AmazingAfrica!: T +24 hours and counting!!

It is so unbelievable that our 2 weeks in Africa are almost over......we found this place to be joyous, happy, heartbreaking and oh so adventurous! I think I can speak for all of us when I say we have truly been blessed here in Uganda by the spirit of these people! We have met the most friendly, warm, happy, loving and caring folks you could ever hope to meet! And at least outwardly they show that they find joy in all their circumstances! (Yes, I may be seeing the world here through rose colored glasses.....but if you could meet them all also, you'd see what I mean! PS. Funny side note: I kept trying to write rose-colored and my iPad kept auto correcting to rosé!!)

First Adventure of the Day:

We left Gulu early Sunday morning for Murchison Falls National Park on another Ugandan highway that is made of dirt! And we all know what happens to dirt when it rains and the rains we've experienced here are NOT of the gentle variety! At the hotel in the morning we waited for Dave to return before we took off ....and again what a blessing that was! Otherwise this may have been us.....the first to test the muddy "waters" of the road to the Falls.

Luckily our fearless leader George was able to take our 4 wheel drive van(minus us!!) up and around over the drier ground and soon we were on our way again! The SUV here was either waiting for a tow by a larger vehicle than ours...or until the dry season returns!

On the road again to Adventure number 2:

Soon we found ourselves on a real road....paved and all! And before long we are at the turn for the Paraa Safari Lodge....3+ hours after we left Gulu. But the rain overnight was a little too much for the already saturated ground and here is what we find:

See the line on the bottom right marking the path of the road?? :)

Adventure number 3:

After debating for 1/2 hour to cross or not cross.....(btw, we have a saying in Las Vegas during the flash floods there: Turn around, don't drown! They don't have that saying here!!!) Here is a photo of local people fording the stream that was previously not there.....this "river" was formed totally by too much rainwater!

George decides to drive further on the main road rather than cross at this time to find some facilities...if you know what I mean! Seeing some sights he wants to photograph, George parked on the side of the road and before you could say Peter Rabbit...we are surrounded by vendors selling their food and wares. Although your heart breaks for these persistent people we know better than to purchase anything from even one of them (although Rachel did spy something she would have liked to bring back home!) We sure wish George had captured a photo of that! Once back in the van we were able to find....off the beaten track - Global Village and their hospitality with a potty and refreshment break!

Adventure number 4:

Crossing the stream! We return and note that the water is slightly less so off we go with George on the roof and a local guide driving us across the rain soaked highway. Oh how I wish I could upload my video here....what an experience! Once across we hooted and hollered as George jumped back in the drivers seat and off we went to our destination ONLY to find at least 3 more streams to cross .... with one "puddle" so deep the water literally came up over the dashboard! But again God was with us and we finally arrived at the lodge and our safari was about to begin!

It is now Monday morning here in Uganda and we are about to leave for an boat ride to the falls and then our drive back to Kampala. I will not have wifi for quite a while I think...so here are a few safari pix! Will be back to the journal soon! (sorry for typos...no time to proof!)

George is a great photographer...some of the pix you'll see today are from his camera .....