Uganda and the Mountains of the Moon

Now we are in Uganda. Rolling green hills and lush forests, coffee and tee plantations and villages with friendly inhabitants who always ask 'how are you?'
We made it to Kasese cycling over the Equator and through the Queen Elisabeth National Park, where we saw elefants and gazelles and a buffalo!!!
From Kasese we went on an 8 day hiking trip in the Rwenzori Mountains, also called the "Mountains of the Moon". The manager of the company told us proudly that we are going on a "new route" and that we will be camping wild on this trail. And so it was we were the first tourists and the first white people on this new route up to Mount Stanley. In the morning we still had to find wellys that fit us and that we are using for most of the hike, because the Rwenzori Mountains, known for their wet weather are very muddy. We also borrowed hiking boots for the day we will walk on the glacier with crampons underneath the boots and iceaxes in our hands.

Then when we finally got the boots and wellys sorted, we got in the car driving on the worst road I have ever been on (sitting in the car I felt like on a rodeo horse jumping in all directions) – we got to the starting point of our walk eventually and here we met our crew - much bigger than we expected with many porters and guides and 2 cooks and we were the only tourists. Some of the guides were brought along as a work experience.

The village where we started our walk was very excited to see us Mzungus and also to see our group starting off into the mountains. The first day was a steady climb from 1600m to 2700m.

It felt easy though, I think the cycling did my fitness well. When we arrived at our camping spot in the middle of a forest, the tents were already set up, the porters and cooks waiting for us and within minutes we got a cup of hot tea (or coffee) and little chairs that the porters carried with them for us. We felt like queen and kings. The night I didn’t sleep so much but mainly because it was all so exciting and the first night sleeping in a tent I never sleep so well…but I enjoyed listening to nothing but the trees in the wind...i enjoyed the silence…even though I had so much time to think on the bicycle, it is yet different when you are in the middle of nowhere and in the depth of forest and mountains with nothing to worry about.

The next day we had an amazing breakfast with porridge, omelette and bread and even sausages for the boys and off we headed further up…now there was not so much of a path. One of the guides walked in the front clearing the path with his machete and using a shovel to make steps in the otherwise slippy steep ground. The landscape changed from the farmland hills and a bit of forest in the first day to jungle like forest, bamboo forest and some views of the forest covered mountains. We saw the “everlasting flower”, a flower that lives up to 10 years…it closes into a little ball when the rain comes, looking like a white shiny pearl, and opens up again for the sun. This flower, unique to this area, we see a lot more in the following days and all the way along the trek.

Our camping spot this day was in an open field covered with a silvery green moss and moss covered trees in a kind of mystic atmosphere. I slept well now. The next day was a bit tougher…the path was very steep again with many big steps to take, a lot of the time we had to pull ourselves up on a tree or one of the guides would give us a hand or we would climb up on all fours. We got up over 3500m today, not sure how high but we all felt the altitude a little bit in the last bit of the days hike, feeling a slight headache and once we got to our tents we all went in for a nap before we had our dinner. That night it was cold. We were joining the crew at the fire to warm up a little.

The next day was similar, the landscape getting more and more mystic and the forest thick covered with moss. In our next camping spot we made our own fire, though as soon as we started the porters came to help us and brought us more and more wood…we were warm by the fire and could dry our socks. The night in the tent was cold again though, the ground frosty at night and in the morning. The day after we walked through more forest and moorland with views of rocky peaks and ridges. In our next camping spot we said goodbye to some of the crew, a few guides were going off to explore some different peaks in that area. We continued with Dennis and Johnny and some porters and the cooks. We stopped early this day because our porters that were supposed to join us here with the equipment for the glacier (boots, crampons, ice axes) were late. We spent the afternoon lying in the sun, it was actually quite warm during the day with the sun out and reading, talking and drinking tea.

We slept a little lower at 3400m, which allowed us to acclimatize a bit. This night we were joining the crew at the fire again, talking and joking – it is Christmas eve!!! I have a little sip of the sherry we brought and I feel warmer immediately.

The next day was tough, for me it was the toughest day…and it’s Christmas day.

We hike from 3400m up to 4900m. We are now on a path, which is part of the old path, but we are still walking through mud most of the time which is very exhausting. At one part there is a long bridge over the swamp…the bridge has spaces in between the wooden pieces though, so if you don’t watch your feet you could fall in between the spaces, so you have to look down constantly and we all got dizzy from that after a while.

I didn’t feel so good this day. I woke up with a cold, because the zip of the sleeping bag broke and I was freezing cold at night and the height gain did not make it easier. I felt sick going up and also had diarrhea with stomach cramps. I didn’t know whether this was generally being sick from my cold or the altitude sickness and if the digestive problems were from the river water that we were all drinking or from being sick…looking back now I think it was a combination of all. One of the guides offered me to go back down with the cooks and wait at the camp where we stayed the last night but even though I felt like shit I didn’t want to turn around. I wanted to get at least to the next camp and I would see then about the peak. So we went on, slowly, slowly with many breaks. I didn’t think of anything but the next step, the next breath. Then we were suddenly there at the Irene Lakes. A small lake, more the size of a pond reflecting the shapes of the rocky ridges and the clouds of the sky. Arriving here I was astonished. All my feeling of sickness were forgotten…the view from here was amazing…black rocky mountains all around us and even the glacier we could see from here. The clouds were flying around us. We made a fire with little bits of wood some of the porters had brought up or could still find around here.

After a moment resting by the fire I realised I actually felt quite well now. Only after dinner, even though I ate very little and only rice and vegetables, my belly was yet revolting again but I was optimistic now that I would make it to the top the next day. The 26^th of December we got up at 4am and left at 5am in the dark with head torches, wearing hiking boots now, scrambling up rocks in the dark for 2 hours until we got to the glacier. I was feeling fine in the beginning until we got to the glacier. A sudden tiredness and sick feeling and slight headache came over me but an ibuprofen with some water and a moment of rest did me well. The sun came up by now, we put on our crampons, got secured with harnesses and ropes and got onto the ice…in the beginning it was a bit scary walking on the ice because you don’t know how much you can trust the crampons under your boots. The view was amazing though…the ice, covered with snow was shining so white that you could not look at it without sunglasses, the sky was blue, the peaks black and white from snow reaching out of the glacier.

We walked across the glacier to a point where we had to climb up a small rocky wall which was difficult with the crampons still on the feet but there was a rope to hold on to and we were still secured with our harness and rope by the guides.

We then took off the harness and crampons and scrambled the last bit to the top of Margharita. 5109m!!! Looking down from here was scarily high – you see clouds and the open sky reaching as far as you can see, rocks and mountains below you – we are on the highest peak in Uganda and the Congo (we crossed the border to the Congo here walking a few steps to one side of the peak – so technically we were in the Congo!).

I felt good having made it up here and relieved as well. I knew though that this was not the end of the day. Going down would be tough as well and I would say it was actually more difficult than coming up. Going downhill on the glacier was difficult because you could easily slip or stumble when the crampons do not grip in the ice properly. I had to stamp as much as I could so they would grip. I once got the crampon of my right foot stuck in the trousers of my left foot making me fall over but I just landed on my bum and wasn’t hurt. Dylan fell and slipped for a few meters though and this could have ended badly if our guide Dennis wasn’t there to catch him with the rope. So we all got down safely back to where we stayed the last night and had a good one and a half hour rest. Our tent was still up, so we lied down and the cooks brought our lunch to the tent. I couldn't eat much in the morning but now back at the camp I was actually hungry and enjoyed the porridge, pancakes and bananas and tea.

We could have easily stayed here another night but our plan was to get down from here in 2 days so we had to keep going. It was another 5 hours going down to the camp at 3400m where we stayed the night. We made it there just before it got dark and just before it started raining. Luckily everything was already set up for us and we could have our dinner in the little Ranger’s hut that was there. The last day going down our legs and feet were hurting and I was quite tired, my cold picked up with me again but other than that I felt good and the scenery was beautiful. Most of the way the path was quite well maintained and quite like an actual path, we met other tourists and other Mzungus, which was strange after so long seeing nobody but us and our little crew of guides, porters and cooks …they were just about to start their hike up Mount Stanley along the old route. They were mostly German or Swiss. One of them did fall through a wooden bridge that obviously was in need of some maintenance and that happening on his first day, his foot wasn’t so well after that. We met him the next day back in Kasese, he had to turn around on his first day.

At the end of our trek Paul, the manager, who we talked to in Kasese, was there waiting for us as well as the porters and cooks, clapping on our arrival. We walked down to the garden of a lodge where the car was parked. Here was the rest of the crew that separated from us after the first 5 days, the other 3 guides Laurice, John and Robert, who came up here in their normal clothes just to congratulate us and say goodbye. It was really nice seeing everyone here coming together and I was a bit sad to say goodbye to them, especially Dennis and Johnny who were with us all the time and guided us all the way to the top and back down.

Back in Kasese we needed a few days rest (and a shower!!! And washing our clothes that were covered in mud and dirt and sweat)…I enjoyed to sleep without feeling cold (rather hot) in a comfortable bed until midday the next day. We spent a few days here doing nothing but reading, sleeping, thinking and planning and writing. And when we were just ready to leave, the hotel manager John, who became a good friend by now, convinced us to stay another day and celebrate new years with him going clubbing in Kasese. And then off course after a long night dancing and drinking on new years we didn't really want to get up in the morning and back on the bike...so another day here in Kasese relaxing, maybe we all needed the long break.

Rwanda

Rwanda

The last days in Tanzania we have been facing our first tough and steep hills. A constant up and down, going up sometimes as slow as 5km an hour and down as fast as 50km an hour. It was beautiful though, the views amazing!

After more than a week we arrived in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

Kigali is a big city with 1 million inhabitants, the city is quite modern and developed compared to what we saw before and prices are no longer cheap but rather normal European prices. When we came into Rwanda it was a sudden change…houses like the ones we know back from home with little gardens and fences…the locals were again excited to see “mzungus”, the children came often running after us up the hills and a few times even pushed me up. The traffic got worse though…trucks, buses and cars seem to overtake where they can even in the middle of a corner and we saw many near crash situations as well as a few crashed trucks and cars at the side of the road. There is a little sidepath for the pedestrians. The bicycles (including us) and motorbikes seem to switch between road and sidepath wherever there is space…but that does not always go so smoothly…So once when I got off the road where a car was coming full speed and another car was overtaking, I had to go for a sudden stop because the sidepath was busy with pedastrians. As a result though a local cyclist crushed into me. His bicycle fell over and the avocados (which where on the back of his bicycle in a huge bag) where rolling over the road. Everyone was laughing. The children were telling me “I am sorry” but in the same breath “Give me money”. The begging got worse in Rwanda, even though the country seems much richer.

We went to the genocide memorial in Kigali today… The stories and pictures of the genocide are horrifying and sad…a whole room in the museum was dedicated to all the children that died, being shot or even burned alive. And this happened only 20 years ago and the whole world was watching and doing nothing to help. It is unbelievable though to see how quick the country got back to its feed after such a tragedy.

Mwanza

Mwanza

Here we are in Mwanza at the Lake Victoria…the lake that we are going to cycle around for the next two months going through Rwanda, Uganda, Kenia and back into Tanzania.

Arriving in Mwanza it felt like the end to something and the beginning to something new…the first part of our trip going through the center of Tanzania, going through vast mountanius and desert like landscapes comes to an end. We come to the lake with its lush vegetation, green and greener hills, trees and forests. It was a sudden change, maybe 30km before Mwanza from the dry sandy landscape to the green landscape…the air moist…

In Mwanza we had a few days break…we met a Swedish guy called Kalle. Together we had dinner in a Pizzeria and I even had an Italian cappuccino.

The next day we went to a swimming pool and later found a bar with an amazing few over the lake Victoria. Here we watched a thunderstorm coming in, lightning over the lake. The thunderstorms seem to have become regularity, usually in the evenings.

Another day we spent on a beach at the lake Victoria a bit outside the town and then some time in the internet and making plans about our route.

After a few days rest we were ready to go for another week through Tanzania before we get to the Border to Rwanda. Leaving Mwanza we got a bit lost for the first time or lets say we probably made a huge detour on a road that wasn’t on our map. We don’t actually know, maybe it was even the right way, it was the way the locals pointed but not on our map and much longer than the road we were looking for. The road here was a dirt track, sand with some stones and holes in it…it was slow and quite exhausting going on these roads and after 30km we were so tired we stopped when we saw a really nice lodge.

The next day was then a bit tougher with 90 km and a continuum of hills, I still feel my muscles 3 days afterwards.

Today has been the first time here in Africa that I felt cold. It was nice refreshingly cool and cloudy in the morning, got sunny and warm during the day though and then a big thunderstorm came over us leaving us cycling through heavy rains for 2 hours. We were off course soaking wet…until now I never thought about taking out my rain jacket because I am usually warm and a little shower is only refreshing but today it would have been wise to take out my jacket but once the heavy rain started I was soaked within a few minutes and then I didn’t care anymore. We found a little guesthouse in a small town, its basic with only a bucket of cold water to wash with and the usual squat toilet but all I really cared about is getting dry and warm and that I did as soon as I had my room. Tonight dinner is Rice and Chicken again.

 

700km!!! We made it to Singida. 

A bigger town, a bit similar to Dodoma. Big Rocks are all around the town…they look beautiful in the sunset light in between the sandy earth, some Mango and palm trees. Here we have a rest day again. We got ice cream and chocolate!!!, which we don’t get anywhere in the small towns where we cycle through. We treated ourselves with the chocolates and a few beers and today we could sleep in and got Spanish Omelet for breakfast. We all seem to really need this rest day after the last 4 days cycling. We had a few hills here and there and had a big day of 120km (we didn’t really plan on it and in the end it was counterproductive because we were too tired to keep going the next day). This day started easy with downhill and then cycling on the flat, so we felt strong to keep going. We had a long stretch without town and we had not enough water and food for camping, so we decided to keep going to the next town (that was after we did already about 100km or more)…but then a big hill came and the midday sun was on us, it must have been one of the hottest days. I was not feeling well all of the sudden, it might have been the heat, the exercise or both together…after a bottle of cold water over my head I felt a bit better. We somehow made it to a guesthouse in the town which was not on the road, like our map said, but 3km along a side road that was just sand. The guesthouse we found then was the most basic place we stayed in. No shower or running water, a communal toilet, a bucket of water that we could use for washing ourselves. The bed was too small for Danny and me together, the mosquito net useless because of many holes, no fan and it was very hot.

On top of that we all had stomach problems and diarrhea from something we ate. Luckily we still had some toilet paper with us. After the worst nights sleep, feeling mentally and physically exhausted and sick, the next day we made it slowly to the next town which was 20km away and found a decent guesthouse with a shower and stayed there. I think at that time both me and Dylan felt so horrible we would have gladly taken the plane to fly home.

After a little sleep and a shower, resting my belly (which was in cramps all morning) I felt better though and the next day we were fresh on the bike, maybe not a 100% with a little sore muscles but the cycling now seemed easy and we stopped after 82km, feeling tired but not dead, that good feeling of tiredness after a day of activity. My stomach was fine again and the next day was only a 40km cycle into Singida, where we are now. 

It now feels kind of normal to be here in Africa, the daily routine of cycling, being the only white people, being in a hot climate in a vast landscape with small villages, markets and many children screaming excited “mzungu mzungu” waving and running after your bicycle etc…Everything that seemed so strange and new in the beginning.

Our next destination is Mwanza at the Lake Victoria…in about a week we plan to be there and stay for a few days and visit one of the islands on the lake that has elephants and giraffes.

Pictures are coming later…

We are now in Dodoma in Central Tanzania. In 4 days we cycled here from Morogoro...We had a lot of uphill (and most of it in 1 day) but then also a lot downhill the next day (on that day we did almost 100km, i think it was 98km). In total we did around 450 km in 7 days of cycling. We are slowly getting into our rhythms and routines... and yet everyday is different. The Landscape changed a lot since Morogoro...we came from the more tropical landscape, hilly, then flat and then mountainous in Morogoro into a much dryer landscape, different mountains again, vast, open, desert like, sandy, with single baobab trees standing majestically in the vastness...We saw so called "dustdevils", they look like little tornados that you find in deserts and open dry landscapes.
A few locals invited us to have a few beers and dinner with them in one of the villages we stayed in. We sat outside on a table with chicken and goats running around us. Two of the men spoke good English and the others sat around with us anyway. One of them brought his half chinese, half african daughter, who spoke a little English as well. A few Massai were there as well and we were soon in the middle of a vibrant village life. One drunk guy came to argue with people and everyone laughed at him. He seemed to be aware of the fact that he was playing the clown here though and somehow enjoyed the role. The Massai laughed the loudest. The Massai men have more than one wife each (one of them had 4 wifes), we never saw any of them though. The other locals we talked to were strong christian believers.
Now we are taking a rest day in a lodge just outside of Dodoma. It is nice and quiet here...time to write and read and recharge a little...

So, now it is time to write a little about our adventures in Africa...

We, that is Danny, Dylan and me are cycling through East Africa for 3 months. We started in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, are going through central Tanzania to the Lake Victoria. From there may go to Burundi (we are still trying to find out whether it is safe now to go), through Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya and back into Tanzania to Dar es Salaam, where we started. So we basically make a loop around Lake Victoria. 

It's been 2 weeks tomorrow since we left Ireland. A few days in Dar es Salaam and then we started our journey towards Morogoro, the first bigger town after Dar es Salaam.
Palm, Mango and Banana trees, monkeys crossing the road, small villages of mud huts....Children and many locals are waving at us and scream "mzungu" (white person), "Mambo"(hello, how are you), "Sister", "hi, how are you? I am fine". We are the only white people here and therefore quite an attraction. We haven't been camping yet, because there are small, cheap and yet clean guesthouses in almost every town. Most evenings we get "Chicken and Chips", thats what the locals eat here. Pepsi and Fanta keep us going along the road (every little village sells them) as well as Bananas, Mangos, Oranges, cakes or bread, that we buy on the markets in the villages.