New Arrivals

The first week in Kampala was a blur. We just came from a country that is roughly the size of Delaware with about 1.8 million people spread out across the whole country. We are now living in a city with the same amount of people, as everyone says "the traffic is horrible" and at times it really can be. To put it into perspective Nikki's office is about 2 miles from our house we can walk that distance in about 30 minutes, however sidewalks don't exist here either and neither do traffic lanes or laws. So its safer to be wrapped in steel when venturing out, but this doubles the travel time. Aside from traffic its a pretty interesting place, we can get lots of beer, pretty much any type of food in the stores, any type of restaurants as well as the usual amenities of clothes and electronics. The downside is that cost can be pretty high. The country is very clean, this is a stark contrast to The Gambia where trash is a part of the landscape where ever you go. The weather is just about perfect, low 80s during the day and low 60s at night. We have a beautiful house up on a hill and we leave the doors and windows open all day to enjoy the breeze. This is the rainy month for the fall and when it does rain it really can RAIN. We are adjusting well and have already started planning our safari getaways.

A Brussels Layover

We packed up and left The Gambia 2 days before Halloween en route for Kampala, Uganda. As any westerner can attest, living in a developing country presents many challenges; severe diarrhea, hook worms, heat stroke, heat rash, severe dehydration, uncontrollable vomiting, blister ants, deadly snakes, and unpalatable skunky beer...just to name a few (all of which I also have intimate knowledge of now). So we decided to extend our layover in Brussels from a couple hours to a couple days. GREAT decision by the way (my idea of course). We arrived to our hotel an hour before it opened, so we sat outside until someone showed up it was a bit chilly for us, coming from 105 degree heat index to about a 45 degree heat index. We checked in and I ate about 5 pounds of waffles and maple syrup that was out waiting for guests that were yet to stir. HOLY CRAP they are good too, there must be at least 5 types of waffles, and endless toppings. There are big soft ones like giant swollen Eggos, slightly smaller soft ones covered in hard sugar that tasted just like a doughnut, little thin crispy ones, and so on. So after my attempt at instant diabetes and heart attack we went for a walkabout with Thor around old town Brussels on a self guided tour. We found the largest antique flea market I have ever been to, I seriously could have spent the rest of the day in that one square. We tried beers from all of the country and even some small craft beers from the city itself. Once the sugar high wore off, the beer buzz began, once that wore off we realized we had been up and traveling for about 28 hours and it hit like a sledge hammer. Once in the room we were comatose. The next day was more exploring, more waffles and definitely more beer. We took a 4 hour walking beer tour of the city which was pretty good, it included a couple hole in the wall pubs and a 500 year old brewery where the Lambic was born. Lambic is a very interesting beer, its only brewed in the winter and its fermented naturally by wild yeasts in a large open tub in the dusty attic of the brewery. Each year its slightly different because there is no controlling the yeast strains that contaminate the brew. Its bitter and tangy and meant to drink at cool room temperature. That pretty much concluded our visit to Brussels, honestly 2 days was probably enough unless you are studying the architecture of 17th century Gothic cathedrals.  Now off to to Uganda.

Witch Doctor

A few weeks back Nikki and I went up country to her new Peace Corps training village with a large number of her staff. The goal was to assist in cleaning up the large compound and clear out a bunch of old brush and trees. We had been working on the back of the compound for a couple hours when a large commotion broke out, it sent the local guys fleeing in all directions which meant that I was drawn to the area they were fleeing from. It only took a minute to see what they found. It was barely visible and extremely camouflaged in the area myself and a hand full of others had been just a minute before. We could only see about a 4 inch length of its huge back as it slithered between two shrubs. After the guys cleared out the shrubs with their 8 foot long garden rakes we could see its entire body. Nearly 4 feet long but as thick as my upper arm was the infamous Puff Adder one of the most deadly snakes on earth. It was coiled and ready for battle, the head was as large as a man's hand laid out flat and she held it just off the ground taking us all in. I pleaded with the guys to just scoop it up with their huge rakes and toss her over the compound wall leaving her alive. They informed me that this was not an option and it had to be killed, 3 of them took long tree branches and beat it on the head till they were sure it was dead. I hated to see this happen but I guess it was necessary as people are going to be living and working there for years to come. So in my typical fashion of not wasting anything I collected the body (which probably weighed close to 25lbs) we cut the head off and buried it. What happened next shocked pretty much everyone there, except Nikki of course who probably saw it coming. I held an impromptu clinic on how to skin a snake, most of those watching were fascinated yet scared as hell. They asked how I know how to do this because the only people who have these skills are witch doctors and traditional healers. I didn't really know how to respond other than to say other than back home its not uncommon to know how to do this.. After successfully extracting the meat from the skin we tried to convince the women who were in the adjacent building cooking lunch to grill it up, the sight of the 4 foot long tube of white flesh sent all of them screaming and running out of the house. I had now way to keep it cold for the next 8 hours in 100 degree temps so we tossed it to the Vultures and I took the skin home to cure and preserve it.

Escape to Barcelona

In October we decided we needed an escape to reset and recharge. So we took advantage of a direct flight to Barcelona for a week. I had been to Madrid quite some time ago and I wasn't entirely impressed with anything other than the very disturbing bull fight. Barcelona is a different story, we started off with a fantastic (albeit expensive) Tapas lunch near one of the main Plazas. We were immediately taken by surprise at the amazing Catalonia cuisine. We found a small apartment to rent for the week in a great part of town, tiny little alleys with tiny little apartment style flats stacked on top of each other. Laundry hanging from lines outside of windows, you could be on t
he 6th floor and your balcony is only 10 feet away from the neighbouring balcony on the opposite side of the road. The smell of human excrement intermingles with the delectable smells of bakeries, cafes and tapas bars. Nearly every morning began with a run around the city followed by a cured ham sandwich and fresh coffee, believe me coming from The Gambia this was AWESOME. We did all the tourist stuff; double decker buses around town, the harbour, the markets, Gaudi architecture (the Sagrada Familia church is otherworldly) I don't know how Guadi got inspiration a century before Tim Burton and Disney but it worked. Right around the corner from our Apartment we found a tiny little bar that served only craft beers..obviously we became loyal customers the entire week. One of the best things to do in the evening is Tapas bar hop for dinner, Tapas are essentially a small single serving of some type of local fare, they are all fantastic. Go from bar to bar trying local wines, beers and tapas all night. Bodegas are another amazing thing that I really wish the U.S. would adopt, simply a small alcove of a cafe but the walls are lined with casks of wine and Cava (a local type of champagne) all of this is plumbed through tubing to the main counter where it is on tap and you can get a glass for 1 euro. I must attest that Spanish wine can compete with any other that I have tried around the world. One morning we decided we wanted to rent a Vespa (tiny scooter) to cruise around and see some more sights. We ended up getting it for 2 days, one of which we drove all the way out to Montserrat which is a couple hours (by vespa) out of town, then up a pretty large mountain. I was pretty please to see that the only other 2 wheeler that ventured the trip was a Harley Davidson. Montserrat is a stunning mountain with unbelievable views from the top where we had our lunch of ham sandwiches, fresh olives and wine. It is also the site of a really old Benedictine Abby...I have no idea how old. Then back down the mountain and cruise our little 90cc hog back to Barcelona, the scooter rental guy said that most tourists aren't brave enough (or dumb enough) to do the trip on a scooter so we took it as a challenge and it was great. We took a local cooking class, saw a flamenco performance and even found a couple local breweries while walking around town which is a prerequisite for us.

In Search of Topography

The Gambia is a very flat wholly uninteresting landscape aside from the lazy beaches. So Nikki and I and 6 others decided to embark on a journey to find topography, destination; Kedouguo, Senegal.

Day 1: A relatively uneventful late afternoon Journey from Banjul to Basse which took about 5 ½ hours and took us from pretty much the entire length of the country west to east. As expected this would be our last running water, plumbing and electricity for the remainder of the trip.

Day 2: A relatively early start as we anticipated a long drive and the usual hassle at the Senegal border and customs, a non-event as we drove right over the dusty border without seeing a soul anywhere. (So glad we spent $65 each and 3 frustrating days acquiring the mandatory Visa). We drove along the border of the very large Niokolo-Koba National park which is reputed to have all kind of wildlife from Lions to Elephants and Giraffes. We saw some birds, monkeys and warthogs. Later that day after driving along some very rough roads we reached our destination and set out on a short hike to one of the most popular water falls; Dindefelo Falls. It was a very nice hike to a beautiful spot...ahhhh topography at last. That night was in a mud hut with thatch roof, bamboo bed, pit latrines, bucket bath and dinner by candlelight at a little camp that cost us a total of about $5 each.

Day 3: We took a guided hike to the top of the nearest mountain plateau where the top of the falls, some caves and a village are located. We get to the caves and my primal urge to explore off the beaten path kicks in (life lesson here). The mouth of the cave is actually a large hole that drops down to the floor of the cave about 2 meters below, I jump down and swing my flashlight around in the dark and am stabbed in the chest by something very sharp. I couldn’t figure out what I ran into as the room was pretty open and clear. Then I was stabbed in the side of my head this time I heard the perpetrator and shined my light up to find the whole roof of the cave covered in hornet’s nest all of which were now moving. I immediately yelled for assistance to get me out of this hole as the urgency of escape from an angry swarm was overtaking my ability to focus on climbing out. Some helping hand heaved me out relatively unscathed other than a couple large red burning welts where I was stung. We continued our hike and exploration and returned back to the quiet little village which was now bustling with people for the weekly market. Some quick local fare then back on the road. We headed back into Niokolo Park hoping to see some animals. The map indicated a relatively easy drive that shouldn’t take more than a couple hours on well-developed roads to our destination. 7 hours later after some very intense white knuckle driving over some of the worst 2 track trails I have ever been on we were stopped short of our destination and forced by the 5 local park patrol guys to remain at the outpost station and pitch our tents. We shared our road food with them and they shared there giant bowl of beans with us and we all enjoyed the campfire and whatever conversation either of us could glean from the other (they spoke primarily French and other tribal languages). At one point the senior man leaned over and said “if you have beer we would like it” (Predominantly Muslim country I should have been surprised but I wasn’t) I replied “No beer, but I have Whiskey” the smile broadened on his face. So I sat and drank whiskey with a band of outpost rangers in the middle of BFE Senegal while they told us of the Lions and Hyenas they had seen recently. We turned in late that night zipping up our thin nylon tents thinking they would be taking turns on watch through the night. One by one each one closed and locked themselves inside their concrete bunkhouse room with solid steel doors and we realized we were on our own.  Beginning about 2am large Baboon troops began parading through the camp not far from our tents, barking, growling, grunting and screaming. It was very unnerving being so exposed to something that can be so violent and aggressive, it lasted most of the night to we were a bit tired once the sun finally rose.

Day 4: We were now ready to head home. We decided to take the most direct route out of the park which was a 2-3 hour trail through the park back to the main highway. This was again a very difficult drive as much of it was over expanses of barren volcanic rock and through thick grass and tree saplings that were 10-15 feet tall all around and on the unmarked road (or lack thereof) by this point one of our vehicles is running dangerously low on fuel so urgency is a concern. We crest a small hill that dips sharply into a river valley and we find ourselves at the bank of a healthy flowing river that is not on any of our maps, we can see the road continue on the other bank up and out of the valley to the highway which is only a mile or so on the other side. There is no sign of a bridge and our searching for it on foot up the river bank resulted in locating a large Hippo we cautiously watched it for a few minutes keeping an eye out for snakes and crocs which are very common before deciding to face the music and figure out our predicament. We are now more than 2 hours from our initial starting point for the day which by another route is 4 hours from a developed road, 12 hours from home and one vehicle is on 1/8^th of a tank of fuel. Surprisingly enough nobody panicked, UNTIL the vehicle got stuck buried to the frame in the soft sand. Now we realized we may not be making it home that night. So we began digging then laying down branches, an hour or so later we are back on hard earth and backtracking to our previous camp and the alternate route out of the park. We finally make it out of the park early afternoon exhausted and running on fumes barely making it to the welcome sight of a fuel station. Back across the dusty uninhabited border into The Gambia and prepared for the final 6 hours home.

                                                                  Dindefelo Falls

            Where the road ends at a sizeable river. Road continues directly across from the truck

                          One of the roads that went for hours, we could barely find the track.

These women just came down from the mountain in the background to sell produce.

 

Final Tally: 3 ½ days, 1000 miles of dusty rough African roads, 34 hours driving time, 6 adults and a trooper of a 4 year old all exhausted but exhilarated.

Updates on the Flock

We got our ducks back in December with the hopes of having little ducklings. It only took 6 months for them to get busy and we had about 11 big healthy duck eggs. I candled about 5 to see if they were fertile and luckily all 5 were, so we crossed our fingers and waited. The best part is the sitting duties were shared with the chickens, in fact when mother duck (Vixen) came out of the coop both hens were immediately in the coop on the eggs untill she returned, one of the hens actually never left the eggs and noticeably lost weight during the incubation. 3 week later 7 ducklins emerged each one fuzzy yellow and black and smaller than a tennis ball. A week later only 2 remained as the other 5 dissapeared, either taken away by winged predators or cats. So we scooped up the last 2 and took them inside, they now live in a big tupperware in our office during the day, they get a long soak in the tub every evening then come out to play with Thor untill bed time. Thor will follow them around with great interest sometime it looks like great appetite, but he is generally very gently just inquisitive. He gives a lick every once in a while, and they return the favor with a little peck at his tail to see if its edible. We dont trust Moose with them however as he regularly slaughters small birds and geckoes for fun. A couple more weeks and they can go back outside with the rest of The Flock.

More Golf

This may be boring to some but it has always been a passion of mine and almost an obsession since being here, especially since most of my other hobbies are not possible. Back on December 2nd I made my first Ace (hole in one) its a fairly difficult 152 yard par 3 accross water to a raised brown that you cant see from the tee. I hit a nice 8 iron fade that hit the front and rolled into the cup. As I mentioned you cant see the brown from the tee, we only knew it went in because all 4 caddies and the sweeper were jumping up and down waving thier arms screaming "Hole in one!, Hole in one!, Hole in one!"

Over the next few months my game really started to come together I have won a half dozen tournaments. I can now drive the brown on most of the Par 4 holes, however the Par 3s still elude me more often than not. This has resulted in 2 Eagles (2 under par) in two months, one Par 4 and one Par 5 and earned me the title of  the longest hitter the course has ever seen. I am averaging between 270 and 330 yards with a bit of consistancy.

Last month I wanted to set a personal and a course golf record for most holes played in a day. With the help of my caddie Ebrima and sweeper Modou we played 54 holes in 8 hours. That is 3 full rounds of 18 holes, walking. It was a bit warm with a heat index in the triple digits, a great day though. Ebrima and Modou were very proud and excited as they now share the course record for most holes ever played in a day.