Africa's Aorta

The top photo is of Gandhi's shrine near the River Nile. The middle photo is of the River Nile taken from my hotel room, right as the sun was setting. The bottom picture is of me eating a fried tilapia on the bank of the Nile.

Last night, about 10 PM, I returned from Uganda. I spent four amazing days there. We traveled only to the city of Jinja, and it was well worth the eight hours that we spent in the van to get there. In Jinja, the biggest attraction is the Nile River. The source of the Nile River is located in there. It flows north out of Lake Victoria and ends 4,000 plus miles away in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the world's longest river, but what struck me as so amazing is that this is the same river that the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt quenched their thirst with every day. So to see this river was amazing and hardily believable.

On Friday we went on a boat trip to the "Source of the Nile." There we saw where the water goes from being Lake Victoria to the Nile. We also saw and climbed atop the point where they measure the flow of water from the beginning of the Nile to the end of the river in Egypt. It takes roughly three months for the water to flow the entire length of the river. Near the Source of the Nile, we ate food, then went to a shrine that commemorates the spreading of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes. Apparently, when he died he was cremated and his ashes were sent to different locations all over the world - the Nile River was one of these locations. There I also saw the "Tree of Life." It is a lone tree located in the middle of the Nile on top of a small island. They call it the tree of life because they say the Nile supports much of Africa's life. In a sense it is the Aorta of Africa, always pumping life through this continent. After taking the tour of the Nile, some of the other volunteers and I went to the Nile View Casino in downtown Jinja. There I lost a bit of money, but also had a blast and with the exchange rate in Uganda being $1 = over 2000 Ugandan Shillings, I didn't lose much at all.

The next day, which was the 4th of July, I went white-water rafting down the Nile River. My next post will be solely dedicated to this feat.

My last day in Uganda I spent packing and preparing to come back here to Kenya. Before I left, I spent the morning swimming in the Nile River, with fisherman watching me. I'm sure they were thinking, "What is this white guy doing? This river is gross." However, it was not that terrible and I now can say I've swam in the world's largest river.

It was a great trip to Uganda and I'm sad that I only got to spend four days there. I would have loved to of spent more. It is a very beautiful country. The vegetation is lush and the landscape looks more like S. American than Africa. Here in Kenya it is always dusty and dry, but there it was nearly the complete opposite. Some day I hope to return and not only raft the Nile again, but also go to Northern Uganda and see the mountain gorillas that live there.

Take care.

Jordan