Juliet
Juliet
