fun in the sun

Warning, this is a fully loaded photo post – prepare yourself!!

I really should have written this post weeks ago, but haven’t had the time. Over the Easter holiday weekend I escaped with Kristin, her housemate, and some of their friends to a small private island in the Nile River. The place is called the
Hairy Lemon (a sign in the bar says the owners were inspired to name the place after a bar they fancied with the same title).

The visit was totally awesome!

Trucke made all the arrangements, her friend Won, a Chinese business man in Kampala, drove us along as we navigated for an hour outside of Jinja….After finding the proper turn off we arrived at a small hut, where banging on a hanging tire rim causes a dug-out canoe to suddenly appear to carry you across the river, to the enchanted Hairy Lemon .

The intentions for the weekend were serious R&R and to escape the city. We met our goals! The grounds were beautiful, the company delightful, and the food delicious. It was a complete muzungu frenzy of activity – kayakers, students, tourists, and our group of 8, a combination of UN folk, some business people, humanitarian workers, and a handful of activists (or at least one!). We stayed in shared bandas and the island was completely eco-friendly (with solar powered showers and lights at night). The waters were bilharzia-free, with “white sand beaches” (lets not pretend its Siesta Key though…no one could fully understand my inherent disappointment with the “white sand”…I miss home…sigh).

Relaxing at the River and a view up stream, next to my tree:


This tree branch was my hideout, for about 8 hours of solitude. It was perfect. Until I was discovered ☺, heh.

The key ingredients to a successful day alone by the river = book (The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman) + deet + journal/pen + joints/matches + Nikon with 300 mm lens

We swam and played in the Nile– it was so fantastic, I don’t have the words now that I’m back in hot, dry, (and dare I say it?!) boring Arua:

Card Games:

Joris and Kristin/Kristin and Corona/Aki, Won, Joris:

We meant to witness these world reknowned kayakers at a famous point for navigating the rapids -- this involved returning across the nile to the main land, walking through a small village, then taking a "ferry" back across the river, and navigating to this lookout point. We never found the point. But the village explorations were a blast none the less! These villages are somewhat untouched by tourism, despite their proximity to one of Uganda's biggest tourist towns (Jinja), and the children can't hide their excitement upon finding a group of wazungu ladies. So, so funny - we had an army of protectors, comedians, pathfinders, and handholders.

Village explorations, in chronological order: walking through the first village; Kristin on the ferry; making friends; cutie kids; and the quintessential images of African village life:

Teaching the hokey-pokey, some portraits and saying goodbye, sunset sailing, and departing one side of the riverbank for the other, our friends waving us away:

Also, as you may have realized, i am a big nerd, and this was further highlighted during the trip.

Bird Nerd:

Yellow vented bulbul, pycnonotus barbatus


Small Egret (with green feet!)


Woodland kingfisher, halcyon senegalensis (out of focus, but still cute):


Big old Cormorants:


A beast with a bill:

And I am totally my father's daughter, bug nerd shots:

And finally, a few extra nice ones for you to feast upon:

Heavy rains:


And who says modernity is they best answer? They look kind of ridiculous, if you ask me.

Thanks for making it all the way to the bottom! leave me some comments!