Friday, June 24, 2011

once upon a time in london

Hi Folks. Just got back from two days at Sipi falls in Eastern Uganda. Pictures coming soon! In the meantime, let's backtrack. I've been meaning to post some photos from my fun four days in London in June. Hilights included an afterhours tour of the Tate Britain, birthday dinner with my sisters, Aunt Mary, and Uncle Nick, a hilarious stand-up/dance show, and catching up with my great friend Alex Henson. Lowlight: accidently sending a pigeon to its death at Borough Market. The details are too painful to mention here. Ask me about it. Actually, don't.

Out late @ Tate.

VIP access, nbd.

An afternoon cocktail at Mary and Nick's.

Herring soufflé. Aunt Mary takes "every day gourmet" to the next level.

Neil's Yard Cheese Shop. Heaven on earth.

Funky Friendly Society Bar, Soho, London.

Fancy drinks w/ Alex and Stephanie

High-energy birthday celebration.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

cultural safari

Thanks to my friend Chi, who works for the Uganda Community Tourism Association, I got a great deal on a "Cultural Safari" two weekends ago. What is a "Cultural Safari", you may ask. Well, in addition to seeing some amazing animals (see previous post), we met a number of locals who are working to develop sustainable tourism projects, and explored the different crafts and traditions of the region. I and my six companions did a (half-priced @ $192) "trail run" of the trip, and gave feedback to the different activity leaders, guides, and performers that we met over the course of the four-day weekend. The fact that we were providing valuable feedback saved the trip from feeling super cheesy. We spent a night at an amazing little camp in Rubona, a village nestled in the Rwenzori mountains, and two nights at a rustic lodge near the entrance to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Beatrice learns how to make beeswax candles at the BCC Bee Colony in Rubona



Tanya learns how to dye basket-weaving raffia using flowers and and roots.


As we walked to the trailhead for a hike in the Rwenzori Mountains, we passed a number of men traveling in large pack and wielding machetes and other weapons. We asked one of them what was going on, and found out that a wild animal had been attacking and killing goats all over the village. The man didn't know the English word for the predator and when we guessed "hyena," he said that it sounded right. They were on a mission to find and kill the hyena.

Four hours later, on our walk back to our camp post-hike, we noticed a huge group gathered in a field. Had they captured or killed the predator? We approached to find out. We were shocked to discover, in the middle of their cluster, a small, dead... dog! Apparently jungle dogs will latch onto the udders of goats and bring them down. Yikes.


Salt lake mining.

Quick stop at the equator.

On the way back to town we swung by safari adventurer
Beatrice's childhood home and met her super cool mom.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

nature

Last weekend I saw a ton of animals.

from roadside baboons....

...to salt lake flamingoes....

...to (female) lions...

....to friendly chameleons.

(this is the same chameleon 30 seconds later!!)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

just another day at lugogo mall


It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but these storks are at least 3 feet tall. One could totally physically dominate me if I got between it and its garbage/food.

Apologies for the dearth of posts. The internet here is uber slow- pictures take hours to upload if I'm lucky. Just got back from an amazing four-day "cultural safari" that included hiking, basket weaving, candle making, jewelry making, and a land and water safari. I REALLY hope to be able to share some pictures in the next few days!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

hi uganda

I arrived in Kampala, Uganda late last night. I'll be spending the next 5 weeks here working for Educate!, a non-profit started by an Amherst friend. Stay tuned for updates as well as photos from my five days in London!