murchison

The doctor said I needed a change of scenery. What better place to go than Murchison Falls national park for a weekend getaway with friends?

We went on a safari through the park. With our heads popping out the sun roof we were on the lookout for elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo, hippos, giraffe, deer, antelope, jackal, warthogs, gazelle, waterbuck, and birds...

Looks like 2 lions right? At least that's what I was hoping...

 

Nope, just those warthogs. Despite our efforts to spot lions in the grass and leopards in the trees, we didn't see any cats.

These gals were all over the place. In the background across the lake is the Democratic Republic of Congo. I have so many more photos of animals that will be put in a slideshow for viewing once we are back home and with you in person.

We went on a boat ride up the Nile towards the waterfall. Along the way the boat stuck close to the coast and so we saw so many animals, mostly hippos, crocodiles, elephants, warthogs, deer/antelope things... You see the elephant in this one?

Apparently keeping cool by keeping its mouth open wide.

Warthogs having a brawl along the water.

I love the way the clouds and shadows practically make this a natural back&white and color photo at once.

Waterfall way in the back. We went to the top of the falls the next day.

This is where the river Nile is the most narrow, making for a very powerful waterfall.

Here we are with our friends Marissa and Ben who traveled all the way from Philadelphia to visit us in Gulu!

Some years ago there was a flood and the second waterfall on the left was created. Imagine how powerful the waterfall must have been before.

sunset from the top of the falls. end to a beautiful couple of days :)

photos in the dark

On our first day in Awere we were welcomed with song and dance that went into the night.

I was able to catch some of the lightning storm happening in the distance.

 

As the evening grew dark and the moon and stars appeared people continued dancing.

I made this photo at the same time and of the same subject as the photo above. It was pitch dark but I managed to capture this image with a really long exposure and semi-steady hand.

early evening in Awere

sugarcane for sale

We sat just outside of this hut on mats and ate our sugar cane as the sun went down.

clay cameras

A camera! Two weeks ago when I was in Awere I came across these young boys creating small objects out of clay.

The clay object that is centrally located in the photo is meant to be a traditional camera with a lens and all. They even placed a small piece of glass inside the "lens". The other creations include a mortar and pestle.

malaria and e.coli

Ray flew to Geneva last week for meetings with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and I got sick with malaria and e. coli. Now if that's not a nasty combination I don't know what is. After three restless nights in the hospital with endless bags of fluid, antibiotics, and anti-malarial drugs via IV, I was rehydrated and cleared of my various uncomfortable (to say the least) symptoms. Thankfully I have a network of friends that spent the nights with me (helping me to move my IV line in and out of my mosquito net on my trips to the toilet), brought me boiled potatoes (when I couldn't stomach the thought of anything else, particularly not the smoked fish in some brown sauce that the hospital served), and managed other logistics. I have been home since last Thursday and am regaining my strength. Just three weeks left before we head to Jerusalem. Lots of research and some more fun to be had before we are off!

why no power?

Several brutal storms have passed through this week. The combination of wind, rain, hail, lightning and thunder made for quite the show but left a path of destruction in its wake. Electric poles cracked in half, fences and walls were smashed under the weight of trees or blown over in the wind, metal roofs flew off or were damaged... On my walk into work I had to step over several electric lines and duck under other low hanging ones (there is no electricity running through them). Any guesses as to when we will have light again?

An intense clap of thunder last night startled me from deep sleep and had me sitting straight up in bed. Ahmed said he saw its accompanying bolt of lightning strike our wall.

An electric pole cracked in half.

Just enough room for a car to fit under.

A leaning electric pole.

Damaged roof and trees down.

The big pile of mud is the roots of a tree that fell over in the storm.  The other side of the street (in the background of the photo) used to be lined with large, old trees. Almost everyone of them fell. 

All that is left of the fence around this building is its green gate and (at center of photo). The padlock is also still in place.

This downed power line crosses the main road into town.

muddy foot