Jan 10 - walked down to the next hut at 2,580 m. Tomorrow down to the hostel at 1,450 m. Cold & foggy here but was windy & colder above.
Looking forward to hostel w/shower, laundry and seeing if I can get some cheap replacement glasses for the ones broken in Ethiopia as well as make arrangements for visiting Queen Elizabeth park. Just finishing Darkness at Noon which I enjoyed re-reading.
Differences Ethiopia vs Uganda
Ethiopia
- person serving meal will bring out handwashing soap, water & basin before and after meal
- shake hands & shoulder kiss
- coffee ceremony & great coffee
- people OK w/pics being taken
Uganda
- lots of OK w/pictures being taken even in crowd
- not good coffee (so far)
- small motorcycles (boda boda) everywhere
- no livestock on roads
- less openly friendly
Taking Cypro and starting to feel better - stomach flu or ? If I have healthier I think I could have made the summit.I was ascending at the same rate as the younger people but I don't feel bad about not summitting. The whole summit idea was too tied up with personal ego. Coming down slowly has given me a greater opportunity to relax and see the Rwenzori. The trail is so rugged & steep it is necessary to keep your eyes on your feet & where you are going to place them almost all the time and equally so on the way down.
Joshua has given me some ideas. I still have days I paid for so I could stay at the Trekkers Hostel
with that paid time and do my laundry and do some errands/spend some money in Kasese rather than in Kampala. eyeglasses, gifts, post cards & stamps etc. I hung out w/Joshua as he made dinner. he was asking me about Canada & The US & I was asking him about Uganda. He has a lot of respect for the Aussie John who owns the hostel and Rwenzori Trekking Services (RTS). Says he expects hard work but works quite hard himself & is working hard on expanding RTS so it is less seasonal & more consistent and should help the business grow and employ more people. He knows Joshua likes books so when I am in Kampala I am going to ask him to bring Montaigne over for Joshua.
Jan. 11 - Back at the Trekkers Hostel - got going at 8:20 this morning & descended about 1,200 metres in about 3 hours. Trail got better as we got lower. I'm staying on a couple of days at no additional cost. sort thru my gear so I can give some away. Cold weather stuff & boots I don't need,don't want to carry that other people can use. Had a shower & washed my hair and felt great. Clothes are being washed. Went into Kasese on a boda boda which was kind of fun when I got used to it. Old bike of indeterminate age and origin. Noisy. Gauges don't work. Neither driver or I had helmets. I had ugly wrap around sunglasses & longer than usual grey hair blown back in the wind. I was sitting behind and a bit above the driver & felt like a bit like an aging Canadian Jack Nicholson.
An aging Canadian jack Nicholson- can you see it?
Got lots of looks from all the people we passed because, of course, I am a crazy old white guy & none of them were any of these. Road from the hostel for the first 5 K or so was CRAP and the improvised bridge the locals built when the rod bridge was destroyed by flood in 2013 was really amazing.
Sunday AM back to Barclays & maybe the internet cafe. Monday Barclays, maybe new glasses & a tour of the town with Joshua & then take he and his wife to dinner. Tuesday off to Q E Park or at least that is the plan. Karen at the hostel was unsure about how the Q E Park bit was going to work but someone was going to drop by and inform me.
January 12 - he came & explained and it seems good. He is coming Monday to give me details & costs & we leave Tuesday for 4 days & staying at a different hostel. then back to the Trekkers Hostel. I was thinking of back to kampala after that but I asked Karen what else I might do from the Trekkers Hostel
This is the Kilembe hostel and the two women who I dealt with most frequently and who seemed to keep the hostel working smoothly
and she suggested a "community" walk. Sounds good. Then, probably, back to Kampala. We'll see. Its Sunday and I'm going down to Kasese for money & internet. Maybe a bit later in the morning than I thought originally as I think most people, including my ride, will be in church. In both Uganda and Ethiiopia religion plays a stronger and more visible role in society than in Canada.
JOBS - with jobs all is possible. Without there is idleness, frustration & the inability to build lives.
When you visit a foreign country you can view it from behind the barrier of a tour bus or from the safety of a tour group or you can try to experience the normal reality of where you are at least temporarily and, of course, in small part.To travel is, or should be, to expand your understanding of what "normal" can be and to have a better & clear of that which is comon to us all. What would Christianity be if we stripped the bible down to the life and teachings of Christ? Better I think.
I can hear the music of the church below my hostel. So different from the church music I am used to. It has a rhythm and a beat.It doesn't have the complexity of western church music but I think there is an element in it that allows the individual to more easily become a member of the group. Something like that which I feel but can't express well. Good drum beat.
A small lizard moves across the area I am sitting in moving about a foot at a time. It is about 20 cm long including the tail & light green w/brown markings on its back.
Back in Ethiopia Linnea said the churches in Sweden chose not to send clothes to Africa believing that this practice would hinder the development of a textile/clothing industry in Africa. With all the very cheap clothing textiles already being manufactured in Bangladesh I think they are wrong.
I am sure I will like London & have fun but after Africa it will be somewhat dull & bland.
Jan. 13 - Went down to Kasese yesterday. The day before I clutched the luggage rack of the boda boda with both hands but yesterday I was more relaxed & taking selfies of myself on the way down.
Me being relaxed and taking a selfie when travelling on the back of a boda boda
Not all that bold considering that half the women I saw were riding in skirts and sitting sideways behind a guy and were quite casual. I saw 4 guys on one boda boda going down to Kasese but I don't know if it could handle the same load coming back up the hill to Kilembe. Used the internet at the White House hotel and bought some papers & back to the hostel. Met 4 older Slovaks going for peak. One had great pics & video of the Gorillas. two Brits also but not for the peak. One is a natural history (exp. birds) guide & has guided all over the world (15 times to Costa Rica) and was quite interesting. (Greentours.co.uk) It is interesting this morning to watch two parties getting organized to go, sorting out loads, organizing the many porters etc.
There are many more people wanting to be porters than needed. This is a poor area I think. There was a copper mine here in Kilembe owned by the Canadian company Falconbridge but it has been closed for decades.
This picture is of some of the old mining buildings from the Falconbridge era and also giving an idea of the scope of the floods in the spring of 2013 that washed out the road bridge about a kilometre above this.
It has now been bought by a Chinese company and there is much scepticism in the community about how well the chinese will treat the locals ie safety & wages. Chatted with Joshua for quite awhile. He has lots of questions, not all of which I can answer. Discussed the scientific determination that homosexualtiy is something a person is born with and not a choice. Its interesting this morning to watch the two other parties getting organized to go, sorting out gear, organizing the many porters etc.
Waiting to go down to Kasese and there are 4 bedframes on the grass waiting to be carried up the trail. Evidently they are being carried up the mountain 1,100 m where they will be used in two new shelters. Won't be an easy carry.
Down to Kasese and got some cash for the Q E Park trip & postcards. Met with guide for QE Park and it will be fine and I look forward to it. Joshua has an amazing thirst for information/opinion about the larger world outside Africa. Local papers have no coverage outside of outside Africa & he has limited internet. I have seen nothing giving giving international coverage in town. He would love the Economist with its news coverage. (Joshua is a high school geography/history teacher and he guides on school holidays).
A very pleasant going away meal with Joshua, Jessica (his girl friend) and Priscilla (his 2 year old daughter).
As we were saying goodbye he said that my decision (not to keep on going up) was a good one as they had many clients who continue when they are sick even hiding their condition or medication from their guide. They sometimes have to be brought down on stretchers.
Looking forward to hostel w/shower, laundry and seeing if I can get some cheap replacement glasses for the ones broken in Ethiopia as well as make arrangements for visiting Queen Elizabeth park. Just finishing Darkness at Noon which I enjoyed re-reading.
Differences Ethiopia vs Uganda
Ethiopia
- person serving meal will bring out handwashing soap, water & basin before and after meal
- shake hands & shoulder kiss
- coffee ceremony & great coffee
- people OK w/pics being taken
Uganda
- lots of OK w/pictures being taken even in crowd
- not good coffee (so far)
- small motorcycles (boda boda) everywhere
- no livestock on roads
- less openly friendly
Taking Cypro and starting to feel better - stomach flu or ? If I have healthier I think I could have made the summit.I was ascending at the same rate as the younger people but I don't feel bad about not summitting. The whole summit idea was too tied up with personal ego. Coming down slowly has given me a greater opportunity to relax and see the Rwenzori. The trail is so rugged & steep it is necessary to keep your eyes on your feet & where you are going to place them almost all the time and equally so on the way down.
Joshua has given me some ideas. I still have days I paid for so I could stay at the Trekkers Hostel
with that paid time and do my laundry and do some errands/spend some money in Kasese rather than in Kampala. eyeglasses, gifts, post cards & stamps etc. I hung out w/Joshua as he made dinner. he was asking me about Canada & The US & I was asking him about Uganda. He has a lot of respect for the Aussie John who owns the hostel and Rwenzori Trekking Services (RTS). Says he expects hard work but works quite hard himself & is working hard on expanding RTS so it is less seasonal & more consistent and should help the business grow and employ more people. He knows Joshua likes books so when I am in Kampala I am going to ask him to bring Montaigne over for Joshua.
Jan. 11 - Back at the Trekkers Hostel - got going at 8:20 this morning & descended about 1,200 metres in about 3 hours. Trail got better as we got lower. I'm staying on a couple of days at no additional cost. sort thru my gear so I can give some away. Cold weather stuff & boots I don't need,don't want to carry that other people can use. Had a shower & washed my hair and felt great. Clothes are being washed. Went into Kasese on a boda boda which was kind of fun when I got used to it. Old bike of indeterminate age and origin. Noisy. Gauges don't work. Neither driver or I had helmets. I had ugly wrap around sunglasses & longer than usual grey hair blown back in the wind. I was sitting behind and a bit above the driver & felt like a bit like an aging Canadian Jack Nicholson.
An aging Canadian jack Nicholson- can you see it?
Got lots of looks from all the people we passed because, of course, I am a crazy old white guy & none of them were any of these. Road from the hostel for the first 5 K or so was CRAP and the improvised bridge the locals built when the rod bridge was destroyed by flood in 2013 was really amazing.
Sunday AM back to Barclays & maybe the internet cafe. Monday Barclays, maybe new glasses & a tour of the town with Joshua & then take he and his wife to dinner. Tuesday off to Q E Park or at least that is the plan. Karen at the hostel was unsure about how the Q E Park bit was going to work but someone was going to drop by and inform me.
January 12 - he came & explained and it seems good. He is coming Monday to give me details & costs & we leave Tuesday for 4 days & staying at a different hostel. then back to the Trekkers Hostel. I was thinking of back to kampala after that but I asked Karen what else I might do from the Trekkers Hostel
This is the Kilembe hostel and the two women who I dealt with most frequently and who seemed to keep the hostel working smoothly
and she suggested a "community" walk. Sounds good. Then, probably, back to Kampala. We'll see. Its Sunday and I'm going down to Kasese for money & internet. Maybe a bit later in the morning than I thought originally as I think most people, including my ride, will be in church. In both Uganda and Ethiiopia religion plays a stronger and more visible role in society than in Canada.
JOBS - with jobs all is possible. Without there is idleness, frustration & the inability to build lives.
When you visit a foreign country you can view it from behind the barrier of a tour bus or from the safety of a tour group or you can try to experience the normal reality of where you are at least temporarily and, of course, in small part.To travel is, or should be, to expand your understanding of what "normal" can be and to have a better & clear of that which is comon to us all. What would Christianity be if we stripped the bible down to the life and teachings of Christ? Better I think.
I can hear the music of the church below my hostel. So different from the church music I am used to. It has a rhythm and a beat.It doesn't have the complexity of western church music but I think there is an element in it that allows the individual to more easily become a member of the group. Something like that which I feel but can't express well. Good drum beat.
A small lizard moves across the area I am sitting in moving about a foot at a time. It is about 20 cm long including the tail & light green w/brown markings on its back.
Back in Ethiopia Linnea said the churches in Sweden chose not to send clothes to Africa believing that this practice would hinder the development of a textile/clothing industry in Africa. With all the very cheap clothing textiles already being manufactured in Bangladesh I think they are wrong.
I am sure I will like London & have fun but after Africa it will be somewhat dull & bland.
Jan. 13 - Went down to Kasese yesterday. The day before I clutched the luggage rack of the boda boda with both hands but yesterday I was more relaxed & taking selfies of myself on the way down.
Me being relaxed and taking a selfie when travelling on the back of a boda boda
Not all that bold considering that half the women I saw were riding in skirts and sitting sideways behind a guy and were quite casual. I saw 4 guys on one boda boda going down to Kasese but I don't know if it could handle the same load coming back up the hill to Kilembe. Used the internet at the White House hotel and bought some papers & back to the hostel. Met 4 older Slovaks going for peak. One had great pics & video of the Gorillas. two Brits also but not for the peak. One is a natural history (exp. birds) guide & has guided all over the world (15 times to Costa Rica) and was quite interesting. (Greentours.co.uk) It is interesting this morning to watch two parties getting organized to go, sorting out loads, organizing the many porters etc.
There are many more people wanting to be porters than needed. This is a poor area I think. There was a copper mine here in Kilembe owned by the Canadian company Falconbridge but it has been closed for decades.
This picture is of some of the old mining buildings from the Falconbridge era and also giving an idea of the scope of the floods in the spring of 2013 that washed out the road bridge about a kilometre above this.
It has now been bought by a Chinese company and there is much scepticism in the community about how well the chinese will treat the locals ie safety & wages. Chatted with Joshua for quite awhile. He has lots of questions, not all of which I can answer. Discussed the scientific determination that homosexualtiy is something a person is born with and not a choice. Its interesting this morning to watch the two other parties getting organized to go, sorting out gear, organizing the many porters etc.
Waiting to go down to Kasese and there are 4 bedframes on the grass waiting to be carried up the trail. Evidently they are being carried up the mountain 1,100 m where they will be used in two new shelters. Won't be an easy carry.
Down to Kasese and got some cash for the Q E Park trip & postcards. Met with guide for QE Park and it will be fine and I look forward to it. Joshua has an amazing thirst for information/opinion about the larger world outside Africa. Local papers have no coverage outside of outside Africa & he has limited internet. I have seen nothing giving giving international coverage in town. He would love the Economist with its news coverage. (Joshua is a high school geography/history teacher and he guides on school holidays).
A very pleasant going away meal with Joshua, Jessica (his girl friend) and Priscilla (his 2 year old daughter).
As we were saying goodbye he said that my decision (not to keep on going up) was a good one as they had many clients who continue when they are sick even hiding their condition or medication from their guide. They sometimes have to be brought down on stretchers.
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