The girls are back in Town

I said goodbye to Bwindi on Friday morning and headed to Lake Bunyoni for a weekend break. The road took us through sections of the park, which were fantastic. The lake was very beautiful, despite the rain. Angela and I shared a tent the first night. It was on a raised platform with a roof, so we didn't get wet, but it sure was cold!

We met 5 medical students (this seems to be an ongoing trend) and helped them celebrate their Independence Day. The next day, we boarded canoes and headed out onto the lake. At one island, we landed and partook in the nature walk around the parimeter. I didn't partake in the rope-swing-thingy into the water though, I forgot my swimsuit (shucks!). After lunch (which took 2 1/2 hours), we paddled to Punishment Island. Legend has it that unmarried, pregnant women were taken here and abandoned as their 'punishment.' They either died to starvation, drown trying to swim to shore, or were rescued by a man who couldn't afford to pay a bride price. We considered leaving someone there, but decided against it after some serious discussion. The next island we came to had an older man, a hut and not much else. We stopped only briefly to have a picture, oogle at the gigantic grasshoppers (about 12 cm in length), and look at the flowers.

Somehow our navigator missed a turn and we ended up paddling several km out into the lake. Before sundown, we came across a man with his wife and 2 kids paddling in the other direction. We asked for directions only to be told we were really far from the hotel. He had someone call the manager from on land to tell them where we were. It was after dark by the time we paddled back to the inlet. Thankfully the hotel lights directed us once we made the correct turn. What an adventure!

The next day, we took it easy and drifted out on the lake reading our books and singing 'repeat after me songs.' Thank-goodness Ang used to be a camp counselor. We took the Uganda Post bus to Mbarara; Angela continued on to Kampala to meet her sister.

The last few days have been restless: we don't know really when Dr. Siefert will be able to come get us, if at all. Hopefully tomorrow we will be either 'picked' or we will take public transportation to Queen Elizabeth National Park. I'm excited to start our last project!

I have posted pictures of Bwindi on my Flickr website, please take a peak!
Also, dear readers, after 2 months away from home, I'm feeling a bit homesick...please feel free to leave me some comments.

As I write this in the FAOC office, I heard a thump. When I looked up, I saw a bat had flown into the window and landed on an old copy of National Geographic. I'm all alone here and pretty scared of bats...if I don't write for a while, chalk it up to a rabies bite from this vicious vampire bat who continues to watch me (and listen) from across the room. Seriously though, I'm vaccinated and I likely won't have internet in the park, so once again, my apologizes for the sparse postings.