Jinja: The Source of the Nile

On Friday, we woke before dawn to catch the bus headed to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. We entered the bus to loud Ugandan rap. Let the weekend begin! We watched the sun rise, Mary got car sick, watched some sketch music videos, and four hours later we arrived wide-eyed in Kampala. We’re pretty easy to spot here, so we were offered plenty of taxi rides to our final destination, Jinja! We chose the wrong cab. The driver had a My Little Pony dangling from the rear view mirror and had no problem inviting a strange man to snuggle with Frannie and Steph in the back seat.

We almost made it, but got pulled over… twice. Don’t worry, he had two different licenses and giggled after he gave the false form to the cops. Parents, sorry #1. We thought the driver and the police were close to a fist fight, but somehow returned holding hands and laughing. We made it to the Backpackers Inn, dropped off our bags, got ripped off by cab driver, and hopped on a Boda Boda. Parents, sorry #2. We ate at a delicious restaurant and Frannie insisted on having our waiter card her. He thought we were crazy. Mad Libs (giggle). We spent the afternoon shopping around the market and trying to find the Nile. Fail. We did buy some great souvenirs though! Not knowing what else to do with the night, ended up having a spontaneous gathering with a Notre Dame student, a Miami of Ohio student, Canadians, British, New Zealanders, and local Ugandans. Too much fun was had by all.

After staying up late to ring in the new 21st (Mary!), we still popped out of bed… ready to raft! Then, we ate breakfast while watching previous rafting videos. Not ready to raft. After giving us a brief explanation, life jackets, helmets, and not enough sunscreen, we were off. Mary had her awkward nervous laugh at full force, Frannie was reapplying sunscreen like it was her job, and Steph was telling everyone to calm down- “We will be fine!” Before we knew it, the six of us were on a raft with our new best friend and guide, Stef. We won over his heart by screaming within the first minute… in flat water, and he won over ours by telling us he and his wife adopted a son from an Ugandan orphanage that they volunteered at. DEAR CANADA, GIVE THEM A VISA ALREADY!

Anyway, he had us jump out in the first rapid. The water tasted great. The grace and elegance of Saint Mary’s started right away with us being dragged and flopped back into the raft. Beautiful. The other rafters knew right away which raft would be “that raft”. We were not ready for the class 5 rapids that we knew were waiting for us, but it was one of the best days of our lives! We got stuck on a rock at one point… because we stopped paddling in fear. The grace continued when we had to awkwardly bounce around the raft with everyone looking on. Turns out, it is hard to bounce in unison (GIRLS, BOUNCE. STAY IN THE BOAT). The second we were free from the rocks, we were free falling down a waterfall. A legit waterfall. In case they missed us bouncing, we made sure everyone heard us. Pre-waterfall: Everyone sitting in positions… somewhat paddling. During waterfall: SCREAM… not really paddling. Post-waterfall: Steph lost her paddle, Frannie giggled uncontrollably after smacking backwards into Anne’s face, Anne clutching her face, Claire sitting on Mary’s lap, and Bridgette… little bit clueless.

We hit a nice long stretch where we enjoyed freshly cut pineapple and crackers. Stef enjoyed our musical renditions of Just around the River Bend and Rollin’ on the River. It turns out our raft was the only raft that didn’t flip all day, however the birthday girl got tossed overboard at one point… and shook for 20 minutes after. We loved how our guide described each rapid, especially the one that included a stretch of water called “the bad place”. We had a great day and cannot wait to show everyone the video! You heard us right… it is all documented!

Nile River Explorers had a barbeque waiting for us overlooking the Nile. The view was absolutely breathtaking and the food was delicious! We realized then that we got a little fried by the sun. We were really close to the equator… Parents, sorry #3. We headed back to the hostel to celebrate another birthday and our survival. Too much fun had by all… again.

Once everyone was up and accounted for, we paid for the weekend. We headed to the bus in Jinja, sad to depart from our new friends. The ride from Jinja to Kampala was cosy to say the least, but we realized we didn’t know cosy until the ride from Kampala back home. Steph was almost sleeping on a random man’s shoulder, Mary was getting sick again, Frannie was sitting next to someone getting sick, and Bridgette didn’t have a seat. It was a long 5 ½ hour journey. Overall, we had the best weekend, but were so happy to be reunited with the sisters in Kyarusozi! Miss you all!

XOXO