Ashleigh's Adventure In Africa: Back to the Saddle Soon

After a few weeks in Uganda, traveling in a group of 4, we have managed to accomplish the following:

- White water rafting on the Nile, involving one incident of blood when Joya flew off the raft whilst going down a particularly litigation causing waterfall.

- One day of hiking in the Moon Mountains in west Uganda, where we sat in natural hot springs until our skin was lobster red, being observed by locals, including a man with 2 wives who refused to believe me when I said I was going to have 3 husbands (cooking, cleaning, child rearing).

- 5 total trips in an out of Kampala, each time as complicated as the next, mostly involving near misses with very bad drivers.

- Two 5+ hour bus rides, one involving some very impressive singing by Natalia and myself, to the mad beats of the Ugandan superstar Rasta Smart.

- The consumption of AT LEAST 1 pineapple a day -- a feat accomplished by our sheer will and determination to always be in possession of a pineapple...seriously, we carry them around like babies. No, they are not hard to find. (um, yesterday we ate 4)

- One 3 hour ferry journey to the Ssese islands, where we are now and have been for 2 days, visiting pineapple farms (note the obsession), walking around, renting motorcycles.

- One trip to the Equator to see a monument, and then promptly turn around and head back to Kampala.

- 10 days of group travel outside of our controlled biking environment, exposing personality flaws galore (I have none), testing patience, (falling in love... um, not me), laughing until near vomit, and taking too many photos of each other.

I deem it successful.

Tomorrow we attempt our bus trip from Kampala to Arusha via Nairobi. we have 3 days to get back (should take 1 day). Then we start to ride again, after 2 weeks of saddle-less existence. I can only imagine how it will feel to ride again, knowing that the first day is off road, the rainy season has begun and the word "mud" has been peppered through many a conversation.

On the 16th, we ride again. Think of me. It's hard to believe we are half way there. We have faced the smoggy aggression of Egypt, survived the suffocating sands of Sudan, battled the abuse of Ethiopia, managed a vacation from a vacation ... what will be next?

xoxo

ash