aepafricas Blog on RealTravel

Lake Nkuruba journal: The Drowning

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:47:33 GMT

Today has to have been one of the roughest days I can remember. Today, I had to help recover a body of a young man who drowned 4 days ago. It’s a bit of a long story and one I don’t think is appropriate for this kind of forum. I am fine talking about it now—after talking to Dad about it and soon Scott. I thought I was going to lose it as we were approaching the body and later on when a whole other fiasco occurred. Somehow, I made it through and only cried later in the shower and when sharing the story with another researcher. This is not something that I wish to do again but under the ...

Mugusu journal: Mugusu Market

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:43:15 GMT

Today we went to the market just past Fort Portal. This is where Joel said that they had fabric from the DRC. It’s a HUGE market and taxi drivers are racing people back and forth so they can get as much money as possible. We travel through the detours and make are way there. Kate and I literally go a bit wild over material. I bought some real pretty material that I can see as nice A-line skirts. I have a seamstress in G’ville who makes beautiful clothes so I think little by little I’ll bring some of the material in and see what her vision is. Kate got a ton of material but I tried to ...

Mugusu journal: Mugusu Market

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:43:03 GMT

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Marriage Proposal from a 75 year old man

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:41:02 GMT

I interviewed this old man who is the father of one of the field assistants. When we arrived, he tells Erimosi, “Oh! I see that you have brought me a new wife!” Erimosi explained to him that I was already taken (that psuedomarriage thing I have going on). He is still insistent, explaining that he is building this new house for me. Then he informs his wife that he is taking a new wife and I was it. She laughed and I must have been 3 shades of read. Then I decided to show him a picture of Scott and me from Pam’s wedding. He takes a look and goes, “Oh no. I can’t win! He is too strong!” ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Tourist Lodges and a Hippo

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:38:11 GMT

Going to the tourist lodges is pretty neat. I think my favorite on is the Nyinabulitwa Country Resort which is owned by this Ugandan woman and her Danish husband. She’s running the show since he is in Namibia on a contract. The lodge sits on this crater lake and is extremely affordable and a place you feel like you can be at all the time. We took a boat ride to the forest across the lake and there is was: THE hippo. I keep hearing about this hippo. . .this lone hippo that is supposed to be in everyone’s lake.

But her story is interesting enough. She’s alone and has been alone for ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Muddin'

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:36:38 GMT

So thankfully the rains seem to be coming to a close. There were a few incidents where I was “swimming” on the roads. Erimosi and I were on this one road, trying to get to this lodge and it was just a mess. At one time the car was literally driving sideways with the passenger side leading the way. Somehow, I got out of it and straightened out. Thank GOD for 4 wheel drive! I really wanted to quit but turning around really wasn’t an option. Finally we got out.

Since then the roads are not as bad and they are grading them so they are smoother.

Bigodi journal: Man in Shackles

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:34:20 GMT

The other day down in Bigodi, I was interviewing this woman for the survey. She came in 1977 because she got married. During the interview, she made reference to having to take care of a sick person. As the end of the session, I see this man shuffling out from behind the house. When he comes more into view, I notice that the man is in shackles—ankles and wrists. He is walking toward us shooting Rukiga (all gibberish to me) and then stops in front of me. He goes, “Hello! How are you? Thank you for coming!” Then he holds out his hand and shakes mine—but I really think he’s going to break ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: The Birth of the Mango Fly

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:28:47 GMT

You’ll be happy to know that as of now, I still haven’t been cursed with a mango fly (knocking on wood as I write). But I don’t really spend that much time in the forest and my clothes typically dry in the open sun or under a mosquito net—which is good since I despise ironing.

However, there is a chimp researcher here who spends many hours in the forest. Last fall, Kyleb acquired a mango fly on his arm. Since it was in a place where he could observe it, he decided to let it stay in his arm. I know, but in the name of science, it was interesting. No one really knows a lot about ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Next Installment

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 04:01:39 GMT

I’ve either had no power or have been too tired to write something up. But the next installment of short blogs will include a story about a gnarly mango fly episode, a madman in chains, nearly getting stuck and swimming in mud, a marriage proposal from a 75-year-old man, and some highlights of some of the prettiest tourist lodges and scenery around. I’ll try to get those up and running next week. =)

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Driving 2

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 04:00:03 GMT

Ok, so I’m getting better at this driving thing. Driving on the other side of the road doesn’t seem so strange anymore. Shifting is getting smoother. Dealing with crazy traffic isn’t so ridiculous—ok, it’s still ridiculous but I’m not breaking out in a cold sweat. I have mastered (for now anyway) the wretched Ibura road that I detest going on. I can drive without my heart racing on the tarmac. Even Fort Portal isn’t bad—until they decided to divert traffic and do road construction. I can’t say that I’m at the point where I enjoy it but I can now talk to people while driving and perhaps ...

Fort Portal journal: Abe is gone

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 03:58:52 GMT

We took Abe to Fort Portal today to catch the bus to Kampala. His flight leaves tonight at 10:30. It rained all last night and stopped in the morning but we had to deal with rerouted traffic because they are working on the road. It feels really weird to be completely on our own. After we dropped him off, we ran some errands and came back. I was supposed to drop Kate off but it was raining again and we didn’t feel safe letting ride a boda-boda back to the station. We took her all the way back and Erimosi and I had lunch and attempted to go back out. The road we needed to go on to go to ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Abe, where's the stove?

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 03:55:22 GMT

Monday morning, I woke up and went to greet Abe who was rummaging through the kitchen. I was getting foods prepared for breakfast. I asked, Abe, where’s the stove and propane tank? Come to find out that someone had stolen it in the middle of the night. We had it at dinner time because we cooked on it and went to clean up afterward and it was there. No one in the village will use it so we think someone brought it to Fort Portal to sell back the propane tank and sell the stove. I also remember that the back light between the duplex and the kitchen wasn’t working that night. ...

Af ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: When Baboons Attack

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 03:53:52 GMT

So we have this problem with baboons around camp. Apparently it is getting worse that in the past. They were not afraid of Joel when he was here. They come into the kitchen and find stuff. We have these footlockers that are metal. Krista had some banana locked in the footlocker and the baboon couldn’t figure out how to unlock it so he pulled at the side to get at the bananas. Last week, we didn’t have water for a day or so and it was difficult to do dishes. Krista had a pot that needed cleaning. Well, the baboon grabbed it and took it in the forest with it to finish its contents. Then ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Wazee?

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 03:52:15 GMT

The days just sort of run together. We spend them trying to get interviews with older people and ask about land change in the area. We’ve pretty much exhausted the ones on this side of the park and will be heading to the Bigodi side this week.

We’ve had some interesting people that we’ve talked to. One woman got a bit annoyed—told Abe he was asking too many questions. One man asked for us for money and we told him that we couldn’t give him money (it’s never been a part of the project deal) and so he decided not to talk to us—after seeming really excited to see us. Others have been ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Avocado-lanche

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 03:49:49 GMT

Just a funny story. . .We were at Isunga, the Park headquarters, waiting on some information and since our guy was a no-show, we decided to have lunch. We had a bit of time to kill before our next interview and so we were lying around. We were watching the baboons across the way when we heard this pop-pop-pop and then, in the tree next to us, a huge branch comes crashing down dumping all these avocados. Apparently, the avocados were too heavy for the branch. Needless to say, we took as many as we could grab. Can we say guacamole??

Fort Portal journal: Joel left today

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 02:24:48 GMT

Today, Abe and I took Joel, and 2 Ugandans--Dennis and Aventino--to Fort Portal this morning. Aventino is heading south to Bwindi, where he works. Both Dennis and Joel were heading to Kampala. Joel's flight is tonight. Kate left with some girls from the station to Queen Elizabeth NP. I didn't think it was an appropriate time to go so I opted to stay behind and work with Abe. I plan on heading there in mid-July.

Abe and I had breakfast at the Rwenzori View Guesthouse in Fort Portal. We had an AMAZING breakfast! I'm not in the habit of eating bacon but man was it awesome! IT's ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Driving

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 02:20:05 GMT

So I feel like I’m 16 again and learning how to drive. The truck is not as sensitive as the Saturn I practiced on before leaving so that is good. It has been rather stressful because driving on the left side is a challenge only because I can’t see out of my left eye. I am hoping this is going to get better. I have adapted my driving strategies in the States to compensate for that, so I’m hoping that will happen here. Now the driving not only needs my concentration on driving stick but also finding every hole in the road, look out for people, bikes and crazy buses. Further, because the ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Primate Conference

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 02:16:56 GMT

So there was conference in celebration of 20 years of primate research here in Kibale. We weren’t invited but we were allowed to attend the workshops and presentations anyway. It was great to hear what others are doing in the park. The primate research is really interesting but I’m glad that someone else is studying them. I don’t know if I could watch a chimp or a colobus for 10 hours everyday. . .or run after them with a urine catcher to test for hormones. Quite, honestly, I think we have an awesome project because going out to the villages is strange and funny nearly every time. ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Chimps

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 02:14:10 GMT

We spent Monday and Tuesday of this week working on questions (which is exhausting!). Finally, after it finished raining, Abe and I decided to go for a walk in the park. We started on the trail and ran into Gosia and her field assistants. Gosia studies mangabeys and she mentioned that there were chimps along the trail. We weren’t really sure if we had the directions right and if you see them in the wild and you aren’t chimp tracking, you are supposed to look away or pay (honestly, can anyone look away?). We didn’t see anything on the way in and we decided to turn around and there they ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Miscellaneous

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 02:11:58 GMT

Countdown

Mango Flies: 0

Days of Stomach Instability: 0

Tsetse fly bite: 1

Bee Sting: 1

Earthquakes: 2 (one awesome one!)

Baboon break-ins: 3

So no mango flies in the skin—knock on wood. We have been double ironing seems, crotches, and pockets. Surprisingly, no stomach issues. We have a great cook who makes some hardy meals—there is never less than 3 different kinds of carbs for dinner, believe it or not. I’ll be so excited not to have heavy meals when I get home! However, the vegetables are fantastic. The red potatoes taste better here than they ...

Bigodi journal: Bigodi

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 02:09:01 GMT

We went back to Bigodi to conduct group interviews and for me to interview my first for my part of the project—KAFRED. KAFRED stands for Kibale Association for Rural and Environment Development and is funded also by the UNDP (United Nations Development Program). KAFRED was created by a Peace Corps Volunteer back in the early 1990s. It’s actually doing well. They protect Magombe Swamp which is next Kibale. They receive visitors from the park and from tour agencies in the area. At the swamps, you can see a lot of the primates that are in the park and you can see them a lot easier. ...

Bigodi journal: Bigodi-the other side of the park

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 02:05:05 GMT

The first time on the other side of the park was extremely interesting. This is the side where the Bakiga (Ba-Chi-ga) live. They came from the southwestern part of Uganda looking for land. We drove around looking at the park boundaries—on some gnarly roads. We went up close to this village on the border and ran into some women and we asked if we could interview them about land use histories. When they took us to their house, the husband came out with this kind of guitar and started to perform for us. He sang a song about the first Mukiga who flew in a plane—sounds weird but it was ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: The LC's

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 01:58:07 GMT

We have spent much of the week driving around to different LC’s. These are the local council people. We needed to introduce ourselves to them to let them know that we are in the area and working with the communities. We basically have to get their permission as well as a letter saying that they know we are in the county. We (I should say I was granted the responsibility) had to write a letter and if they approved of it, all they had to do was just sign it. If they didn’t, they could use it as an outline. Luckily, all signed without hesitation which made getting the letters much ...

Kibale Forest National Reserve journal: Arrived in Kibale

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 01:42:47 GMT

So Saturday, we started our journey to Kibale. It takes about 5 hours to get there and the drive is just beautiful. We stopped in Fort Portal to get some more things. The town seems to have no method to the pattern in streets so I’m still turned around in its organization. It started to rain. I guess the rains have started late this year. I was not happy about this since it meant that I would have to deal with muddy roads. We drove into Kibale and sure enough, there are some spots that made my stomach turn. We got to camp and we have temporary accommodations because of the primate ...

Kampala journal: Arrived in Kampala

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 01:18:57 GMT

Ok, so after a first terrible plane ride, we have made it to Uganda. On the flight from Jacksonville to Detroit, descending was not good. I had been sick with some sinus-something and when we descended, the pressure built up in my ears so much that I passed out on the way to landing. With some other issues that occurred, I was not in the best mood and thought this was an omen to a terrible summer. However, the flight on the way to Amsterdam was a dream. I got a whole row to myself and I slept like a baby. The plane rides to Nairobi and Entebbe were fine as well. It was just a long ...

Uganda journal: In Uganda

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 04:09:30 GMT

I'm in Uganda now. I was having troubles with this blog but now it seems to be working. I'll write up a detailed blog soon now that we are getting set up in Kibale. I will share all the funny stories soon. =) More to come. . .

Nkhata Bay journal: The only place to stay in Nkhata Bay

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:58:02 GMT

Want great service, fun atmosphere, and beautiful scenery? Mayoka Village is the only place to be! Read my review! =)

Nkhata Bay journal: No trip to the north is complete without Nkhata Bay

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:58:02 GMT

Loved this place when I was a PCV. Love it still. It just keeps getting better and better and makes you want to stay longer and longer. Malawi is seriously an untapped source with tourism potential. However, I am enjoying it immensely without the mass tourists! Enjoy it before it gets tainted! Malawi needs to tourism and any other ways to help it with its terrible poverty. See why these people are so wonderful and worth knowing. You will love your trip to Malawi!

Livingstonia journal: Best place to stay

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:54:40 GMT

Beautiful scenery and awesome lodging. Owner has worked very hard to make everything eco-friendly. THe trip up is exhausting on foot or you can pay for travel. You won't be disapointed!

Livingstonia journal: Great place with a spectacular view

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:54:39 GMT

Been around for about 5 years, the owner has worked very hard to make this lodge eco-friendly. Stellar food and scenery. The trip up will be exhausting on foot or you can pay for transport. It's worth it though!

Livingstonia journal: The unexpected detour

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:54:39 GMT

I unexpectedly had to travel to Livingstonia because my village father was in the hospital there. It was a great trip. Check out the Mushroom Farm--great place that is eco-friendly and great service. The views are stunning! And Livingstonia Mission is worth the visit. =)

Nchenachena journal: My home village

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:49:47 GMT

This is my home village. You can get there by public transport from Rumphi. My family is here and this is where I learned the greatest lessons while in Peace Corps.

Mzuzu journal: The place to stay in Mzuzu

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:48:03 GMT

Run by great owners. Out of the way of the town and in a quiet residential-like area. Best place to stay!

Mzuzu journal: Great little provincial capital

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:48:03 GMT

Mzuzu is growing up--little by little. Enjoy it as the little town that it is and use it as a transit area to the great north! My favorite region of Malawi!

Turmi journal: LOVE Turmi

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:44:55 GMT

Not a whole lot to do but we were working with the Hamar, Karo, Arbore, and Dasanech groups on conflict prevention and resolution. BEAUTIFUL people and very very kind. By far one of my favorite places to be. These pastoral groups are very proud of their cultures and way of life. Please enjoy their company and be respectful of them--much of their income is generated by tourism.

Arba Minch' journal: White Grass - Beautiful!

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:42:15 GMT

Great park,pretty isolated. Beautiful landscape and rich soil. Will see kudu, duiker, zebra, hornbills. Said to be lions int the park but didn't see any.

Arba Minch' journal: Gateway to the South

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:42:14 GMT

Great little town and the gateway to the south and the plethora of ethnic groups such as the Hamar, Arbore, Karo, and Dasanech. There's a lovely hotel there but the name escapes me. However, it's easy to pick out as it more upscale than the others and has a great restaurant. There is a Bekele Mole hotel there that is off the road a bit and overlooks Nechisar National Park. Beautiful scenery and quiet! =)

Addis Ababa journal: In and Out of Addis

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:37:18 GMT

FYI: Search many hotels and have a game plan. If you are traveling back and forth to Addis, plan your reservations in advance! The better hotels fill up quickly!

Awassa journal: Awassa

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:34:31 GMT

This isn't a great blog--I was there last summer working with Mercy Corps. I promise to do better with my trip to Uganda! =) If you have questions though, I spent 3 months going back and forth to Awassa and I am happy to make any suggestions. =) Cheers.

Africa journal: Ethiopia and Malawi 2006

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:31:46 GMT

This is a small blog in regards to my trip to Ethiopia and Malawi last summer. I was on the Coca-cola World Citizenship Program fellowship for 12 weeks working with an NGO--Mercy Corps. Mercy Corps does fantastic work in a variety of areas. I worked with the team that provided assistance with Conflict Prevention and Resolution. We mainly worked in the SNNPR which is the southern region of Ethiopia. This is an area diverse in culture, practices, and ethnicity. Some of the conflicts were over religion, natural resources, land and land-use, cattle-rustling, etc. I spent 12 amazing weeks ...

Nkhata Bay journal: Stay no where else but Mayoka Village!

Wed, 30 May 2007 10:44:03 GMT

When I needed to get away from work as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I would head to Nkhata Bay and to Mayoka Village. They are VERY good to volunteers and other guests. I thought it was fantastic when I was there in 2001 but man has it changed! And for the better. =) They have done major improvements to the chalets and landscape but it's still the amazing service and people. Gary, one of the owners, treats everyone as if they were his best friend. Luka, who runs the bar never seems to forget a face (he remembered me after 4 years!). Just a great place to relax and enjoy oneself. You will ...

Livingstonia journal: Places to stay in northern Malawi.

Fri, 18 May 2007 09:55:23 GMT

This is a great "green" lodge to stay at while in Livingstonia. The food is organic and vegetarian. The facilities are nice and ever progressing. The toilet is used for composting! Just a wonderful stay! Only drawback is that it is difficult to get up the mountain but you can call ahead and for a fee can be picked up. Enjoy!