Visiting America

Danny and I have been in the US since May 6th visiting my family. Both of us were missing the change of seasons and experiencing spring has been enjoyable although it has been much cooler than normal. I haven't been to Michigan in springtime in 18 years and had forgotten how pleasant it is with flowers and trees blooming.

My youngest son got married over the weekend and it was a lovely, small wedding. My only grandchild, an adorable girl, is growing up much too fast. She will be 3 years old in less than 2 months.

We have quickly become used to modern conveniences again like a washer and dryer, hot showers, clean water out of taps and drinking fountains, easy access to shops which contain anything one could possibly want, etc. Wondering how it feel to readjust after 3+ weeks.

Lake Mburo revisited

Last weekend we made another trip to Lake Mburo. One of the departing volunteers, Nikki, had never been there so we booked another visit. We were joined by another volunteer, Hilary.

There were a couple of events different from our first visit which is why I am posting about a trip to a park we have already visited.

While having pre-dinner refreshment one evening, two hippos wandered around the grounds next to the lakeside restaurant. It is unusual for hippos to come out of the water when the sun is still shining. A ranger was called as hippos pose a potential life-threatening danger to visitors. He informed us that the multitude of scratches over one of the hippos indicated that it had been in a serious fight. It left the lake because the wounds were not as painful whilst out of the water. We do not know why the other hippo had accompanied it. The hippos then went back into the water and the injured one was going to die.

As we walked past the warthogs which always frequent the grounds around the restaurant, one of our party got a bit too close while taking photographs. One warthog showed it was very annoyed by this and scared us all quite a bit. Warthogs, when they feel threatened, can also cause serious injury or death.

Monkeys ran around the restaurant during a couple of our meals which we found quite entertaining.

On our way out of the park at the end of the visit we decided to take one of the roads to a different park exit. This was not a main road but one of the well-maintained tracks. We evidently took a wrong turn somewhere and found ourselves on a muddy off-road track; the type the rangers take you on for a game drive. We only had the sun to tell us what direction we were going in. Danny's driving skills and the 4 wheel drive on our vehicle saved us from getting stuck on unmaintained tracks. At one point we passed a large herd of water buffalo in a pond. We had stopped the car to figure out which way to go and the buffalo began watching us, then walking towards us. It appeared to be all females except the leader; a huge bull. The bull began chasing the car and we sped away! Yikes!

We have been in Kampala the last few days to prepare for a flight to the US on Sunday to visit with my family, attend a memorial service for my dad, and to celebrate at my son's wedding.