Sitting, waiting, wishing, reflecting.
We looked back at our mosque photos on the bus this morning and that first day in Kampala feels both a lifetime ago and also strangely like no time at all.
Today has been a day of reflections and contemplations about everything that we have done, seen and been part of over the last 11 days.
Thinking about what we have loved the most; what we found most difficult; what tested our patience most (the visa line and the many, many national anthems of Nyakatukura seemed to win that vote).
The river safaris and the elephants in the garden seemed to win out the best moments vote. For me, it is the real life Geography of the slums and the waterfall visit that win out.
The waterfall was stopped at on our way out of the national park. We were able to get right to the top of the mighty Murchison Falls and as the spray rained down upon us and the mist of the falls dominated our views, the majesty of the most powerful waterfall in the world is within touching distance.
Our guide, Daniel,talked of the floods in 1962 and 2020 where new routes were carved into rhe rock over which the current waterfall now flows. He talked about Churchill's bridge that was made at this site as Churchill coined the term the Pearl of Africa. It was in 1962 that the level of the Nile was raised by 7 feet and the floods washed away Churchill's Bridge on exactly the same year that Uganda gained its independence from Britain. That is why the new smaller waterfall created by those floods is named 'freedom' in Swahili.
Finally Daniel talked about all the reasons that Uganda is the pearl of Africa. The friendliness, the food, the equator, the jungle, the savannah, the lush greenery, the largest number of primates anywhere in the world, the largest number of giraffes anywhere in the world, the source of the Nile at Jinja and the most powerful waterfall in the world. As he listed all the reasons, we silently ticked off everyone in our mind's eye. We could think about having experienced every element of the pearl, we had seen it, we had experienced it, we had lived it. From posh to posho, from majestic to millet, from Masoke to Matoke we have been there, done it and bought the tourist T shirt.
Our final hotel, just like everything in Uganda, was not quiet as straightforward as expected. As we turned into the lovely Nican resort, they were setting up for what looked like a huge concert. There were hundreds of speakers and seats being placed on the grass. But, after our 7 hour drive back from the waterfall and safari, all we cared about was getting to our rooms and getting in the pool.
After a swim and a read by the pool, we got dressed for our evening meal and we all headed towards the roof terrace bar for our final dinner of the trip.
The music going on next to the roof terrace was a distraction to start with but we soon turned it into a reason to have a bit of a rooftop disco. We all got up and danced away until our food arrived (being Uganda, the food arrival was about two hours after ordering) and again showed that we can turn a potential problem into a silver lining.
As we went back to the hotel, we all gathered in the foyer and we sat around for a session of Trip Top Trumps. Charlie C, Jamie and Tom has compiled a definitive rating for each trio member. They then stood to describe everyone; featuring a breakdown of the person and then a rating system with categories that included: stomach strength, chat ability, fame level at Nyakatukura and a level based on their donkey donut scores. It was light hearted it was funny and it was a brilliant way to start to bring this incredible trip to a close.
The reason that this entry is called 'sitting, waiting, wishing, reflecting' is that Jack Johnson has been mentioned many times on this trip and also because as we went to bed that night we were sat, wishing, waiting and wishing that the concert would soon end. Many used their Qatar Airways earplugs, some used headphones and genuinely several used a Jack Johnson Playlist to help them get to sleep in their comfortably air conditioned rooms.
Thankfully the next morning breakfast was great. American pancakes, fruits sausages and syrup along with chicken wings and potatoes (there is always a random choice every meal time).
We ate up and boarded out favourite Ugandan lady (Rosa). She has been put through a lot by us this trip, with roads through slums, along bumpy and sandy side tracks and all around a safari. Plus, she was now starting to smell like a Brook Court boys' bedroom if they had not put their trainers in the boot room. Thankfully very little fabreez has been needed as I think we have all gone nose blind.
Rosa drove us into Kampala for the last time and typically for Kampala the 5 miles journey took 90 minutes. A Monday morning in Kampala seems extra filled with boda bodas all bustling for business along the thin, dust lined roads that fill the city.
A quick meal stop on the way to the airport at a restaurant that overlooks lake Victoria allowed us to say a big thank you to Moses and Alex Musoke. These two have been absolute legends during our trip. Moses' driving is like a Ugandan Lewis Hamilton (not fast any more but hugely skillfull) and Alex has been our saviour on more than one ocassion. Alex has a heart of gold and genuinely cares for the people that he is looking after. If we had to venture to an ATM to change money (teachers, not pupils), Alex would always stay nearby to make sure that everyone was safe. When we needed to barter costs for the boat at Jinja, Alex was there to sort it. When we got on the boat at Murchison, the pupils all cheered Alex's name and it was clear that he was and will always be the most popular tour guide in the whole of Uganda. The card, gift and tip that the pupils presented to Alex and Moses at the restaurant genuinely made Alex emotional and it was really touching to see how he has reacted to our brilliant pupils in Team Uganda.
The thank you cards from the pupils actually brought a tear to my eye. They were heartfelt and will be kept in the 'important thank you card' section of my desk drawer.
The cards also came with Niamh's cartoon decorations on the enevelope that summed up our catchphrases and funny terms from the trip like 'It's Jam', 'have you pooed yet?' And 'I love dik diks'. Like all funny jokes, you had to be there to understand them but as readers of the blog, it feels like you have been along with us every step of the way.
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