Part Two of the Trek

Day Four-Crossing Lake Mutanda

So my last blog left off when we were still in Nkuringo, with half of our trek still to be completed. As much as I did not want to leave the Nkuringo campsite, and all of the beauty that surrounded it, it was time to move on. And I really was looking forward to the remainder of the trek.

We set out nice and early because we had a lot of kilometers to cover. The first leg of the day took us through the countryside, which consisted of hills upon hills of farmland. Whereas crops in the U.S. are grown in the flatlands, farmers here just plant their crops on the sides of hills or mountains. The road we traveled upon wound in and out of mountains that were covered in cornstalks, bean sprouts, heads of cabbage, and many other crops. Since we were there during the rainy season, everything was incredibly green and many of the crops were ready to be harvested. The walk to the lake took us through 19km of countryside and back down to sea level. It was my favorite part of our journey and surprisingly, I found it to be more beautiful than any other hike we went on over the course of our hike.

After our long walk, we finally reached the lake and the canoe in which we would be traveling across it. It was a dugout canoe whose holes had been patched up with aluminum from old soda cans, and while I wasn't entirely convinced that it would deliver us safely to the other side, a three hour trip away, I climbed in, figuring that I could swim ashore if necessary. Well, the canoe did float, although Evarest spent half the time scooping water out of the hull as we glided across the lake. Adam opted to paddle, along with Evarest and the canoe guide...I just chilled in the front and let my hands dangle over the sides of the canoe, enjoying the feel of the cold water slipping through my fingers.

The ride was hot, but uneventful. After a long three hours we reached the other side and completed the final four km that took us to our final destination of Kisoro. I was tired from the long day of walking and we had a very early start the next morning for our volcano climb, so it was an early night for us at the hotel.

Day Five-The volcano

There is a string of seven volcanoes along the borders of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda that is called the Virunga Chain. We left for Mgahinga National Park early the next morning to climb Sabinyo, which everyone had said was the most difficult to climb due to its three separate peaks. We were excited for the challenge! And what a challenge it was! I consider myself to be a reasonably fit person, and I was dying. For some reason switchbacks had been eliminated in favor of a straight ascent up the mountain, which meant we were basically climbing stairs for four hours straight.

It was a beautiful climb which took us through three different types of vegetation. The bamboo forest at the beginning was beautiful, as we were shrouded amongst huge stalks of bamboo and a gurgling brook wound itself alongside our path. We finally reached the first peak, and after a short break for lunch, continued our climb, determined to reach the third peak. Peaks one and two were somewhat uneventful, we were just glad to have made it that far. We ditched our walking sticks for the last leg of the climb up to the third peak because we had to climb up makeshift ladders that had been fastened in the side of the volcano. They were basically vertical, and a slight rain had started to fall, so it was a bit daunting climbing these ladders for forty minutes, knowing that one slip up would send you tumbling straight down for a long time. But, the tough and dangerous aspect of the climb also made it the most exciting part of the trek, and the ladders were definitely the highlight of the day for me.

Finally, we reached the third peak, where the corners of Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC all meet. I lay down and spread myself in such a way as to be in three countries at once, pretty cool! It was really misty when we finally reached the top, so we waited for about an hour for the mist to hopefully clear so that we could get a good view of the valleys below. Unfortunately we had no such luck and since we were cold and wet we decided to just head back down.

We made it back down, soggy and tired, and determined to find a way to get back to Kampala without having to take a bus the next morning. Luckily for us, there was a couple staying at the hotel whom we had met the day before and was willing to split a private hire with us back to Kampala. So, not only was it a phenomenal trek, but I didn't have to risk my life again by getting back on one of the dreaded buses!!! Not only was it enjoyable to ride back with other travelers and get to hear some of their stories, but I also got to enjoy the beautiful scenery as we passed it by because my eyes weren't clamped shut, trying to ignore the speed at which we were traveling.

So, now life is back to normal in Ndejje. As much fun as it was to visit western Uganda, I missed the kids a lot and am happy to be back with them again. Now that school is out for the semester, kids are over at our house constantly, and we have a lot of fun playing with them or doing arts and crafts, or running around with our landlord's puppy. A bit of a vacation was nice, but there is much to be appreciated about normality as well.