Rafting, Swimming, and yes... Peeing in the Nile

Sorry that I am so behind on entries, but last week was a hectic one and access to the internet was very limited. When I was able to get to the internet cafe, it was even slower than usual so I wasn't able to do much writing.

Geri, a new volunteer named Shayna, and I headed over to Jinja, Uganda on Friday afternoon. It is quite interesting to cross the border. Fortunately, Reuben was with us to guide the way. First, you fill out forms on the Kenyan side of the border. Next, you cross into a No-Man's Land of a couple hundred yards before you are officially in Ugandan. On the Ugandan side you fill out Ugandan forms and pay your $30. Then, you walk another quarter mile or so to catch a matatu (in Uganda these are called taxis).

The Ugandan exchange rate is confusing. There are about 68 Kenyan Shillings to the US Dollar and 24 Ugandan Shillings to the Kenyan Shillings. So our ride to Jinja was 15,000 Ugandan Shillings or roughly$9.

The matatu was crowded with 17 passengers, including driver. The three of us were in the last row with our bags piled on our laps. It made for a long 2 1/2 trip. The road is the main highway that goes from Mombassa, Kenya through Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Congo and then turns south towards South Africa. At best, it is two lanes of paved tarmac and many other times it is just dirt/clay. We all looked red by the time we arrived in Jinja. At one point, we heard a big pop and realized that one half of the sliding window by Geri had popped out and shattered on the road.

The tented camp we are staying at is quite nice and has HOT showers. It's been 3 weeks since truly hot water so they felt great. We ate and went to bed early because the rafting trip was starting at 8:30.

In the morning, we caught a ride down to the rafting headquareters and then over to the start of the ride. The Victorian Nile is the beginning of the Nile as it leaves Lake Victoria and travels North. There were 3 6 man rafts, a few rescue kayakers and the safety boat. Most of the rapids we travelled through were class 4 and 5 with a few smaller 3's and 2's.

Unlike in the US, they like to flip the boats because there aren't any huge rocks. So, we flipped a total of 3 times during the course of the day. I fell out another time but was able to keep ahold of the rope. The only real fatality was that I chipped my front tooth when I was under on the last flip. But, hey, how many people can claim that when they go to the dentist.

Parts of the river were slow enough that we could get in the water and float along with the boat. Yes, you guessed it... I had to go and so I did. I figured, millions of people have peed somewhere along the course of the Nile and so I did to.

It's the next morning and I am still sore, but it was worth it. We are hiring a car to drive us back to the border because it will be a lot more comfortable and doesn't cost that much.

Excuse the grammar in this blog, I know that I switched tenses all over the place, but tough.