Continued from The Safari, Part One: Vexation
By 2:45 on Sunday I was convinced that the Parra Lodge is heaven.
We walked in the doors completely downtrodden- and they did everything they could to make arrangements to fix everything. First, the woman at the front desk switched our planned boat trip and game drive around. We could have lunch, take a game drive at 4, then do our boat ride in the morning. She switched our tickets with no fee or problem. Then I turned around, and a woman was holding out a tray of cold wet towels. Amazing. We were sweating like pigs (or more appropriately, wart hogs) at that point, I felt disgusting. Then I looked up, and the woman had exchanged her tray of towels for glasses of cold passion fruit juice. It was SO good.
They brought us upstairs to the dining room and seated us on the balcony overlooking the pool and, a little farther off, the Nile. It was beautiful. Then they placed a menu in front of us, and we found out that the "board" included in our room rates was a four course meal. When you haven't eaten all day, there are no sweeter words than those informing you that you are about to be stuffed with food. And it was western food. Salad with avacados, onions, and vinegrette. Leek soup. Beef, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables for me, fish for my Mom. And passion fruit flan for dessert. We must have looked ridiculous as we ate. You would have thought we hadn't eaten in weeks, and that we had never been to a nicer or better restaurant. It was absolutely the best food I have had since coming to Uganda. The beef was so good that my evil mother ate some of it when I got up to change Tommy's diaper. Since she was brains and financial brawn of the Safari adventure I guess I shouldn't complain too much.
Then it started to rain. Actually, rain is too gentle a word. It poured, and the wind blew, and we even had to switch tables and go inside. I started thinking that I was pretty glad that I wasn't on a boat tour.
The rain stopped by the time we finished eating, and so we went to check into our room and freshen up a bit before the game drive. The rooms were very nice with a great view of the river, and, the best thing ever, they had real showers with hot water. We did not have time to take advantage of this amenity, but, made plans to do so asap.
We went downstairs to meet our game guide, Charles, and head deeper into the park. As we were heading toward the car, he said, "Hold on, let me grab my gun."
Now guns are a very common sight here in Uganda. Big guns. Many stores have armed guards and so do many homes, so after a while you get used to seeing them around. I assumed that he needed his gun to protect us from rabid animals that might charge our vehicle, or something, but my mom made a comment about that and he said, "No, it's to protect us against the LRA."
THE LRA. Awesome. Just what we wanted to hear. (The Lord's Resistance Army is a group of rebels that originated in Uganda but mostly terrorize neighboring countries and the border regions and are rarely in Uganda any more). Apparently they had been active in the park only three years ago, so the rangers still carry guns just in case, and there is a base for the Ugandan army in the park as well. But did our friendly ranger decide to mention that it had been three years since the last incident? NO. He just got in the car and started given our driver directions. So I asked if he would use it to protect us against a charging animal and he assured me that he would, because otherwise he might lose his job. We were feeling a bit nervous, to say the least. About half way through the ride when we got to the army base he explained that everything was purely precautionary, and we were able to relax.
The journey started out with many of the deer-like species in the park, then upgraded to some buffalo and wart-hogs, then finally some elephants in the distance. Then we got into giraffe territory and it got incredible pretty quickly. The park has a large giraffe population, and they were all out grazing with their young. Watching a giraffe run is an amazing experience, as it completely defies logic. They look so gangly and awkward standing around, but when they run they move with such grace and speed. I think the speed of most of the animals really surprised me, as hippos are much quicker than you would expect as well. We also got very close to some elephants grazing. The driver estimated us to be 5 km from a big daddy elephant, and he said he had never been able to get that close to one before without the elephant making threatening gestures. We didn't see any cats, but we knew that it was hit or miss to see those.
The landscape was incredible. Africa is a beautiful place. The vegetation alone is worth the trip, and when you add in the wildlife it is rather overwhelming.
We had a wonderful experience, and Tommy even like parts of it, although mostly he enjoyed sitting on the floor of our 4 by 4 and dumping out a cheez-it bag and playing with the crumbs. I think he couldn't really see the animals except when we were really close. He enjoyed seeing the giraffes and elephants. It was really hard to see all that and not be able to share it with Jeff. I was really sad that he wasn't with us.
After the game drive we had yet another delicious dinner and the best showers ever. Then we got to sleep in beds with flat pillows. Now, if you have never slept using an African pillow you will not appreciate the joy that a good, flat pillow can bring. African pillows are huge, overstuffed, and very lumpy. I have slept without a pillow since the second night, so having a pillow again was bliss.
In the morning we had a great breakfast, and then went for our boat ride. The boat ride was also a wonderful experience. The Nile is FULL of hippos. Just stuffed with them. And they are very fun to watch. We also saw some huge crocodiles. Then the two collided and in a "nature uncensored" moment we saw a dead baby hippo get eaten by a crocodile. I did not take a picture.
You can't get too close to the Falls by boat because they are very powerful, but they were beautiful even from a distance. We were a little sad that we couldn't take the hike to the top of the falls, but Tommy never would have made it with his toddling, and I could not have carried him up the steep slopes, even with my awesome Ergo carrier (which has been indispensable since the terrain here is not stroller friendly and Tommy is not small).
The boat ride finished around 11, and went back to the lodge. While we were in the lobby we ran into some medical missionaries from Southern California, and one of the pediatricians decided to give Tommy an exam. Her verdict- his hair is too light so he needs more vitamins and he is slightly anemic. Otherwise, he is in great shape. She was actually quite impressed with his good health, so I will have to send Sister Christine a message and let her know! Then we went for a dip in the Parra's pool. We met even more Californians (not with the mission trip) at the pool, and one of them even used to live in Torrance. Small world. Tommy loves the water and had a great time, we had to drag him out so that we had time for one last delicious meal and got ready (with heavy hearts) to leave paradise.
Stay tuned for The Safari, Part Three: Everything That Can Go Wrong Does.
By 2:45 on Sunday I was convinced that the Parra Lodge is heaven.
We walked in the doors completely downtrodden- and they did everything they could to make arrangements to fix everything. First, the woman at the front desk switched our planned boat trip and game drive around. We could have lunch, take a game drive at 4, then do our boat ride in the morning. She switched our tickets with no fee or problem. Then I turned around, and a woman was holding out a tray of cold wet towels. Amazing. We were sweating like pigs (or more appropriately, wart hogs) at that point, I felt disgusting. Then I looked up, and the woman had exchanged her tray of towels for glasses of cold passion fruit juice. It was SO good.
They brought us upstairs to the dining room and seated us on the balcony overlooking the pool and, a little farther off, the Nile. It was beautiful. Then they placed a menu in front of us, and we found out that the "board" included in our room rates was a four course meal. When you haven't eaten all day, there are no sweeter words than those informing you that you are about to be stuffed with food. And it was western food. Salad with avacados, onions, and vinegrette. Leek soup. Beef, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables for me, fish for my Mom. And passion fruit flan for dessert. We must have looked ridiculous as we ate. You would have thought we hadn't eaten in weeks, and that we had never been to a nicer or better restaurant. It was absolutely the best food I have had since coming to Uganda. The beef was so good that my evil mother ate some of it when I got up to change Tommy's diaper. Since she was brains and financial brawn of the Safari adventure I guess I shouldn't complain too much.
Then it started to rain. Actually, rain is too gentle a word. It poured, and the wind blew, and we even had to switch tables and go inside. I started thinking that I was pretty glad that I wasn't on a boat tour.
The rain stopped by the time we finished eating, and so we went to check into our room and freshen up a bit before the game drive. The rooms were very nice with a great view of the river, and, the best thing ever, they had real showers with hot water. We did not have time to take advantage of this amenity, but, made plans to do so asap.
We went downstairs to meet our game guide, Charles, and head deeper into the park. As we were heading toward the car, he said, "Hold on, let me grab my gun."
Now guns are a very common sight here in Uganda. Big guns. Many stores have armed guards and so do many homes, so after a while you get used to seeing them around. I assumed that he needed his gun to protect us from rabid animals that might charge our vehicle, or something, but my mom made a comment about that and he said, "No, it's to protect us against the LRA."
THE LRA. Awesome. Just what we wanted to hear. (The Lord's Resistance Army is a group of rebels that originated in Uganda but mostly terrorize neighboring countries and the border regions and are rarely in Uganda any more). Apparently they had been active in the park only three years ago, so the rangers still carry guns just in case, and there is a base for the Ugandan army in the park as well. But did our friendly ranger decide to mention that it had been three years since the last incident? NO. He just got in the car and started given our driver directions. So I asked if he would use it to protect us against a charging animal and he assured me that he would, because otherwise he might lose his job. We were feeling a bit nervous, to say the least. About half way through the ride when we got to the army base he explained that everything was purely precautionary, and we were able to relax.
The journey started out with many of the deer-like species in the park, then upgraded to some buffalo and wart-hogs, then finally some elephants in the distance. Then we got into giraffe territory and it got incredible pretty quickly. The park has a large giraffe population, and they were all out grazing with their young. Watching a giraffe run is an amazing experience, as it completely defies logic. They look so gangly and awkward standing around, but when they run they move with such grace and speed. I think the speed of most of the animals really surprised me, as hippos are much quicker than you would expect as well. We also got very close to some elephants grazing. The driver estimated us to be 5 km from a big daddy elephant, and he said he had never been able to get that close to one before without the elephant making threatening gestures. We didn't see any cats, but we knew that it was hit or miss to see those.
The landscape was incredible. Africa is a beautiful place. The vegetation alone is worth the trip, and when you add in the wildlife it is rather overwhelming.
We had a wonderful experience, and Tommy even like parts of it, although mostly he enjoyed sitting on the floor of our 4 by 4 and dumping out a cheez-it bag and playing with the crumbs. I think he couldn't really see the animals except when we were really close. He enjoyed seeing the giraffes and elephants. It was really hard to see all that and not be able to share it with Jeff. I was really sad that he wasn't with us.
After the game drive we had yet another delicious dinner and the best showers ever. Then we got to sleep in beds with flat pillows. Now, if you have never slept using an African pillow you will not appreciate the joy that a good, flat pillow can bring. African pillows are huge, overstuffed, and very lumpy. I have slept without a pillow since the second night, so having a pillow again was bliss.
In the morning we had a great breakfast, and then went for our boat ride. The boat ride was also a wonderful experience. The Nile is FULL of hippos. Just stuffed with them. And they are very fun to watch. We also saw some huge crocodiles. Then the two collided and in a "nature uncensored" moment we saw a dead baby hippo get eaten by a crocodile. I did not take a picture.
You can't get too close to the Falls by boat because they are very powerful, but they were beautiful even from a distance. We were a little sad that we couldn't take the hike to the top of the falls, but Tommy never would have made it with his toddling, and I could not have carried him up the steep slopes, even with my awesome Ergo carrier (which has been indispensable since the terrain here is not stroller friendly and Tommy is not small).
The boat ride finished around 11, and went back to the lodge. While we were in the lobby we ran into some medical missionaries from Southern California, and one of the pediatricians decided to give Tommy an exam. Her verdict- his hair is too light so he needs more vitamins and he is slightly anemic. Otherwise, he is in great shape. She was actually quite impressed with his good health, so I will have to send Sister Christine a message and let her know! Then we went for a dip in the Parra's pool. We met even more Californians (not with the mission trip) at the pool, and one of them even used to live in Torrance. Small world. Tommy loves the water and had a great time, we had to drag him out so that we had time for one last delicious meal and got ready (with heavy hearts) to leave paradise.
Stay tuned for The Safari, Part Three: Everything That Can Go Wrong Does.
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2 comments:
What an adventure! Sounds exciting and beautiful!
I'm so jealous!!!:):):)until part three...
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