Hi Everyone
Today s a travel day. I slept in and did not go on the morning game drive. Have not taken a picture in three days and am ready to go. We left Lewa House at 9:30 for a ten o’clock flight to Nairobi and then a two o’clock flight to Entebbe Uganda. I was so tired that I immediately fell asleep on the bush flight and woke up as we were landing in Nairobi. My body has not fully recovered from my stomach issues and the warmer weather seems to have me in a constant dehydrated state. Our walk from the runway to the airport was long and we finally arrived at the entrance to the airport. Everyone had too show proof of a negative Covid test before being admitted into the airport. When we entered, we then had to go through security and then onto checkin. I saw some Oriental people wearing hazmat suits and it certainly looked out of place. If they were so worried of getting Covid, why did they travel? It was then through passport control and finally we were able to sit down, rest and have lunch. I was not very hungry, so I ordered a coffee shake. It was one of the best drinks I ever had and knew full well that I might pay for it later. Andy knew a good massage parlor and I went over there for a thirty minute head and shoulder massage. The Kenyan woman almost put me to sleep as she worked me over. Onto the gate for the final leg.
As we were approaching Entebbe, I began to notice how lush and green everything was and we were landing next to a huge lake. This was Lake Victoria or the second largest fresh water lake in the world. We landed and departed onto a runway and the temperature felt cool without any humidity. The airport scene was chaotic, but Andy hired a company to meet us and guide us through the procedure. We gave them our passports, negative Covid tests and yellow fever vaccinations and they sped us through the process. Once we left the building, I spotted quite a few armed policemen with machine guns observing the scene. The driver loaded us and our luggage into two vans and away we went to our one night hotel.
On the way to the hotel, we passed by a large billboard with the Presidents face on it and asked the driver about him. He told me that the President is 77 and has been in office since 1986. On the last election, he put his opponent under house arrest until the election was over and traveled all around the country handing out money to buy votes. This opponent received 35% of the vote under house arrest. The average age is fifteen. No old people here. We finally arrived at our hotel and I immediately stood under a cold shower to cool down and regain some energy. We wake up at 5 and leave at 6 for a one hour bush flight to our first gorilla camp. My excitement and wonder is starting to peak.
Love
Larry