My Uganda Memoir: Jinja! Adrenaline Capital, Here We Come!

February 13, 2017: Finally, we are off to Jinja, the Adrenaline Capital of East Africa. Jinja is also home to the Source of the Nile…

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After breakfast, we got into the buses provided by our host and left the Kampala Sheraton Hotel, weaving our way through the fabled capital city traffic as we headed towards Jinja. We had a stopover at the Mabira Forest, and soon everyone disembarked as got ready for some ziplining fun.

There was a lot of people, since all the groups were present and we certainly spent a considerable amount of time attending to everyone.

Jinja
Gearing up for our ziplining adventure…
Are you ready?…
Jinja
Jinja
Richie ‘Mr. Selfie’ Selva was more interested in selfies with the ladies…
Jinja
Up goes Ishita…
…and up I go…

I went up the tree after Ishita and I think at the third zipline, I was ahead of her. Anyway, I got to see her stuck and a rescue mission had to go get her… At the end of my zipline adventure, I got a Uganda watch. I was actually saved from something worse by my T-shirt. It’s got to be God, really.

Up and away…

I had finished the course and was on the raised platform waiting for those coming after. I was trying to take a picture as they approached, but they kept delaying. I was at the edge of the platform and the next thing I knew, I was falling, but my sleeve got caught by a twig, and that actually broke my fall. It could have been really bad. It was the guy beside me who ran down in a panic who now saw I had a bruise on my wrist. First Aid was available and I got treated.

There’s my Ugandan watch… according to Jayesh…

Anyway, by the time the last set of people got on the zipline, it started drizzling and soon enough the rain started as we started trying to find our way out of the forest. Those who had finished the zipline earlier had since left the forest – it was just a couple of us, and we got soaked. I had to take off my T-shirt and wrapped it around the camera to protect it.

The rain kept us from moving for about 30mins as we waited for those trapped on the ziplines to emerge from the forest. Eventually the rain subsided and everyone emerged. We dripped dry and got on our buses as we headed off on our way, stopping at the Rainforest Lodge to have lunch. The kind staff of the lodge attended to my wound before we left.

We arrived Jinja and checked in into the Jinja Nile Resort. We had barely freshened up and changed our clothes when we were summoned for a sunset cruise on the world’s longest river. We got into our buses and drove down to the river banks where we got into the waiting cruiser boats, before sailing off. We got to the ‘Source of the Nile’ and spotted several birds species as well as some animals along the way.

Bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the jetty…
…and we got to the source of the world’s longest river…
If you don’t know, Uganda is one of the world’s top birding destinations…
Enjoying the sunset…
Looks like the fun is all on that boat…

On the way back, I jumped ship abandoning my crew made up of Charity, Lydia, Anna, etc., to join the bigger ship which had all of my other friends; Walter, Hazel, Dency, Peterson, etc. I became friends with Johanna Read on the boat.

When we got ashore, we got on our buses and headed back to Jinja Nile Resort for dinner. At dinner, the wonderful surprise came. It has to be one of the happiest days of my life and I am very grateful to the Uganda Tourism Board UTB, Jinja Nile Resort and everyone who contributed it.

*****

ITB India

Accra Weizo 2023
Coming soon! The autobiography: “Alain St. Ange, My Journey”

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