THERE IS ONLY ME (AND THE MOUNTAIN)

Only...

Only...

Po-le (Slowly)...

Po-le (Slowly)...

Yep Team, I am down from Kilimanjaro.

My legs hurt like hell. I can barely walk down steps. Strangely, going up was much easier on my muscles. They only started hurting when I came down.

So, for a soundtrack to this email. You can listen to the songs that were in my head for almost the whole trip. I had a lot of time for them there since it was only me and my awesome guide Wilson ("Wilson! Wilson!" says Tom Hanks in Castaway. I kept thinking about that the whole time).

The songs would be

"Only" by Nine Inch Nails (surprised there's a NIN song in the bunch?:)

"Getting Closer" by Nitzereb

"Be Good To Yourself" by Journey

and "Kyrie" by Mr. Mister

(yeah, the 80's are coming back).

ONLY...

So, it's just me and my guide. Wilson is a 61 year old former science teacher who has climbed the mountain for 20 years. (Dad, get off your bum and go climb a mountain! There are people older than you going to the top of this thing. :) He did fantastic preparation for me and my hypoglycemic needs. He made sure there was meat for all the meals and had the right food for me. Which is great since on the Inca trail (my next biggest trekking experience) I was not given the right food at all and there were some problems. Not so here, he took care of me, was very informed, smart, fun to talk to. He would say things like "you know your body. I can't know your body". and "If the Big Boss says we can make it, we'll make it".

The only problem was that it was Only me. No other clients. So since we were just me and him most of the days. And at meals I didn't have group to talk to. Eventually it starts to get lonely. I would try to socialize, and would here and there. But it wasn't like I was IN THIS TOGETHER with someone else. As a result as one day turned to two turned to four and more it started to become difficult.

GETTING CLOSER...

Because hiking 30 miles each way from 6400feet up to 19,300 feet is one tough bastard of a thing to do! Holy cow.

"One step

Two Step

Getting Closer,

Getting Closer

Let them believe me...

I've got to say that it HURTS" --- Nitzereb

The scenery is fantastic! It goes from Cultivated farmland (before the trail starts), to tropical rain forest (like in Uganda), to Moorland (like in England except at 10,000 feet! often cloudy and misty), to Arctic Desert (because you are above most of the clouds! Like an island in the sky!) to Glacial Ice Cap (which is like the moon...with some ice:)

I have so many pictures.

The peak of Kilimanjaro is called UHURU. There are other points, like Mawenzi to look at along the way.

\

I took the Marangu route, which meant that I had Huts to sleep in at night. This was good because the first two huts, had four beds in them. Night 1, I was by myself! (which is good for sleeping, bad for socializing). Night 2 was with a German couple (who asked about Obama), and a fellow named Jose from "the Basque country" of Spain. He was trying for his second time. He had attempted 25 years ago and not made the top, and was back to kick it's bootay. (I don't know if he made it).

The last night before the climb is at Kibo hut... more on that in a bit.

At Hirombo hut I saw the mother of all sunsets. No exaggeration, maybe the most beautiful, if not in the top 5 sunsets of all time. We were above one set of clouds, below another and there was a cloud that looked like a mountain peak in between. The top clouds were dark, the bottom light, the middle glowing like gold. Absolutely breathtaking.

So I was on a 6 day trek, that somehow became 5 days. I felt fine at Hirombo hut (hut number 2) at 12,700 feet. So Wilson said lets keep going. He's seen people not make it in 6 or 7 or 8 days, so if you feel well, best to keep moving. So we did.

I actually didn't have much problem breathing and my oxygen level (he had a little gadget that checked it and my heartbeat), was high, so off we went.

The Alpine Desert was amazing. The peak dome looming across a rocky landscape. Clouds surrounding and below us. It was like walking in the sky. Awesome.

Just put one foot in front of the other. 5 to 7 to 18 HOURS in a day. (the 18 on the summit day). Getting Closer...

BE GOOD TO YOURSELF

So Kibo hut is at 15,650 feet.

Higher than I'd ever been before.

Unlike the other huts it was actually just one building. All the others were A frame huts with beds in them and a separate dining hall. Hirombo hut could sleep 150 people. So more like a camp than a "hut".

Kibo hut had 5 rooms, 14 beds a room.

I got there at 2pm. Tried to eat, but couldn't eat much. And laid down for a nap as a huge group of retired Japanese tourists were getting ready.

Then I started to feel nauseous...

...oh shit.

I rushed outside and puked up my lunch.

...oh shit.

So I found Wilson, told him and he said "Do you feel better? Then that's good. Is okay to throw up, as long as it's just food and not blood".

Great. :)

So I walk back to the hut and no less than 3 people were puking outside the door. And I got inside and there was puke on the hallway floor and puke in the doorway to the room I was in.

Fantastically Unsavory to say the least. (what was more unsavory is the puke was there all night long.)

So at 5pm I have dinner.... or what little I could eat.

...oh shit. Mr. Hypoglycemia isn't able to eat. I have an 8 km hike to do. It's 4000 FEET! up 'til the summit. It takes 7-8 hours up. 5-6 hours back to Kibo hut. Then another 4 hours hike back down to Hirombo hut. And I can't eat.

...oh shit.

So I'm starting to lose it. I have no one to talk to, I'm getting bummed out, and frankly a little scared. If I pass out on the side of that mountain, Wilson and my summit Porter, Roman will have to carry my ass off that mountain. Let alone the other possible consequences if they cant...

So what to do?

Wilson says sleep, see how I feel in the morning.

The morning is 2AM. That's my wakeup. Other people get up at 10:30PM or Midnight. Yes, most of your vertical hike is in the dark. They say it's "easier" cause you can't see how far you have to go. I say it's fucking retarded because it's cold and demoralizing.

I sleep, I dream. I try to stay positive. But I have no food, and anyone who knows me knows that without food I am anything but positive.

...oh shit.

So I'm up at 1am. Everyone else is gone. It's about 30 degrees INSIDE the hut (but actually not much colder outside.) Wilson says we are lucky, it can be a lot colder than this.

I try to eat. 2 crackers and some Milo in 30 minutes.

shit.

I don't think I can do it. I'm a wreck. I'm so tired and sore. And I have no energy. I think about going down. Screw it, I'll just go down, it'll be easier.

But then I thought about THREE O'CLOCK HIGH, the movie. (funny what comes to your mind).

In that movie our hero has been trying to avoid a fight after school with the school bully. Doing anything he can to get out of it. In the end he offers to pay the bully money to leave him alone. The bully takes it but says this. "You're the biggest puss I ever met. You didn't even try. How does that feel?"

After some soul searching, our hero comes back and says "I'm no pussy, asshole. Fights on at three".

Fights on at Three tonight too. I tell Wilson how I'm feeling, the situation, and off we go into the night.

KYRIE

But first we take hands beneath the starry sky and Wilson prays for us, for a safe climb, to see the wonders of God's creation, the great mountain Kilimanjaro.

Tears came to my eyes.

Here we go....

Po-le, Po-le.

That's what they say here. Slow-ly, Slowly. And we go SLOOOOWWWWWW.

I mean, each step is careful and slow. Maybe 10 steps a minute. Maybe less.

We head up and up and after about 15 minutes, maybe 30 minutes, I have to stop and try to eat.

I can't eat but a bit of chicken.

We head up...

Stars stretch forever. Including stars from the headlamps far above on the mountain. I mean FAR above on the mountain.

15, maybe 30 minutes later, maybe 5... I have to stop and eat.

I sit, I eat... and almost fall asleep sitting up. (Devin, Vanessah, Lawrence... you might remember this situation from the Anasazi Death March in the Grand Canyon 10 years ago).

We head up...

10 min, 20, 30 later. I don't know... I sit again.

I can't eat. I can't FUCKING EAT!

I take a bite of beef, try a sip of drink, and puke up nothing cause there's nothing to puke up.

but that is it.

third times a charm.

at 16,300 feet in the dark on the side of Mount Kilimanjaro my attempt is done.

I can't fucking eat.

and unlike the normal non-hypoglycemic person, if I don't eat, I can't just push on.

my body has betrayed me.

and the climb is over...

I tell Wilson. He isn't going to push me "you know your body". And I sit there as the sun starts to glow on the horizon behind Mawenzi peak. It grows brighter and brighter and brighter until it breaches the clouds and blasts us with light. It's amazingly beautiful and as disappointed as I am I know I have made the right choice. It sucks cause I wanted to stand on top of this mountain so badly, but as the Stones say "you can't always get what you want".

So I spend about an hour there. As the sun came up, taking pictures and some video. Watching the brilliantly bright sun go up over the Alpine desert and the clouds below. It was like being in heaven (Hi Mom!, nice to see you up here on the mountain.:)

....

Turns out I was about 200 feet below Anderson Point. I looked past the rock and Wilson said that that was 16,500 feet. I said, "Let get there". Truth is with the sun up it was easier to climb, and I thought maybe I'd given up to easily. Wimped out.

But I hadn't. Once we started up it quickly leapt back at me that I had no energy.

No fuel.

But we did make 16,500.

There is literally a painted mark and sign that says "Anderson Point. 16,500feet".

So that's my highest yet.

And that's pretty cool.

ONLY AGAIN

Heading down the mountain.

2 1/2 hours to get up. 30 minutes to get down to the hut again.

I try to eat.

I'm done.

But we have 4 more hours of hiking to get back to Hirombo Hut.

And people are starting to return from the summit.

I want to get out of here. I don't want to talk to anyone.

So we head off, the wind is blowing. The clouds are beautiful.

My mood is shit.

And as we go down, the "walk of shame" begins. Because we began to pass all the people I had met briefly on the way up. Those who were coming for their next day summit attempt. And every single one of them asked "Did you make the summit?" And I had to explain over and over, as Wilson would speak in Swahili to the guides and porters about how "I had enough food, but couldn't eat and my body is hypoglycemic and had no fuel, blah blah fucking blah"

It sucked.

The hike was SO hard and SO long (I can only imagine the people who actually did the full summit hike and then had to walk this).

When we finally got to Hirombo at 1pm I ate and slept until 5pm.

Woke up, ate (alone again, next to the retired Japanese climbing group. 5 of the 6 of them made it. great. just great). And watched a cloudy night come in.

My mood jumped all over the place. I was able to eat better now and my oxygen level at 12,500 feet was 98 percent, which meant I was totally acclimatized to this altitude. I have no idea what happened up above. One minute I would say it's worth it, I'm going to find out a powder or pill so this doesn't happen again at this altitude. So I don' t have to stop because I can't eat, I'll be able to push on. Then the next minute I would be pissed off and depressed that 60 year olds can climb this and I couldn't.

Couldn't find anyone to talk to.

Listened to some good old Nine Inch Nails on my iPod. felt better.

Went to bed late... it was about 8pm. :)

JOURNEY

The final day came. And I sat and talked with two gals I had met briefly on the way up. One from south Africa, and the other from Orange County, California. They said I have climbed Kilimanjaro. I've trekked 5 days. I've seen the views. They spend less than 3 minutes at the top. The top is not the mountain. I should be proud.

The walk down was LONG. 14 miles. Yahoo. My legs decided to get painful. And now that I'm back I can barely walk. I listened to my iPod on the way down, and that made it go much faster. Some NIN, A lot of Journey, Some Genesis, and Metallica. Kept me walking. Felt good. Wish I would have listened to something besides the songs and voices in my head on the way up. I'm a people person and though I like to be alone, being alone on a trip like this is very difficult.

Alone Craig? What about your guide? Yes, Wilson rules. But he is working, and it's not the same as being with someone else in the situation. Perhaps the last song should be "We're in this together now!" by Nine Inch Nails. But it wasn't.

As it went on, and I realized that with tip and rentals this has cost me $1350 for 5 days (instead of 6, I probably wont' get any money back even though we were on the mountain one less day), I couldn't decide if it was worth it. It's pretty miserable, yet pretty amazing. It's painful and exhausting, let awe inspiring. And monotonous... this was twice as long as my previous mega trek, the Inca trail, and in only one more day. And at thousands of feet more elevation.

While up there 3 people were brought down on these stretchers. I saw none of them. One guy, they said his lips were totally blue and he wasn't moving.

Kilimanjaro is no joke. The routes are hard. The timing is far to short. These should be 8, 9, 10 day treks with half the elevation gain each day. People die on this mountain. Probably to many. It's only 19,000+ feet. It's not even to the death zone (26,000 feet). Not even CLOSE. So we "know" the risk (hardly, not until we've done it), and yet people do it anyway. To get to the "roof of Africa", to get to their own inner limits, to see God on his terms.

Is it worth it?

Exhausted, hungry, filthy, I said "thank you and goodbye" to my four porters and Wilson in the parking lot. The smiles on their faces as I said thank you and offered a tip were large. These guys work harder than almost any of us. They trudge so much weight up that mountain on their heads and backs, and you can see them struggle. But in the end, they've got smiles on their faces. A "Jambo!" ("Hello in Swahili) on their lips, and a spirit that so many people I know in the more "civilized" world don't even know they have inside them. If I ever think my life is hard and my work is hard I'm going to think of my crew and chill out. How we face life is what matters, the rest is just circumstance.

Is it worth it?

After saying thank you. Wilson got the guys together and they sang me the Kilimanjaro Song. They clapped their hands. Wilson did a little foot stomping dance and they wished me safe journeys. (I asked them to do "take two" since my memory card ran out of space and I wanted to record it. :) Always the filmmaker). But the truth is I wanted to hear it again. Because hearing them sing and dance about this mother of a mountain. To see the smiles on their faces and the spring in their step after all that work. To shake their hands and look them in the eyes. To see Kilimanjaro vanish into the clouds, I think that answers the question for me.

CraigO

PS: If you'd like to watch a video / photo diary of this adventure, goto www.TrespassingOnTheLot.com, it's called "There Is Only Me (And The Mountain)"

SAFARI SURFIN' TANZANIA!

I"M ALIVE!!!!!

That's right team. you heard about an American who died on Kilimanjaro (no bullshit), but it wasn't me. I have climbed the mountain and returned safely (and painfully) to the ground in Moshi, Tanzania where I am spending a much much MUCH needed day of rest. (Although at midnight last night the key broke off in my padlock to my room, so we spend an hour trying to break in with the hotel staff. Yep...those things work! No luck, so I had to sleep in another room and they are still waiting for the carpenter to break in and get the thing open. As a result I’m walking around Moshi early in the morning not getting my break, but that's okay, Hakuna Matata).

Wait Craig, did you just say "Hakuna Matata?"

I did. It means No worries, for the rest of your days...

So, where have I been for the 9 days or so?

Well first I was on a 3 day Tanzanian Safari to Lake Miniera, Tirengerie National Park ("Warthog River" National Park), and the crème de le crème: Ngorongoro crater. I was with 2 Danish girls named Maibrit and Christine, and for 2 of the days Victoria and Peter from Poland. We got along well and had a good time camping and getting dusty as can be. The safari was a bit more expensive than in Kenya, but was still fun. Got to sleep under the stars and see lots of animals (but unlike in Masai Mara you can't drive off road to see them so you have to accept the distance you have which is better for the ground but not quite as cool.).

Still, we had a wildebeest/zebra mini stampede across the road that was awesome. Those guys can fly when they want. About 300-400 animals charging between our parked cars. Leaping over the side of the road. Not really sure what they were afraid of, but it made for some very dramatic photos. That was in Tierengerie.

And the Ngorongoro crater is fantastic! SOOOO beautiful. It's about 7 miles diameter crater with 2700 foot tall walls. It's a collapsed volcano and because of all the water there is a lot of wildlife down in the basin. Masai warriors bring their cattle in to feed and it is quite amazing to see. Dust, rain, cliffs, hippos and lions. And when you stop for lunch you are by a hippo pool with Black Kite birds flying over head. Seems peaceful...until the crazy bastards dive bomb you for your food! I had one hit the top of my head from behind as he dove in for my chicken, taking it out of the box on my lap. Then one, two more over my head and tore the lunch box apart!

At that point we all went inside the safari van to finish up our lunch. :)

a great time including a rowdy game of Danish Spin The Bottle! They say they play it "all the time". Given the rather fantastic girl to guy ratio, seemed like a fun plan.

BUT, nope, this game is not what you think. Danish spin the bottle is basically "dare or Dare" where you say what happens when the bottle lands on someone and then it's random who has to do the dare. The best was to go up to the tent of the two Spanish gals who went to sleep and howl and pound your chest like a gorilla. in the morning we found out it scared them pretty good (though they had earplugs in so it wasn't as dramatic as you might think. ) Still very funny. Markus and Phia from Sweden joined in. (yet another awesome couple from Sweden... are they all as cool as the people I've met? If so Sweden RULES! :)

Anyway, that's safari, after 7 days in Safari vans and safari surfin' and even playing Frisbee on overlooks with elephants down below, I'm ready to not be in a van anymore. Ready to be out in nature, walking, maybe hiking a mountain... a BIG mountain....

next episode.

Rock on\

Craigo

SAFARI SURFIN', KENYA!

Well Team...

so, I’ve made it across the border into Tanzania! My last country on

the tour (unless you count Zanzibar, which does give you a stamp and

sorta is its own country but thank god they don't charge for Visa's

because Tanzania charges 100 USD! (of course we charge them much more,

so I guess it's only fair)).

Turns out American's are traveling to Kenya! So says Rebecca who runs

the Miliani Backpackers in Nairobi. She says there have been many

more American's than ever before since about April. I asked if it was

about Obama... and it is. His father is from Kenya, and so many

American's are now aware of a bad ass country called Kenya and are

coming. This is good since Kenya tourism is SLOOOOWWWWW thanks to the

problems in January and February. Rebecca also told me about how she

and her family survived the riots and people blocking roads, throwing

rocks and burning tires. Them racing through the line of people with

horn "hooting" and skidding into their apartment garage as the guard

slammed it shut on the oncoming crowd. Straight out of a movie,

except that it was real. Fortunately Kenya is totally calm, friendly

as ever but hurting for the travelers to come back. I'm so glad I was

able to come as my safari was fantastic with only about 1/4 the safari

vans as normal. So get your ass to Kenya so you can enjoy the low

crowds and also help out! :)

So for those who don't know what exactly a Safari is I'll tell you (as

I didn't really know exactly before this trip either). You travel in

a Safari Van (or Land Rover) I was in a van, it holds up to 8 people,

but there were only 3 (and then 4) of us. So we had lots of room.

You drive to the national park with your guide/driver (ours was

Barry...well, until the Van broke down and we were sent with another

crew). The roof pops up so you stand up in the van and look out 360

degrees at the scenery and the animals.

And I mean ANIMALS. Rhinos (the endangered black and white ones),

Leopards in trees and Lions in the grass (Mothers, Babies of many

sizes, including 2 week old ones that squeak like birds, can't see and

even went UNDER the safari Van. The mother came over and picked it up

in her mouth and carried it off). Giraffes by the dozens, Elephants

by the dozens. Zebras, Hyenas, Gazelles, Hartebeests, Warthogs

(Pumba!), a cheetah, a cerval cat, Buffalos by the hundreds. Hippos,

crocodiles, bones and carcasses (oh yes) And yes Wildebeests...

THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of Wildebeests. One heard was over a mile

long, with maybe 10,000 animals. The ground didn't rumble like I

expected (but they weren't running). It was 4 days of viewing,

scenery stretching to the horizon without a power line, cell tower,

paved road or house. Just miles and miles and miles of rolling hills

of grass and escarpments in the background.

We were 1 day at Lake Nakuru, a beautiful lake, (with monkeys!) and 3

at Masai Mara (the Kenyan extension of the great Serengeti Plain).

Sunsets, sunrises and stars galore. I even saw SCORPIO for the first

time that I'm aware.

I was with a very cool couple from Israel Ifat and Shaked who were on

their honeymoon. And Mark, an adventuresome pilot for Luftstansa from

Germany. The camp we staid at had Masai warriors with spears and

clubs and knives that guarded it against animal attacks at night and

wore their traditional clothes (and all had cell phones!).

A grand time.

and the new sport is Safari Surfing. You stand in the van as it

drives and don’t' hold onto the edge and try to stay on your feet.

Its' fun and a good challenge.

Tomorrow I actually go on ANOTHER safari, this one to the amazing

Ngorongoro crater. I had to navigate through the safari touts all

day. It was a lot of work, but the place seems good that I chose.

I’m' 3 weeks done. 2 weeks to go. Its going well. I'm definitely

slipping into the mid trip blues though. It always seems to happen at

some point. Where it isn't quite as fun. When little things become a

bit frustrating rather than amusing. When you stop and think about

how much money is being spent and if you will stay on budget. When

you get a bit lonely and tired of having the same "where are you

from?" conversations. That's slipping in now. I know it will pass in

a day or two and it's fine. It's here. It's hard to go go go go for

5 weeks straight! :) I'm hoping the 3 people on this safari tomorrow

are cool and that I can relax and still enjoy the adventure. After

all, Kilimanjaro is coming on friday... 6 days of hiking...

so hope you are all well and living it up. I'm still in search of

Karaoke and in fact going out. It's Africa and we are always asleep

by like 10pm or so. What the heck? :)

Gotta go, get ready to see more animals. But seriously, come to

Africa. You will be BLOWN AWAY WITH HOW AWESOME IT IS. Awesome.

just awesome.

Rock on

Craigo

RWANDA RUMORS CLEARED UP

Hey Team!

This is going to be a quick update, the details to follow, just wanted to let you know I was alive and well after journeying through Rwanda and Nairobi, then a 4 day Safari at Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara in Kenya. Kenya is great, Rwanda is great. I Saw a bunch of Lions at 10 feet! Including little 2 week old baby cubs! awesome!

I'll give a better update tomorrow (I hope), when I will enter Tanzania and go to Arusha which looks up at Kilimanjaro.

But before I go, a few words on Rwanda.

1. the roads are great

2. The people are super super nice

3. They speak French, not English, so the language barrier popped up for the first time this trip and I remembered how much harder it is to get around when you have to communicate with signs and smiles.

4. The genocide memorial is sad, touching, disturbing and heartbreaking. However, unlike the Tual Song Prison and Killing Fields in Cambodia, it isn't as horrible. The reason is that it is a memorial built to heal and teach. The mass grave outside of 250,000 (!!!!!) people is covered in a granite slab. In Cambodia you are walking on bones and teeth. The horrors are no less terrible or real, but the experience wasn't as devastating as Cambodia. However, there are churches in Rwanda with clothes and bones and even one where the bodies are all preserved in Lime 14 years later, including hundred of children. So had I made it there I'm sure I would be so fucking disturbed and angry right now I couldn't contain myself. The things that people can do to each other is just staggering...

5. It's a beautiful country of hills, mountains, hills, and more mountains. Kigali is a safe city you can walk around at night (unlike Nairobi).

That's what I got for now, I'll tell you about the Safari in the next update.

Keep traveling and visit Africa, it is amazing.

Rock on

Craigo

2 BODA's, LOTS OF MUD, THE RAINS OF GOD and yes, GORILLAS

Well Team!

sorry for the long delay, I have been in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where there is... well, trees, mountains, rain rain rain, awesome people, gorillas and a lot of darkness coming in at night. Electricity and the internet are not around, and that is perfect. :)

sooooooo much has happened since my last email, that I’m sure I won't be able to tell you it all in this email. but here goes:

some folks asked about a gorilla permit. Well, in order to see the mountain gorillas of Rwanda or Uganda you have to purchase a permit from the government. These go for a whopping $500 USD a piece. And there are only 32 a day in Uganda. And 40 a day in Rwanda. That's it. It buys you a guide, trackers and the chance to see the mountain gorilla at close range in their natural habitat. a lot of times tour operators buy them all up. the fact that I got one was pretty lucky and the foundation of one crazy ass journey.

but first...

Lake Bunyonyi.

Awesome. Island studded lake. I rented a canoe and managed to make Mzungu Circles for an hour before I was given a tip by a local who was rocketing past me. Then I got it down well. Devin, I now know what was happening that last day of the canoe trip!

I hung out with a bunch of kids in a little village at dusk.

okay,

this update is going to be short because my hands are hurting from this keyboard (what is it with the keyboards!). And I’ve been typing and responding to emails personally for an hour now.

still...

2 Bodas? yep. On mountain roads. I mean MOUNTAIN roads. One lane wide with jungle cliffs on the side. And then, on both trips it started to rain. HARD. and yes... we crashed, ONCE. we were going about 10km/hour and WHOOSH, slid down in the mud. Only a little scraped up. The second ride was supposed to be a car, and the car wasn't there, so a boda boda it was. Down THE WORST ROAD ON EARTH. Okay, it wasn't really the worst, but it was a 4WD road for sure, muddy as hell, rocky, rutted and surrounded by beautiful mountainside. And cliffs galore. but Richard (the driver) was much safer than the first guy and better and we made it safely down the mountain. Though I did have to walk a little bit of it as well. :)

Everything in western Uganda is muddy. It's a rain forest. Its' beautiful.

And speaking of rain. The Rainy season (here) has begun. I was on a village walk in Buhoma (a tiny little town outside the National park). we were seeing tea plants, medicine men (who speak French), and these great kids at the school who did a fantastic dance and song for us. Then had us join in. Wile there the RAINS OF GOD came. I mean...hurricane Ike, you have met your match. Perhaps not with wind, but the rain fell so hard that you couldn't see anything beyond 25 feet. And with such a force as you wouldn't believe. If we'd stepped into it we would've been soaked to the bone in 3.2 seconds, MAX.

after the rains we couldn't get back to the lodge because of the swollen creek over the road. no one dared cross except this drunk pigmy guy who went back and forth like we were all a bunch of idiots. I have some cool video of it.

And yes... gorillas.

two words:

Absolutely Amazing.

I was in the Mubare group, which has 8 individuals, 1 a silver back. 1 baby. etc. You meet at the park office at 8am, and head out with about 8 people. a 30 minute drive later we began trekking through a village and into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Thick and muddy. Steep slopes and exciting. The guide was in touch with the trackers via walkie talkie. They found our group, so we took shortcuts over the hills. 2 hours of hiking and we neared where they were. (other groups had to hike for 4 hours in really thick vegetation and rain, so we "lucked out").

So we leave our bags and get rid of our walking sticks so as not to scare them.

And head on...

Naturally I got up front near the guide cause hell, I came to see the mountain gorillas.

and see them, we did.

Came past a tree and there was a HUGE silverback sitting and eating. I mean, he was 15 feet away. Then you see the others. One on a tree branch 12 feet away. Then a baby climbs up on the branch and they wrestled. A black-back (adult male about 13 years old), pounds his chest and tears through the trees. We move to a different location above them on the slope.

Then we're nearly surrounded. The gorillas playing, eating, and looking at US. Staring right at us. You could take all the pics and video you wanted, but no flash, no eating (yep I had to do it before I got there), and stay 5-7 meters away. Well, we can try, but gorillas don't really follow the rules. So this 5 year old decided to challenge us... and when I say us, I mean me. He stared at us, and then came forward and rolled down the hill a few feet. Everyone watched or took pics as he inched forward and then slapped his hand on my knee and left it there. Then he hurried off. Pretty fricking awesome.

But it's not over. We watched two others wrestle, and then the baby joined in. The mother nursed the baby and some of them fell out of a tree. Then the Silverback got up, grunted and they all moved out.

And naturally we followed them.

And then they got to a clearing under some trees. The baby on the mom's back. And then Mr. 5 year old decides he'll have another go at us. He charges forward and then comes up and hits my knee again. And turns back...looks me in the eye... and comes up and slaps my shoulder before running a bit away and pounding his chest.

Pretty fricking awesome.

And very unusual. Apparently they rarely do that. And it happened three times.

And writing this doesn't capture what it was like. It was amazing. This isn't a petting zoo. This isn't a domestic animal. This was like touching mother nature herself. It was such a surreal experience that it actually brought tears to my eyes.

Incredible.

My tip to you is: Wear Red. Apparently one lady one time had bright red hair and the gorilla came up and played with her hair. :)

Worth every penny.

Come to Uganda.

Gotta go, gotta sleep and rest. The 3 hour muddy boda boda ride on the edge of mount doom was exhausting (after the 3 1/2 hour hike through the forest).

It's been good. I leave Uganda tomorrow and love it. "Hello, How are You?" ask almost everyone you pass. And they want to know. And you can chat to anyone like they are your friends. It's safe and friendly and pretty much just RULES.

Get your ass to Uganda.

Talk to you in a couple days.

Craigo

I'M IN FRICKIN AFRICA!!! or MZUNGU MEANS WHAT????

Hey Team!

Still alive and kicking here in the fabulous country of Uganda. I recommend for anyone to come here. The people are friendly in the vein of Laos and Thailand. It's easy to communicate. They love to talk to travelers. It pretty much rules.

Since I last wrote I've rafted the SOURCE OF THE NILE and ridden a bike around villages. I've sat on a bus that runs on Africa time (meaning it left 1 hour later than the 2 hours later that they said it would leave!). And now I’m at a "resort" on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi in southwest Uganda. I'm spending a whopping $20 a nite for a private room with a balcony and a view of the lake. It rules.

So... a few things you should know about Africa. Some rumors debugged. Some unknown points of interest:

1. Rafting the Nile is awesome. It's much class 5 white water with floats in between. So you can chat, enjoy the fact that you are on the mother f-ing NILE, and then hit some wild waterfalls and waves. We even did one with our eyes closed until the guide told us to open them at the last minute and Wammo! Huge wave in our face. Somehow our raft was the only of 5 not to flip, and my record of never being thrown from a whitewater raft continues (though honestly I wanted to be since the rapids are deep and you can swim them. I guess my survival instinct is to strong!)

2. Go raft the Nile NOW. Because as "progress" is coming. A damn is being built across it and will basically eliminate some of the best white water on earth. You have a year, maybe two. So get your ass to Uganda!

3. When you are on an open rafting truck after rafting driving on dirt roads through villages, every single child age 2 to 12 will run out and wave and say "hello! Mzungu! Hello!" They will wave or give a thumbs up. In fact if you ride your bike they will do the same thing. They will be happy as all get out."Mzungu!" So you might ask what that means..... well....

Mzungu means "White Person!" Welcome to Africa! No lies, I was one of 2 white folks I saw all day long today traveling... and that was alright by me. We stand out a little bit, but are wonderfully welcome. Racism doesn't exist in this part of Africa as far as I can tell.

4. Mzungu might also mean "money", because on the way back from town on my bike ride I had many of the same kids run out and say "Mzungu. Money. Give me money". Which was to bad. Makes me wonder if it was always about money. But I don't think so. Still, when the average Ugandan makes about 50 USD a month... it's understandable. Still... it's not wise to give them anything or it becomes worse (rumor has it Kenya is pretty fierce with the money asking).

5. It rained so hard after my bike ride that the returning rafters from that day got stuck in the mud. And they were 2 hours late making our bus back to Kampala late. But really, who cares when you have a deck overlooking the mother f-ing NILE in a rain storm! The restraunt at the camp was awesome and it was hard to leave. And at that point the phrase "This Is Africa" or TIA came to mind. Since then I've heard it half dozen times. You might remember it from "Blood Diamond" and it really is true. Bus is late : This is Africa. Road is muddy: This is Africa. Go all the way back to Kampala to do a tour with some new travel friends the next day and it's full so you find yourself back in Kampala and having to figure out your next couple days: This is Africa.

Love it.

6. Boda Bodas are crazy. Ride on the back of a motorbike with your backpack on as they careen through gridlock traffic and people changing lanes, buses and trucks honking horns. I can't believe we haven't crashed yet. Still.... you gotta do it. After all, TIA.

7. When I got to the bus station this morning I was surrounded by guys trying to get me on their buses. They were all smiles and fun. One guy tried to guess where I was from. "Germany?" "nope". Let me try again: USA" "Yeah!" Then another guy said

"I have one question: Will you be voting for Obama or McCain?"

"Obama all the way" I replied.

The place erupted with CHEERS, people patting me on the back, hugging me, it was hilarious!

8. Fear not Dad and Uncle David, at the resort tonight, the waiter was saying he likes bush for all bush has done for Africa and aid program and education to stop Aids. So they go both ways here as well. :)

9. AIDS rate in Uganda is only 6%. So no, everyone over here isn't sick with it. In fact they have billboards and education all over Uganda to keep the rate down. (the same apparently is not true for other countries here though).

10. I keep waking up at 6am or earlier. What they heck? Oh, and this morning I was woken by a MOTHER F-ING ROOSTER!!!! I HATE ROOSTERS!!!!! :)

Hope all of you are well. I have a Gorilla permit for Friday, which oddly enough will be my first animal/safari type activity. You know, that thing that most people come to Africa for (myself included too.:)

That's all I've got for now. The boda boda ride up here to the lake was on this twisty dirt road going WAY to fast with backpacks. I thought we were going to bite it on the curve, but somehow didn't.

anyway, hope you are all well. I've got a day of canoeing, hiking, biking and swimming tomorrow (no fear... one of the few lakes in Africa with no crocs or hippos or snakes or strange bacteria!)

Keep rocking

Craigo

PS: Brian, the bag weighed 37 pounds. :)