Paraa Lodge and Safari

We definitely needed these last two days of down time and relaxation.  Our trip has been long and we have worked hard.  Our hearts and emotions are worn thin.  We need to decompress.  We have been busy!  Some of our group seem to have sleeping sickness, in fact, one of our members was just taken to the hospital today in Kampala. It seems he has Malaria.  He was sitting next to me on the bus, and he was freezing.  He had a fever and chills.  I gave him both Kayla and my airplane blanket, yet he was still cold.  I am glad he is getting the care he needs.  He probably contacted it in Harar last week.  It was pretty rough area over there.  Others just love relaxing in the pool.  The land here is very similiar to Hawaii.  Everything is lush and green.  The biggest difference is the ANIMALS!  We have seen a male and female lion mating, which is very rare.  We saw and got very close to a hundred elephants today as we cruised on the Nile River.  We also saw many hippos and crocodiles and baboons.

Yesterday when we arrived at the Paraa Lodge, we went for a cruise up the Nile River to Murchison Falls.  Today we went down river to the delta.  Early this morning we went on a safari in the bus and saw giraffes, lots of cob, hardebeast, dic dics, and other food for lions. We saw many cape buffalo and beautiful birds.   We saw about four lions.  It has been a good two days.  We needed it before heading back home.  We will leave in the morning for Kampala, where we have one more night then we will fly home on Tuesday night.

At a later date I will upload pictures of some of the animals that we saw, but for tonight I must be done.  I have been on the computer all night and must get up in about two hours.  No problem as I can sleep on the bus to Kampala which is about a 6 hour bumpy drive.

My time in Uganda has been amazing.  Some of the best experiences of my life have been in the last few days.  I will definitely return someday to do more.  I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had to serve here.  It is a wonderful country.    The time I have spent with my fellow Rotarians has been life changing.  I know we have made relationships that will last forever.  We have had so many laughs together.  Thank you everyone for all the friendship and love that we have shared.  Rhona