After surviving my first public transportation ordeal with Robert to get to Fort Portal, I signed on to a couple of private full-day tours of the area. Very reasonably priced for a guide all to myself.

While hiking through the hills and banana fields in the “crater lakes” area near Fort Portal, my guide, Cletus, explained to me about the banana fields, which feel more like banana forests. In this area the locals grow very miniature bananas, different than the kind one eats. They use them to make a liquor with. After picking them while still green, the locals ripen them by steaming them over a smoldering fire covered in banana leaves. Then they mash them and add sorghum to ferment into the final product. I believe I tasted this or something very similar at the SAB brewery in South Africa, where they let us experience the traditional liquor; it smelled quite wretched but was surprisingly palatable … if one were terribly desperate. So my guide took me inside the house of someone who happened to be in his yard and was brewing this liquor. There were several drums of this stuff fermenting inside a mud hut, and it smelled exactly like the stuff in SAB. It was a purple chunky brew, bubbling away in some scavenged metal drums, which were uncovered -- to let the swarming flies add a little protein, I guess. The smell was very strong. My guide said that when a man comes to bring the bride price for a bride in this region, he must include along with livestock and other gifts, several large jerricans full of this liquor. It’s consumed in many traditional celebrations. Another day when I had a different guide, I asked him if he ever drank that liquor. He said yes, but it’s very strong, so he doesn’t drink much. “Do you like the flavor?” I asked. He shook his head and laughed. “No!”

Robert told me about some of the customs of his tribe, and a baby naming ceremony involves the simple act of dropping 3 drops of this liquor into the baby’s mouth then proclaim the name. Then all the villagers gathered around to drink themselves a party.  A right of passage into manhood is also quite simple: a boy must carry a huge clay pot of the liquor to his father, who is seated some distance away from the “starting point,” and give him a drink, then carry the pot back. If you drop it then you are basically ridiculed, perhaps you will have another opportunity in the future.

A couple other random cultural components of his tribe: If a women gets pregnant out of wedlock, their custom is that this child is given to the grandparents to raise. My friend was raised according to this prescribed custom by an assortment of family members. His parents, who were married after he was conceived, were allowed to bring him up in infancy until the age of 5, but then he was given to his grandparents to raise, then circumstances gave him to an aunt and uncle for a few years, then he came back to his grandparents. A bit of a jumbled childhood. The prescription for two people being caught in the act of incest is for the villagers to lock them inside a thatched hut, pile grass all around it, light it on fire, then stand outside with canes to give the a beating when they finally run outside to escape the flames -- out of the fire and into the frying pan.

But anyway ... these banana forests lie in a region called the Crater Lakes, outside of Fort Portal. A series of lakes have filled in volcanic craters (hence the reasonable name of the region). The first photo below is the lake depicted on the 20 schilling note in Uganda. You can recognize the tall tree on the lower right on the bill. It's a very scenic area. 

While Cletus and I were walking through the fields in a valley, where they were growing Irish potatoes and peanuts and onions, we came across a small flock of gray crowned cranes! I couldn't believe it, this amazing bird just hangs out in the village fields. I had presumed they existed only in national parks now. But here they were free as a ... well, a bird.  

Look closely at the boat above, if you didn't notice what an ingenious little bodge-job it is. A wooden box on the metal canisters to make a pontoon boat. People around here are perpetually inventive with their limited resources.

My day with Cletus through the crater lakes and banana fields also included a hike to a nice waterfall. It was a lovely day, all in all, though (a) I was a bit ill to my stomach, and (b) while Cletus was a nice guy, he asked me every few minutes if I was OK ... "how are you?" "are you good?" "are you OK?" ... and by the end of the day I just couldn't answer him anymore. He wasn't asking this on account of my illness because I didn't tell him I was sick; he was just asking to ask. Amusing, but eventually tiresome. But a minor point in an otherwise awesome day. 

 *

Read more articles about Uganda

Uganda Wildlife Education Center - Entebbe, Uganda.

So what all goes on at the UWEC? Here's a little tour around some of the activities.

I already told you about my first activity of the day, feeding the chimpanzees porridge. Then cutting up fruits and vegetables and feeding the patas monkeys and oribi.

Elsewhere around the UWEC, zookeepers are collecting grass from around the UWEC grounds to feed to some of the hoofed animals in various enclosures, and yes, cutting up more tons of fruits and veges for the critters. The produce and meats are delivered to the distribution room, where the keepers then weigh out the food and separate into crates for the various animals. 

The grass and produce are put in the back of the tractor to make the rounds to the giraffes and ostriches who also share their space with eland and cow. First the giraffes emerge from the forest to follow the tractor.

Then the ostriches come running in. I was a bit frightened of the ostriches, to be honest. They were quite aggressive and those beaks are intimidating when they're hurtling toward you at the end of a long neck.

The cow tries to nibble off the back of the tractor as we drive in. But the eland is more patient. 

The giraffe is so gentle he eats right out of my hand; I could practically kiss him. (but I didn't try to)

Other critters to visit in the morning include the water buck. An adorable young one currently in residence. And the white rhino, who is a gentle creature. I was far more anxious about feeding the ostriches than the rhino! 

This is me showing my impressive strength (ha) in hoisting up a bundle of grass with a pulley. 

If we've run out of fish to feed the birds (minus the ostriches who eat grass), we can throw a net into the moat around the chimp island and catch some. Once we caught a fish and when we looked in its mouth, the mouth was completely full of teensy-weensy baby fish. I'd never seen anything like that. We threw the mom back in the water. A variety of life lives in those waters, including a very large monitor lizard! Onapa watches us with interest from the island.

After the animals are fed, it's time to feed me. There is where I sit at the shore of Lake Victoria, my view as I eat, and the kitty who sits in my lap while I wait for food and then of course begs for food while I eat. He is being adopted by the other American volunteer; she completed shots and paperwork to take him home with her when she returns. After eating, I am all big and strong and read to slice and dice yet more food. ha ha. And also strong enough to shoo away the vervets that constantly try to steal my breakfast off my plate. I learned eventually to simply not set my plate on the table, but to hold it to my chest while I eat. 
One of my favorite things was being able to watch the grey crowned cranes that freely roamed the grounds while I ate.

On the late shift, at about 6pm, the chimps are brought inside and fed some more porridge. The big cats get a serving of raw meet and are put in their night enclosures. This is me laughing at the willpower I'm exerting not to step back and be intimidated by the lion, feeding her an appetizer as a distraction while the male is being let into his own nighttime enclosure, and the leopard into his, where they will eat their dinners. Each sleeps in a separate cage. 

Then Shara eats dinner and goes to bed. Right now she has run out of time on the internet and must leave. So I end my day here.

As with all animals one typically only spies at a zoo, it’s a different and more rewarding experience to find them in the wild in their natural habitat, the only real human impact on their behavior being their acquired indifference to us (such as one finds at any Big 5 game park in Africa). So despite working with chimpanzees everyday at the UWEC, it was a rewarding experience to track them in the Budongo reserve. Simply walking through the forest in Budongo is pleasant enough with its lush rainforest ecosystem, in which, it seems to me, thrive perhaps the most layers of various forms of life on the planet. That is to say, given say a square meter of forest floor, extended up to include the space above the floor, is the highest number of different species of plant and animal compared to the same space in another ecosystem. There is something quite marvelous about rain forests.

It didn’t take long for our guide to spot our first chimp high up in the trees. He pointed it out and it was easy enough to spot the dark mass. He told us it was a female with a small baby. I was slightly astounded at his perception, as I truly could discern only the dark lump. But after staring through the camera zoom lens for a few moments, sure enough, out popped a tiny head over the mom’s shoulder. Too tiny to capture in a photo, yet I was quite happy to have simply glimpsed it. I took a few photos of the dark lump in the trees, not knowing whether or not it might be the best view I would have of the chimps. 

After standing quietly for a short while, I watched the tiny head disappear. Again, I wondered if that would be my moment of glory, that tiny head in a sky full of leaves. But soon enough, a little body leaped from the mother and wobbled down a tree branch. Soon, a precious little face peered down at us through the forest canopy.

Now my brief moment of glory was infinitely sweeter. Soon our guide was spotting chimpanzee after chimpanzee, and we moved around a small area on the forest floor to spy above us what eventually counted as, I believe, 4 adult females and 7 infants and toddlers. My neck’s ability to remain tilted backward was severely tested as was the strength of my arm perpetually holding up my camera to look through the lens, finger on the button, ready to snap a shot anytime a face or body came into reasonable view. I know, I have a very small camera and lens; still, after an hour of this, it does become a bit of a trial. [at this point in time I only had a consumer-grade camera with a 250 lens and a polarizer a friend gave me that I didn't know I should take off to capture movement and low light images better -- I had a lot to learn]

We were able to watch the toddlers romp around through the tree branches, high above our heads, already exhibiting complete competency in balance and swinging skills as they chased one another down one tree limb, flew across open space to a neighboring tree’s limb, and continued pursuit across its woody arms.

Hard to describe the full impact on my emotions, on my personal view of where I came from in this ancient world, so I will leave the experience simply at this:  Lovely.

*

Read more articles about Uganda

Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda.

So after our discussions about education and success in Uganda driving to and from Murchison, which I shared HERE, and our gorgeous sunrise on the Nile, now I'll share with you some of the animals we encountered on our game drive in Murchison Falls National Park. The thrill of safari hasn’t remotely left me after my experiences in South Africa. Here we encountered most of the animals at quite close range and the ecosystem is drastically different, so it's interesting to see some of the same animals in such different habitats.

I saw very little in the way of hippos in South Africa, so it was fun to see piles and piles of them here, and a few crocodiles, too.  

Here was a very interesting fellow we encountered, the Abyssinian ground hornbill. Quite a snazzy red cravat he's got on! And a nice blue mask to accompany it. Strolling toward some flowers ... maybe he's about to put one through his buttonhole.

Elephants came up very close to our vehicle to check us out. 

Giraffes seem well suited to this lush environment. Loads of tall trees to stretch their necks up to. It was kind of neat seeing the giraffes from afar, looking down on them instead looking up at them. 

The landscape is quite striking from up high, looking across the green plains with the mountains behind.

Though they might not be the cutest and cuddliest of African wildlife, I actually am quite fond of warthogs. 

The cape buffalo were notoriously unpredictable and frightening creatures to encounter on foot when I was doing the census survey in South Africa. Here, from the comfort of my vehicle, they seemed rather docile. This guy seems kind of sleepy ... maybe he's just settling down for a nap and too tired to be grumpy.

This pic makes me chuckles a little because the two skinny twigs sticking up behind the buffalo's head look like little antennae. An alien buffalo! Or else he's trying to get TV reception. 

These baboons also seemed rather friendlier than the psychotic baboon Ngugi at the UWEC!

A red hartebeest greeted us. Not sure how he got mud on his face! Below him is the Ugandan kob. (a bit blurry, sorry)

And a great triumph occurred, which is that I saw two leopards in a tree together. This was the one iconic animal I had very much wished to see in South Africa and did not. I felt very happy over this. They were quite far away and visible only in patches owing to the leaves of the tree branches on which they were residing. So my photos are hardly worth publishing here. But here's one anyway, if you can make it out. :-) Still, I was overjoyed to have seen them. 

*

Read more articles about Uganda