June 13: One week has now passed by, and I have four left to go. The time has flown by, and I feel as though I am finally settling into a daily routine.
On Saturday, Natalie, James, Ryan, Lisa, and I headed up to Lake Mburo National Park, which is a wildlife reserve an hour away from Mbarara. On our drive, we stopped at the regional cultural museum. We wanted to make the museum visit quick; however, we did not realize that the museum was a tour-guide only. Our "speedy museum visit" ended up taking an hour and a half, for the tour guide went through each and every artifact in the museum room. We did learn some interesting facts about the history in Uganda (brides are carried in a coffin-like structure to their matrimonial ceremony), but I thought that my legs were going to give out. Eventually, Lucas (the driver) rescued us from the tedious tour and told us that we were losing time. We climbed back into the van, and drove to Rwakobo Rock Lodge, where we dropped off our baggage and ate lunch.
The Rwakobo Rock Lodge is situated on top of a hill that overlooks that vast wildlife land. At lunch baboons were ten feet away from us, and around thirty cattle passed me as I walked back to my hut. My hut, which I had all to myself, was called "Python." So it must seem appropriate that when I walked back after lunch, a huge snake was situated right in front of my door. Without thinking, I screamed, and the snake quickly slithered away. I am not sure where it went. I frantically jumbled the key into the lock, and flew into my room and slammed the door. After catching my breath, I looked up at the thatched ceiling and saw five, giant lizards. I am not too scared of lizards, but I would rather not room with five of them. I also saw many bees and bugs, but I noticed a can of insect kill. To say the least, by the time I had killed most of the bees, the air in my room was probably poisonous, due to the heavy amount of insect killer I sprayed. Knowing that I could not lure the lizards and other insects out of my room, I grabbed my water bottle and went back to the main lodge.
At the main lodge, the five of us piled into a great big Land Rover safari car. Natalie, James, and I climbed on the roof, while the rest sat in the actual seats. As soon as the car began to rumble down the dirt road, my sweater and arm became tangled in a thorny tree that I had not ducked down for. We saw zebra, giant antelope, mongoose, baby warthogs (my favorite) and other animals. The car stopped at the base of a rock, and we all exited the car and climbed/rock climbed up the rock. The views from the top were stunning. Surrounding us were the sounds of wildlife and views of the green reserve. We carefully slid down the rock (I might have tripped a couple times) and stopped midway. The boys made a fire while the girls prepared drinks. We sat on the rock for a couple hours and watched the sun fade away into a starry night.
Back at the lodge, I realized that I needed to take some medicine and had to go to my tent to retrieve it. I tried to be mature and keep my cool as I headed back to my hut in the dark, but once I heard the first strange noise, I started to pick up the pace. I have never run so fast in my life. My flashlight was waving around frantically as I sprinted on the long path. I could hear hundreds of noises as I sprinted to my hut and back to the main lodge, and Lord knows what was producing those noises.
After dinner, Natalie and I were talking about the eeriness of the night, and ultimately, we decided to have a sleepover because both of us (mainly me) were too scared to sleep alone in the wilderness. Thankfully, I survived the night with only a few mosquito bights as a momento.
On Saturday, Natalie, James, Ryan, Lisa, and I headed up to Lake Mburo National Park, which is a wildlife reserve an hour away from Mbarara. On our drive, we stopped at the regional cultural museum. We wanted to make the museum visit quick; however, we did not realize that the museum was a tour-guide only. Our "speedy museum visit" ended up taking an hour and a half, for the tour guide went through each and every artifact in the museum room. We did learn some interesting facts about the history in Uganda (brides are carried in a coffin-like structure to their matrimonial ceremony), but I thought that my legs were going to give out. Eventually, Lucas (the driver) rescued us from the tedious tour and told us that we were losing time. We climbed back into the van, and drove to Rwakobo Rock Lodge, where we dropped off our baggage and ate lunch.
The Rwakobo Rock Lodge is situated on top of a hill that overlooks that vast wildlife land. At lunch baboons were ten feet away from us, and around thirty cattle passed me as I walked back to my hut. My hut, which I had all to myself, was called "Python." So it must seem appropriate that when I walked back after lunch, a huge snake was situated right in front of my door. Without thinking, I screamed, and the snake quickly slithered away. I am not sure where it went. I frantically jumbled the key into the lock, and flew into my room and slammed the door. After catching my breath, I looked up at the thatched ceiling and saw five, giant lizards. I am not too scared of lizards, but I would rather not room with five of them. I also saw many bees and bugs, but I noticed a can of insect kill. To say the least, by the time I had killed most of the bees, the air in my room was probably poisonous, due to the heavy amount of insect killer I sprayed. Knowing that I could not lure the lizards and other insects out of my room, I grabbed my water bottle and went back to the main lodge.
At the main lodge, the five of us piled into a great big Land Rover safari car. Natalie, James, and I climbed on the roof, while the rest sat in the actual seats. As soon as the car began to rumble down the dirt road, my sweater and arm became tangled in a thorny tree that I had not ducked down for. We saw zebra, giant antelope, mongoose, baby warthogs (my favorite) and other animals. The car stopped at the base of a rock, and we all exited the car and climbed/rock climbed up the rock. The views from the top were stunning. Surrounding us were the sounds of wildlife and views of the green reserve. We carefully slid down the rock (I might have tripped a couple times) and stopped midway. The boys made a fire while the girls prepared drinks. We sat on the rock for a couple hours and watched the sun fade away into a starry night.Back at the lodge, I realized that I needed to take some medicine and had to go to my tent to retrieve it. I tried to be mature and keep my cool as I headed back to my hut in the dark, but once I heard the first strange noise, I started to pick up the pace. I have never run so fast in my life. My flashlight was waving around frantically as I sprinted on the long path. I could hear hundreds of noises as I sprinted to my hut and back to the main lodge, and Lord knows what was producing those noises.
After dinner, Natalie and I were talking about the eeriness of the night, and ultimately, we decided to have a sleepover because both of us (mainly me) were too scared to sleep alone in the wilderness. Thankfully, I survived the night with only a few mosquito bights as a momento.
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