WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (RIVER LODGE!)

After 6 days it was time to Ramble on and we headed to the mainland. 8000 foot peaks rising from the sea. The largest untamed rainforest in central America loomed off the bow of the speed ferry that flew across the water. Flying fish zipping across the water. I prepared for pickpockets at the terminal. And for all the people that would hassle us…

And instead was met by nice folks. Friendly smiles.
Hmmm…

So Hannah and Fabian have a dog, Fluffy (who isn’t actually fluffy at all, lol), whom they adopted from a rescue place in Mexico. The guards said they had to pay some tax for the dog. So Fabian went to the office, said he didn’t have any money, and the lady ended up letting him leave and he just waved at the guards and walked out. It’s common, or so it’s said, for cops to do this kind of hustle to tourists in countries down here. But honestly, this was the only time I saw it happen. Not saying it doesn’t, it’s just not as common as I was expecting.

Sweet Ride!

Which one might Fluffy be?

We hop in their VW, it’s rad! And stop at a techno dancing grocery store, and head up the Rio Cangrejal valley to find the Jungle River Lodge.
The sun set.
We were on a dirt road.
I was jokingly saying “This is how horror movies start.” and going through a whole scenario as we drove.





Well horror movie it was not, instead it was absolutely AMAZING.
A hand made lodge with a deck over looking natural pools. A clear river flowing around HUGE house size boulders that you could cliff jump off of. The sounds of the river outside the treehouse like rooms. Huge jungle covered mountains towering up both sides of the river. Hand carved wood tables and furniture to play games on (Guillotine made it to yet another country! It’s been to almost as many as me. And of course FARKLE!  (Thank you Uncle Kev and Jordan for that one!).  We loved that. 
And the cost: $10 per person per night.

The next day and half were what travel is all about.

It began with a jungle hike in the Parc de Bonito national park. (Beautiful National Park).
The hike was just up from the lodge, and involved crossing a bad ass, Indiana Jones suspension bridge across the boulder strewn river.

Then up into the thick jungle and steep trails all on the way to a big waterfall.

 It was hundreds of feet high, thin and free. The climb down to the bottom was crazy steep, and eventually was just over big slippery boulders… so we stopped on the top of them rather than try to figure out how to get to the bottom. It was awesome to just stand under the falls and let them crash down on me. There’s something magical about waterfalls in the jungle. Not sure what it is, but I can’t get enough.

The hike out ended with a really friendly man and his daughter selling hand made souvenirs, and I got a little canoe keychain that I’ll turn into a magnet. It says Rio Congrejal!


CANYON RIVER RAFTING ADVENTURE!

So Hannah and I went for an afternoon rafting trip. It was $25. And worth every penny.
Our guide, Juan Carlos, who’s been rafting the river for 24 years, picked us up at the lodge. He put the raft on his head and carried it up to this old school Toyota 4x4, which just happened to have a 222 on the license plate. (For those who know the 222, or have heard me talk about it. There were so many 222’s on this trip it was almost comical. Phone numbers. Receipts. Gas prices. License plates. On and on and on. That’s good sign… it means I’m on the right path.  And for today that was Definitely true!)

Ride up the river, and Juan Carlos carried the raft solo down the slope. And with our life jackets on, we left the raft behind and did some Canyoning. Which consisted of going up river, swimming in the current, jumping off rocks, sliding down other rocks. Drinking water trickling out of the rocks: 2000 meters of limestone purifying the rainwater in this one spot. Yummy. There was a HUGE spider (okay, the side of hand) that he picked up by it’s legs and then set it on the water (they can hop). Well, it hopped onto his neck and crawled up onto his face! So he ducked under water, and then it comically hopped away on 6 legs, with it’s front ones way up in the air.

There were these red flowers that you could crush up and make soap with! Juan Carlos said that his mom is a healer and there are all sorts of roots and flowers and plants they use to treat illness in the jungle. He’s originally from the Moskito Coast (Eastern Honduras… and a movie starring Harrison Ford (to keep the Indiana Jones thing going). Anyway, they have lots of medicine hidden in the jungle waiting to be discovered (or already known by the locals. ). I’m fascinated by what’s out there.

Back to the river. Locals were fishing off the top of a house size boulder for fish that were swimming up stream like salmon. They were leaping up this small waterfall… most of them failing spectacularly. Bouncing off rocks. Sucked down stream. But every once in awhile some made it. When we watched for 5 minutes, hundreds of fish went for it. It was crazy.

JC and I jumped off that rock to cross the stream to the 11 meter (34 foot) jump. We had to overhand climb out of the river for the first 2 meters. I won’t lie. It was out of my strength zone. So he attached his rafting safety rope to me and LIFTED ME OUT OF THE RIVER. Man! For a thin guy this guy is strong!
We climb up to about 7 meters (21 feet) and I think this is good. He says “nah! we go to 11!”
So we did.
He jumped right off… I might’ve hesitated a little.
Truth is I felt like I was taking forever, but on the video Hannah shot it was only like 20 seconds. lol.
YEEEHAW!
That was fun!

Then we float, swim down the river to our raft and begin one of the wildest, most technical rafting trips I’ve ever been on (and I’ve been on a fair number.) The boulders are the size of cars, buses, houses, and the water snakes through them barely wider than the 3 person raft.

And sure enough, 3rd rapid… I fall right out.
Under the water.
Raft over my head.
Head hits a boulder (go helmet!)
And push out from under the raft.
JC grabs my paddle and Hannah does the river rescue and pulls me in…

… and then my paddle falls out and we have to chase it down the river!
We got it and hit more rapids.
Some, a good 10-15 foot drop around a rock.
It was wild and fun and exhilarating.
I thought “They’d never raft a river like this in the USA!”

Apparently 7 days ago, after a lot of rain, the water was 25 feet higher.
Yep.
25 FEET HIGHER (That’s 8 meters for everyone not in the USA!)
So most of the boulders we were going around would be under water.
That’s crazy.
(They don’t raft when it’s like that).






Finally we came to the amazing boulders and cliffs by the jungle river lodge, where Fabian, Franzi and Stefi were hanging by the natural pools up above. And Fabian jumped off the cliff right behind us!

What a ride! So fun! Amazing!

The 5 of us sat on the rocks as the sun set, cracking a beer. (not the “Healthy Life” brand, but the almost as good, but much cheaper one! lol). That my friends… was a great day.

Of course there was one more jump off the cliff!

Then tasty dinner, and Farkle to the sounds of the jungle river.

ONE MORE WATERFALL…

The next morning we woke early, and Fabian and I went to the cliffs and started our day with some cliff jumping! We even brought snorkels into the water for some snorkeling and peering around. It’s spooky down there. All the overhangs and in some places you can’t see the bottom.
We floated around this island boulder, jumped off others, and eventually Hannah joined us.
Not a bad way to start the day!

After breakfast, Fabian, Fluffy and I went for a walk down to a river crossing, where a path leads up into the jungle. We hiked up in search of one more waterfall… one more pool… one more paradise before we Rambled on…

And we found it!

An amazing 30 foot. It was so lovely. Perfect temperature to swim in and stand under the bottom of the falls. Sunlight piercing the canopy of shady trees. And just… AWESOME.

Fun fact:
Rio Cangrejal, to the astute reader (or spanish speaker) means
CRAB RIVER.
Apparently it used to be FILLED with thousands of crabs. But the spiders (what?!?!) and some other animal eventually ate most of them so there are very few.
So that means, Hannah and Fabian and I have had yet ANOTHER great crab adventure!




So Many 222s!
 

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

--> May 21, 2013

We've got fun and games.

We've got tons of leeches

Sucking your bloody veins.

Ahhhhhhh the jungle.

Wet.

Muddy.

Filled with bees and bugs. Vines and trees. Leeches and leeches and oh did I mention leeches?

So in Taman Nagara National Park I decided to do a two day / 1 night Jungle trek where we sleep in a fricking cave!

There were 7 of us and the guide. Three folks were doing two nights. The rest of us the one.

We showed up with our packs and some extra clothes and then found out we had to carry our own food and supplies. Normally one might prepare for this, but it was a bit of a surprise, though completely obvious that we should. Who else will? The jungle men?

Loaded up, I had an extra backpack on the front and we go to the boat. It slips us up the river and to the canopy walkway. I think it's the longest in the world or something, but half of it was closed. Still, it's 100 feet off the ground and very shaky and cool.

2 hours more on the boat and we begin our hike. Everyone is sweating, but it's fortunately not that hot. We are careful to avoid the muddiest patches and walk on roots and rocks to skip streams... until we hit the first creek. It was a foot deep and 10 feet wide and we're getting wet. From this point on it was really pointless to try to dodge the mud or water and I can tell you, that speeds up the pace a lot! There comes that point in a nature journey where you just have to accept how filthy you will get, and once you do it's much more fun!

This is the official "Before" photo...

We hiked 8-10km the first day. About 6 hours worth. It was tiring. And at every stop there were leeches on us. Little wormy, trembling leeches. I've never actually seen one before and it was odd to. They're so small and they move so erratically. Becuase we had pants tucked into socks, they were most often just trying to find a way to our skin. And sometimes they did. I pulled one off my foot and the wound bled for a long time. It didn't hurt. But it's strange to watch. When we stopped near the end of the hike, Monja had a HUGE blood filled leech on her knee. It was nasty. Blood ran down her leg like crazy. It was like a hidden beast under her pants... um, you know what I mean. :) At every stop we would check our feet, legs, and I'd check my junk. I'm not ending up all "Stand By Me" with a huge leech on my balls.

Bloody good fun

We stopped to rest in a little cave and the bees came out. Hundreds of them. Attracted to the sweat on our packs. I tried to go zen and not have them effect me, but eventually the buzzing became to much for everyone and we grabbed the packs and hustled away. Only to stumble into a wasps nest.  I'm not sure who touched it, but they went crazy. Buzzing around. Starting to sting people. We were bottled up at a creek / rock crossing and no one could move as Tek from France started crying out as he was stung. I jumped down into the mud and hustled along and others followed me. We all made it through. Fortunately these weren't the bad kinds of wasps and the stinging went away quickly... versus the person being paralized or dying.

Make a wrong step and you're knee deep in the mud. Hell, make a right step and you're knee deep in the mud.

We reached the cave at 6pm. It was getting dim and dark. But it was super cool to stay there. There were bats, but few insects. We all went down to the stream and rinsed off. It was fun. We were all careful at first, just rinsing our hair or arms, but then went for it, and were washing our clothes wearing only underwear. What the hell? We're covered in so much mud. We were going native!

We ate in the cave and slept on camp mats. No need for sleeping bags, as it was so hot and humid. The cave was probably 100 feet tall and was mostly two big chambers with some small off shoots. And a large opening near the upper wall which would let light in... sort of... during the day.

Home sweet home

Sleep came easy even on the hard ground.

I woke up in darkness. Total darkness. The candles having burned out. I switched out my headlamp and walked over to pee. On my way back four eyes stared at me from not 10 feet away from our sleeping bags. They watched me, glowing in my headlamp. They would jerk around. My light isn't bright so it was hard to make them out. Rats? They'd be reallllly big if they were. Porcupines? Probably, that's what Sam (the guide) said would come to eat the left over food. I watched for awhile, and it was creepy to be there alone with them. But finally I laid down to sleep...

... CRASH!

I sat up. And so did Sam. He turned on his very bright light and indeed the porcupines were eating the food. Along with a rat with the longest tail I've ever seen. Others started to wake up and watch. I was creeped out at first with the rat, but then thought: In this situation, what's the difference between the porcupines and the rat? This is their home.

I had a lot of wild dreams.

The cave was dim as we woke in the morning, slowly ate, packed and headed out. The hike was 6km. About 4 hours. Over roots and mud and creeks and more. We smelled TERRIBLY in just one day. our clothes ripe and nasty. I can only imagine what it would be like to be in the jungle for weeks on end. Whew.

When we reached the jetty and the boat picked us up it felt great. So nice to take off shoes and head back towards civilization.

Yahoo, the boat! We won't have to eat each other!

We stopped at an Oran Ansi village (original people) to learn about the blow pipe. And I was struck with the strange image. They're Black. I wouldn't have expected that in Malaysia, but they looked almost African. Fascinating how people have moved around our world, or perhaps developed independently yet similarly in different places. The Blow Pipe was cool, I want one.

Back in town I took a hot shower and rinsed off the muck and mud. It's amazing how important and wonderful things that we take for granted are when they have been removed for even a couple days.

Craigo

Chiriqui, Marching On The Trail Of Tears

So here we go...

I´m hanging out in Boquete Panama. And I´ve got to say it feels a lot like a mountain town in Colorado. It´s sorta bizarre. In fact Panama overall is much nicer and more modern than I was expecting. I guess everyone moves forward with the times, and it´s fun to see kids dressed like they could be in LA, with cell phones and baseball hats, next to indiginous folks in traditional garb on buses racing on twisty roads through the mountains. It also feels like Colorado because of the fact the roads are painted like the Usa. A lot of the signs are like the US. And the guard rails are the same too. So there´s this weird collision of USA and someplace else. Oh, and the money, the Balboa, aka: US Dollar seems familiar. However, their coins are diferent. They are the same size as a dime or quarter, but they have strange Conquistador men on them... perhaps Balboa himself.

So yesterday I was going to rent a scooter. But all the scooters in town are broken. One place says they´ll be fixed in January or February. The other keeps saying "maybe tomorrow". I think I might be out of luck on that one. So, i decided to head to the trails and do the Quetzalas trail. It´s considered one of the best in Panama. It´s either 8km, or 12, or maybe 15, or is it 6?. Every sign and map is different. But reguarless, it´s in the mountains and jungles and sounds like fun.

So I got the info, paid 8 bucks or a cab to take me to the top of the road, which is about 1000 meters higher than town. Took 15 minutes, twisting through huge canyons, high walls of trees, and even some rock climbing areas. Past a waterfall and some fields on impossibly steep slopes.

There was no one at the ranger station, so I just headed down the now rutted dirt road which was the path. It went down and up and down and then finally reached the actual trail. Every sign had different distances to the points at either end, so I never really was sure how far I had to go. And most of the signs were pretty badly damaged by people and the almost endless moisture.

Once on the trail I had to cross the river a few times. Balancing on rocks, using my walking stick that I got from the Hostel I´m at. There was a hut on the trail and a dog rushed out barking at me. He seemed to be saying hi... or maybe "get the hell off my property".

Then the cloud and rainforest began in earnest. It was thick. The trail was a bit muddy, but not to bad. I stopped for a picnic on a rock by the river. The trees towering up above. I heard birds, but never saw them.

Then it began to rain. I found a tree that was a perfect umbrella and it slowed down and finally stopped. I headed further up, and found the STAIRS OF DOOM. Possibly hundreds of stairs, some mangled by mud, some okay, that climbed up the slope. It took about 45 minutes of climbing, scrambling, and pulling to get up the muddy path and into the cloud forest.
I chilled at a picnic table, and then decided to head a little further on, where I eventually ran into a huge deadfall that pretty much blocked the entire trail.

At this point I had to decide to hike back he 3 to 3 1-2 hours or try to push through to Cerro Punto, and then take a couple of buses back to Boquete. Thing is, i had no idea how far I had really gone and wheter or not I was coser to Cerro Punto or Boquete... so it being about 3pm, and darkness coming at 6:30 it seemed best to head back the way I´d come.

And so down the stairs of doom I begin... and so does the rain. A lot of rain. Hard, constant rain or the next 2 to 3 hours. Let´s just say the stairs were exciting in a downpoor that was quickly turning the muddy trail into a stream. I made it past those and then walked along a mini river that was once the path. By this point I was so wet I just splashed along the streamtrail and it was pretty fun.

But it was taking longer than planned. I got to the first stream... and it was pretty swollen. I made it accross, thank goodness for the walking stick. But at the next crossing it was a no go on the boulders... so I had to straddle this fallen tree that was about 3 feet above the river and scootch the 20 feet across using my hands and nads...yikes.
past the dog, ruff ruff, and to the final crossing.
No boulders.
No tree.
Tried to find a way over, as it was flowing pretty heavily. Then found a shallow looking area and just marched across using my walking stick and now soaked shoes.

The last part was the rutted road, and going up those steep hills kinda sucked. My legs were sore. I was tired, and it was getting late. But I decided to manifest a car at the ranger station to pick me up...

now this isn´t like a Colorado trail or anything. This is far out and there´s no public transport, no other hikers with cars, so the odds were slim. But I figured I´d go for it.
So at 6pm, as I hiked the final hill near the station I HEARD A CAR!!!

holy shit. I hustled up the hill past a guy carrying a big bag of stuf, and just missed the car!!! It was gone as I came over the rise.

Well... shit. It´s at least a 3 hour walk back to town. It gets dark in 20 minutes. I´m soaking wet and mostly out of food and water. Hmmm....

then the door to the ranger station opens and the ranger, in very broken but smiling English, says i should just stay there. I mentioned I had no foo and no dry clothes. He has an extra shirt and some food. There´s a sleeping bag in the bunk rooms upstairs. So I thought of my backpacking guidelines to ¨"never refuse and invitation", and took him up on it.

Tshirt felt great. His name is Danny. He thought I was from Vegas when I said Los Angeles, so we talked about casinos and gambling. I had a little food left, and he gave me some banana´s to fry up. There was no power. It was dark. A part of me thought Imight have just walked into a serial killers home... that this would be a perfect set up. That no one really knows I´m gone or where I am. There is another guy there who doesn´t say much and just sits and eats. Danny seems so friendly. What if they poisoned the tea? What if they come into the room at night and stab me?

... those thoughts lasted a few minutes, but not really, and not very strongly. This is the ranger station. It even says in the Lonely Planet you can sleep here, but it was an amusing train of thought.

We eat, chat a bit in broken languages, (ugh, I wish I knew Spanish), and hit the bed by 7 or so. I lay awake for a bit, just thinking then sleep came to the noises of the jungle.

I woke up in the middle of the night. A bad headache. Sorta nautious. It wasn´t altitude, since I was only at 6000 feet, it was the mattress being lumpy and my head lyaing on a spring, and it was cold. Probably in the 40s. The sleeping bag was good, but made for a 5 foot tall person i think. I figured it was almost dawn when I went to the bathroom... but it was only 1:30 am.

Anyway, it was a long night. I tried to sleep siting up to make the headache go away. Strangely i didn´t have any ibuprofin which i usually carry withme just in case. Somehow I made it till dawn, got dressed, and chatted with Danny a bit. he´s such a fun guy. Took some pics and with the sun up hiked down the road.

About 30 minutes later, a gas company worker drove past... Ihave no idea where he came from... and I hitched a ride. Thank goodness. It was a 20 minute drive back. My legs were so sore, but Jose got me down safe and sound. Ate some breakfast with the gringos at Central Park coffee and breakfast shop, and then shower, and sleep for 5 hours.

Today my friends, is a "day off" from traveling... journal. Laundry. Nap. Relax as the rain falls. Listening to EUROPE on my iPod. Man, I forgot how much I love that band. (And their song CHEROKEE).

I have no idea how the next week of the trip will go. It´s weird to not be sure where to go or what to do, but it´s nice too. Rumor has it there is karaoke in town, so I´m gonig to rock a mic tonight if possible.

And yes, I know Cherokee is not spelled Chiriqui. But here in Panama, that´s the name of the tribe and the region that I´m in right now. :)

Rock on
Craigo

Next issue, I´ve got some notes on food... Dave and Rachel, get ready!

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

CAR CRASHES, ROCKET FIRE & LION HUNTING

-->

So A few things new and some that I hadn't mentioned yet.

This morning I was woken by a helicopter taking off. I went out and

walked around and a bunch of soldiers wanted to take pictures with me.

They didn't speak very good English and I'm not sure who they thought

I was.

Learned some more about what's going on here. How the missions work.

Mostly rescue or aid missions, though unlike Rwanda in 1994, they have

a Chapter 7 Charter which means they can fire when necessary. In

Rwanda it was Chapter 6 which meant only if you were being shot at

could you shoot back.

Around noon the clouds were forming high over the volcano, promising

rain (that never came) and thunder was booming. I was then informed

that that wasn't thunder but ROCKET ATTACKS from about 10 miles away.

They pointed out the difference. Not quite as low and more continuous

sounding. Crazy.

I then talked with a guy who is from Kenya and as a test of manhood in

the Masai Tribe they actually go hunt Lions. And he told of how he

and others went after a lion and he was the second one to strike it

with his spear which meant that he was not the new ruler of the tribe.

You had to be first. This still happens once every few years.

And that brings up the car crash...

Car crash you say. Craig, were you in a car crash in Africa?

No, I was not, so don't fear.

However some of you reading this were.

After our fantastic Gorilla trek and the great time with the singing

children, we loaded up in the cars to go. 3 of our crew and the guide

in training got in a Toyota Rav 4 and headed off. I was in a land

cruiser a minute or so behind and when we came around the first corner

there was debris all over the ground. And a moment later saw the Rav

4 Upside down and sideways blocking the 1 lane dirt road. We jumped

out and ran to check on everyone. 3 people were sitting on the

roadside, and Nigel (another trekker) and I came around the car and

there was red liquid all over the ground. "oh shit". We looked

inside and the car was empty. It was some sort of car fluid (thank

god). There was momentary chaos as people were helped. Fortunately

the injuries seemed not to serious. Cut fingers. Bruises. Bumps.

Dizziness. A scraped cheek. Scary, but lucky. As it turns out the

brakes failed just as they started down the hill. The driver didn't

know what to do. They pulled the E-brake and then turned the car into

the cliff wall to stop it (smart, since the other side was a 300 foot

drop). The car caught and flipped, rolling over 3 1/2 times before

coming to a rest on its roof. The folks inside all thought "well,

this is it. I die now, here in Uganda". When the car stopped, it sank

down crushing in the hood. One of them yelled "get out now" and they

all were out in moments.

I have video of people pushing the car back on it's wheels. The thing

is totaled, but the people are okay, and that's what matters most.

Scary as hell.

Well, I think I’ve caught you all up on most everything. The

adventure continues tomorrow with a UN truck trip to Kigali, Rwanda

and a visit to the Genocide memorial. Then it's off to Kenya for some

wildlife and a very different part of Africa.

Thanks for reading

stay safe

and drive safe.

And watch out for lions.

Craigo

YOU AREN'T GOING TO BELIEVE THIS

-->

So I'm hanging out at the UN base in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, located in the city of Goma. I'm taking pictures of an active

volcano in the distance and this DRC Soldier marches up to me and asks

very seriously to see my photos. I show him and he looks through and

wants to make sure there are no pictures of him. He's got an AK-47

over his shoulder. I think: don't take the camera, it's got all my gorilla pics on it!

He doesn't. He walks away. And we continue to take pics of the

sunset over the cooled lava field that buried Goma 6 years ago like a

modern Pompeii.

an hour later, after being offered tea and cakes about 5 times in 2

hours, we hear machine gun fire from about a mile away. At that point

I decided NOT to climb the active volcano tomorrow and camp on it's

rim. :)

So you say... is this all BS Craig? I mean, really... the CONGO?

It is not BS my friends. I went to Rwanda, and was sitting in the

rain at a restaurant eating when these 3 Indian fellows asked where I

was going. I said Gisinyi (the resort town where Dan Mirvish made his

infamous phone call from a war zone in 1991 (I got pics of the place

Dan!!!)). I told them this and they said, we'll take you there. So I

sat down, we chat and off we go. Only one vegetable tossed at us on

the way (Rwandan's don't like the UN, go figure).

It's been fascinating. I'm staying at the base and making new friends

(and not leaving the compound, I can assure you. :)

Welcome to Africa!

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. :)

Boats, Buses, CAves and more Runs!!!!

I´m alive team, fear not. I have had a week of no internet access in the wilds... well, relative wilds, of El Retiro lodge in Lanquin. A beautiful area of central guatemala where there are caves to explore and rivers to tube. One cave is dry and muddy and is lit, so you can see the formations but you have to stop where there is a 20 foot cliff... naturally on our second expedition, Yif and myself tried to figure out a way beyond the cliff (as the caves extend for 50 KILOMETERS!!!!) underground... but it definitely requires repelling gear. A french team spent 2 1-2 months underground a few years ago to get that far... I bet they smelled great as the cave is very humid! Also saw a cave spider with legs and antennae about 8 inches across... hmmm.... The Descnet anyone?

The other cave is filled with water, and you have to swim and climb ropes and use candles (or a trusty not so waterproof headlamp) and there is even a spot where you can jump off the wall into a pool and swim UNDER the floor and emerge through a tiny little hole at everyones feet.... it’s actually pretty scary, as you have to go over 3 feet deep and squeeze through this hole... I hit my head a lot (I know Cadry, big suprise!) but made it out... Yif and I once again wanted to go further than the tour and the guide said we could when we were outiside, but in standard guide form backed out once you reach the terminus of the tour.... we went anyway, maybe another 300 meters and got in trouble... oh well, they watch their caves better than in laos.

On the way out of the cave we passed another tour and I saw two folks I had ran into on the shores of Lago Antitlian a week earlier... "oh hey Teresa, what´s up?¨ Kinda strange small world you travel in here.

Tubing down the river was a highlight, you just pay 2 bucks and get a tube and off you go.... it’s actually quite fast and you have to dodge trees and rocks. They suggest you get out at the lodge or the first brigdge.... but the float was nice, so we kept going... past the second bridge, a few minor rapids... and then we came around a corner... Yif said ¨"You´ve got some tree trouble up ahead". I saw the tree.... and then I heard the ROAR.... "We got more than that! Get out!" We paddled like mad as the river vanished into spray and rapids in front of us...

... we both made it to the side about 10 feet from the rapids start... whew! (that´s why they say get out at the first bridge...) We climbed up to the road and looked down.... it was a class 3 rapid I´d guess. If we´d happened through it on the left we would have been fine though it would have been wild... had we gone through on the right.... well, lets just say its a damn good thing we didn´t go on the right.

Also at El Retiro they had some family style food, which on Wednesday was bbq.... not texas style, but good, and some kick ass dancing. Made a lot of good friends (in the way people you see for 2 days are good friends). Yif, Ziv, Martina, Julia. It was fun. There were a number of israilis and on Friday for Yom Kippur they all gathered for a new years feast... there were 4 of us not israili, and 26 israilis... we sang songs, ate food, and rocked the Hotel California....

... oh, and got sick.

Yep friends, for the last 4 days I have been sick as shit. You know that thing they call the Runs? I´ve done 2 or 3 marathons by now.

WARNING... the following contains graphic descriptions of shit and vomit! :)

Yeah, well, yeah... sucks. I could barely walk, and enjoyed the eco-toilets at the lodge a great deal. Me and the bugs and the little frogs hung out. I tried to eat stuff and would immediately.... yes, withing 30 seconds shit it out... and then puke up the rest. After 12 hours it was only water, lots of water, bottom and top. Weeee..... I slept saturday... and thought I felt better sunday... NOPE... slept sunday.... drank some gingerale and water.... shit that out...

Then finally monday said, screw it, I`´m going to Flores (home of Tikal) because I hadn´t gone in 12 hours.... So I took a 10 hour bus ride and somehow made it to the island town (which is really pretty and tiny in the lake) and got a nice hostel with private bath and hot showers (with an actual hot water spicket which is different from the usualy electric heaters) and a fan, and it’s heaven, and I relaxed and slept for like 15 hours and now...

.... I still don´t feel well. The diahrrea cholonic is gone (mostly) but I think when you lose like 15 pounds in two weeks it has an effect. Wait, I´´ve discovered a new DIET! The Traveller-Diahhrea diet. Note, that when traveling I had lost 5 pounds alreay in two weeks, as its very active and the food isn´t as shitty as we have in America (okay, cadry, I also don´t eat fast food here!) But, throw the Runs on top of it and WOW... another 10 to 15 pounds in 4 days, that´s fucking incredible! I think everyone should do this! It’s so effective and so much fun! Sure, you don´t have any energy and basically sleep all the time and must stay within 20 feet of a toilet (preferable not a squat toilet... thank GOD I didn´t have to deal with those and this). It’s really amazing... I had no idea all that can come out of me....

So, there is my main tip... and the great thing is, you odn´t know how you get it? It wasn´t food, others ate food, the waters been clean. Another guy got it to but he and I had not hung out during the day we both got sick. So who knows.... Yeah, I´ve had the travelers runs...

Enjoy...

Hopefully Tikal Tomorrow... but its hot as crap and I don´t feel well still. I´ve got a handful of things I still MUST do while down here, and plenty of time, so go figure, I´ll take it easy and buy some souveniers. I´d read, but Children Of Dune is not processing with my current state of illness... Muad´Dib!

Hope all is well,

Rock on

Craigo

TARZAN BOY!!!!!!

Oh yes, in addition to a fun filled day of scuba diving on the lake and walking all over San Pedro (not the one in california) for a bar called Buddha, I have heard the legend, the one and only TARZAN BOY.... TWICE!!!!! (once at the independence day celebration where they ended the night of raggaeton and trance with Eye of the Tiger, Tarzan Boy and Ghostbusters.... and once while eating today where they played.... Eye of the Tiger, tarzan boy and ghostbusters.... hmmm..... and I´am in a different town....)

So Kevin, you were right, it is coming back, and it’s HUGE!!!!!!

That´s what I got.

Hope you are rocking...

I gotta hit the dance floor...

woh oh woh oh oh oh oh ohhhh oh ohhhh....

Craigo

--