Hello all,

Sorry for the lack of updates, but the interweb is hard to come by in the jungle in uganda. I am doing very well, and am back in Nairobi once again before heading south to Tanzania again on the way through Malawi, Zambia, Botswana to South Afirca.

We've spent the past 10 days in uganda, which is among the most beautiful places ive ever been to. i recommend it highgly. After we left Lake Bunyoni we headed to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to track endangered mountain gorillas. the drive there was highly and unfortunately eventful. our matatu/cab driver manual i am pretty sure had never driven a car, and the roads we were driving were flanked by very large drops off cliffs. it was pretty terrifying, especially when he got us stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere. fortunately in africa, the middle of nowhere means that people will emerge out of the bush to help you in exchange for money. after we miraculously freed the car for the 3rd time, and manual equally miraculously got us stuck in the exact same spot for the 3rd time, i got in an argument with a bush=emerger who i thought was saying i wasnt muddy enough and therefore wasnt doing anything. since i was absoolutely covered in mud, i argued back readily, only to realize later he was asking me for money not calling me muddy. anyways, after 2.5 hours we got out, but it was an experience.

the gorillas were truthfully one of the most amazing experiences of my life. We hiked for about an hour into the bwindi impenetrable forest and found a family of 8. we stayed with them for an hour, and they were amazing. the child gorillas just beat the shit out of eachother and the silverback, which was bigger than you could ever imagine, just slept a few metres away from us for awhile. amazing to see them tho. there are only 700 left in the world, so i recommend doing this trip sooner rather than later.

while staying at the campsite at bwindi i realized just how dangerous it can really get. i was talking to wyclef, who was not so sneakily hiding an AK 47 in his jacket as he guarded the campsite. i asked him what animals he was protecting us from and he laughed and said, "not animals, people! people come to steal you!" i said, "oooh really?" he said, "yes, i kill them for you!" i found out after i left thankfully that revels from zaire used to come into the campsites to steal tourists as hostages. anyways, wyclef got me to take a picture of us together and gave me his address to send. i have a doubt that the pciture will make it to him since his address is apparently, "wyclef, bwindi, rest camp".

after the gorillas we headed to the capital of uganda, kampala, which is a very crowded very busy city, but not with the same vibe of danger and robbery as nairobi. from there we went to a chimpanzee rehabilation island, which was much greater than i thought it would be. we watched 40 chimps or so running around, eating and well, beating the shit out of eachother. my favourite was when a baby chimp walked up to a big one and whipped a stick at its head.

after that we went back to the town of jinja. we spent half a day ATVing around and volunteered at a local school. they are right to the point with sex education in uganda. there are signs posted all over the school, my favourite being, "Do not accept gifts for sex".

After that we went whitewater rafting on the nile for a day. it was absolutely amazing, although somewhat terrifying since most of the rapids are class V. I sat in the front the whole time and we got turned over about 4 times, but very fun still. my favourite part about it are the names of the rapids, such as "Deathzone", "Overtime", "Widowmaker" and "Gnashing Jaws of Death". After all of these, we came up to one and i asked what it was called. "The Dutchman" the guide replied. "Oh, that doesnt seem as bad as the others" I replied. "It's named that because a dutchman died here."
We came up to another rapid, only a class 3 and he told us if we fell out to hold onto the boat. We asked what we should do if we let go and fell out. he said, just don't. recently someone fell out and the current held them under for 30 seconds, and when he came out was unconscious and bleeding from the ears. He told us they made him do just a half day as a result. i asked if that was because he was dead, and the guide said that ya, he tyhinks thats why.
We came up to the last rapid, simply named, "The Bad Place," a class VI. He told us we shouldnt shoot in unless we thought we could hold our breath for 45 seconds, so we chose not to. But, such a fun day.

The group i am with is pretty solid. Armin aka the Austrian Mr.Bean/Arnold Schwarzenneger continues to entertain. The other day he emerged breathless from the woods to inform us that, "he has just seen his first monkey wanking itself and then it gave itself oral sexual pleasure!!!" needless to say, he got it all on video, and needless to say, he is a very weird dude.

the traffic in africa is unbelievable, and not surprising that it is actually the biggest killer in many countries of africa i hear. there are matatus everywhere, which are basicaly minivan cabs with names. the names are hiilarious, such as "The Toronto Blue Jay," "Remember Your Mother" "Nigga Please" and "Jesus Cares". Actually driving in one is an experience. If your driver chooses to pass a car, it doesnt matter that there is oncoming traffic, the oncoming traffic just knows to swerve out of the way or drive on the dirt shoulder. in canada this would be unexpected and terrifying, here it is expected and much more terrifying.

the shirts you find in the most obscure places are also entertaining. a vancouver canucks shirt, montreal canadiens, an al macinnis calgary flames jersey and my definite favourite, a celine dion shirt.

anyways, hope all is well, muchlove dunc