What did Murphy say?

So, it’s time to bring you, once again, up to date with our whereabouts and our activities. When I left you last, we were heading up to the town of Fort Portal, a fairly large place with good restaurants and activities.

Along the way, we traveled from the Southern Hemisphere into the Northern, meaning that we crossed the Equator, once again in our lives, and paused to take the obligatory photograph.

Diane is half in the Southern Hemisphere and half in the Northern

This man of the cloth asked if he could take a picture with me. I was happy to comply.

Our lodge in these parts is the Lake Nkuruba Reserve Lodge, located about a 30-minute drive from town. To reach it, of course, the 30 minutes consisted of dirt roads, both in populated areas as well as in wilderness.

Prison inmates picking cotton on the way to Fort Portal

Most of the homes in these parts are made using home-made bricks, which are cooked and prepared in these kilns that can be seen everywhere around.

The setting is simply amazing, but I’m afraid that the photos will not do it justice. The wilderness is way too compact to take meaningful pictures; it just has to be experienced. Lake Nkuruba is a deep crater lake, and only our lodge surrounds it. Our cabin sits on a hillside overlooking it; it is breathtaking.

View of Lake Nkuruba from our room

Reading a girlie novel is a good way to pass the time

The first night there, I sat on our porch, turned off the light and listened to the sounds of nature in an African forest, undisturbed by any light or noise pollution. The cicadas and the lake frogs were as loud as one could imagine. Upon awakening, the sounds of hundreds of different species filled the air; sounds never heard before, but immensely beautiful.

Four types of monkeys inhabit the grounds, the most beautiful and rare being the Colobus Monkey. When we pulled up and parked under a tree, they took over our vehicle. What a welcome. They would entertain us for the duration of our stay.

A Colobus Monkey

A pair of mongoose. They are abundant and commune with the monkeys in co-habitation.

We had activities planned for Valentine’s Day. Alas, powerful rains once again thwarted them, but if you have to be stuck anywhere, and have a good book to read, this is the place, and that’s exactly what we did. I wrote my last blog in the restaurant and was hilariously entertained by the monkeys who came in to see what I could feed them; I just enjoyed sitting at my table keeping me company while I typed away. Amazing.

He is happy as a lark sitting on my table while I work, drinking the last of my juice.

This cutie just sat at the window, checking out the scene.

The three groups staying at the lodge. Us, a couple from the Netherlands and a couple from Germany.

There were little tears shed for the lack of activities the prior day, and we were now looking forward to our six-hour drive to Murchison Falls National Park, a place with much abundance of wildlife and home to the most powerful waterfall in the world.

Baboon on the rodside

A giant termite hill

After a good couple of hours, it was time for a rest and a little refreshment, so we pulled into a gas station and made a couple of purchases. OUCH!! When we got back into the car, it refused to start, every effort to do so being futile. What now? One of the gentlemen sitting around the place kindly offered to call a mechanic for us (it’s Sunday!), and he managed to contact a friend who came to the spot immediately. The battery was quickly discarded as being the source of the trouble, everything now pointing to the starter. They dismounted it, checked it and cleaned it, but still to no avail. The problem appeared to be much larger, like the engine having taken its last breath.

Words not needed

I can see you picturing us, in a God-forsaken dusty Ugandan town, broken down, with a pre-paid non-cancellable reservation in a Lodge four hours away, and imagining us freaking out. But if we’ve learned anything in our many adventures to date, it is that things will, somehow, always work out in the end.

After calling the car-rental place (which is not in Uganda, but Rwanda), it was decided that we should leave the keys with the local mechanic and try to find a ride to Murchison Falls. A very nice gentleman with a small, old Toyota came to the rescue. He is a local science teacher. Think about it, he offered to take us four hours up and drive four hours back in the middle of the night. Of course we rewarded him handsomely, and we’ll get most of it reimbursed by the rental company, which by the way, assured us they will deliver a new vehicle to us today. Stay tuned.

Well , apparently, we will also have to forego any and all activities planned here, as the vehicle will be dropped off quite lay in the day (keep fingers crossed). I will close by saying that we are, once again, in a lovely setting. This lodge is the most luxurious of them all and the facilities are great.

Acres and acres of lovely landscape sor our sole enjoyment

Low-lying Jackfruit

Picture from our room. When I say we are in the wilderness, believe it!

We’ll spend time at the pool while we wait; perhaps I’ll take a walk around the community. We are the only patrons and are being treated royally. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.