The River Nile

Written on April 17-19, 2008 from Jinja, Uganda
By Anne Olson

The first day after our long drive back from Bwindi was spent doing as little as possible. We sat by the pool and read books and relaxed. The next day we were rafting on the Nile!

There were 6 people for rafting the day we went. We had one guide and 6 safety people – 2 in a big raft and 4 in small kayaks. Our guide had us practice a bunch of things before we hit the first rapid (which was a small one) – forward paddle, backward paddle, "hang on", "get down", getting back in after the raft flips, feet up when in the water. It was so good that we practiced as we needed to know all of those things and it prevented me from being scared when we flipped the raft a couple of times going through the rapids. I went out once by myself (I don't think I followed the "hang on" command fast enough). The water was kind of shallow there so before I got my feet up, I "bonded" with a Nile River rock and left a layer of skin there (not a deep cut, just skin). My compatriots pulled me back in the raft in short time. We joked that my blood was going all the way to Egypt. Got a few other scrapes and bruises but nothing serious. The sunburn on my thighs, knees and arms hurt worse than the scrape on my knee. All in all, a very fun day!

On Saturday, Sharae and I went on a community walk with our guide Augustine. We visited his mother's house where 2 of her grandchildren were applying new mud to the sides. Her house girl was cooking matooke (mah toe key) bananas. They are peeled, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed for about 45 minutes over an open camp fire. Then they are mashed and served. I've eaten matooke (and like it) but had never seen it cooked. We saw many things growing as we walked the paths through the fields (they call them gardens). Fruit – bananas of many kinds, passion fruit, papaya, mango, avocado. Other things – maize/corn, millet, sorghum, cassava, beans of many kinds, potatoes (sweet and Irish/white), ground nuts, okra, eggplant, and more. We saw a woman grinding cassava into flour with stones. We saw many darling children and took pictures of most of them.

Augustine also took us to his home where we met his wife and daughters. His wife fixed a delicious dish of beans and cassava that we both enjoyed very much. His oldest daughter had just returned from nursing school where she had graduated at the top of her class. She and her parents were very proud. It was a great walk and very informative.

Nile Porch – our place of lodging.
Lyndsay, my friend from VEF US office, recommended this wonderful place to stay. We stayed in a tent cabin with wonderful views of the Nile from all parts including the bathroom and shower. The sound of the Nile put us to sleep each night. The staff was fun and efficient, the food was great, and the atmosphere was wonderful. Thanks Lyndsay!