MTN Marathon

                On December 5^th, 2010, after hardly any training, my friend Tiffany and I decided to run.  The MTN Marathon, which is put on by a local phone company, sponsors a marathon, a half-marathon, and a 10k (due to my lack of training, I opted for the 10k).  In the weeks leading up to the race I saw tons of people running the streets of Kampala to prepare for the big day.  Attire didn’t matter – people’s training attire ranged from tattered sandals and dresses to nice athletic gear that one would commonly find in any of the sports stores in the U.S. 

                To avoid the heat, the race began at 7:00 am.  To accommodate the crowd of over 20,000 runners; however, we were asked to come at 6:00 am.  In a place that is generally unorganized and on “African time”, the race was surprisingly organized and timely.  We were given packets several days before the race which included a bag, visor, informational packet, and tracking device for only 10,000 Ugandan Schillings (~$5)!  Additionally, since so many people were gathered within a small space, security was strictly enforced to prevent any sort of violence or terrorist attack.  We were subjected to metal screenings, pat-downs, and had to check any bags we may have brought.



Our view upon arrival to the race – makes me excited to see DIA in a few days :)



 

Waiting with Tiffany for the race to begin

A sea of yellow

                As the gunshot sounded and the race began, everyone began pushing and forcing themselves toward the front.  I would be surprised if no one was injured or trampled in the first several minutes of the race.  After about a kilometer; however, the crowd thinned out slightly.



Approaching my neighborhood

Some supporters and regulatory officials along the route

Nearing the finish line



Coming is 3889th out of over 20,000 people isn't so bad, is it?



Some of the Come Let's Dance staff coming to support us



I'm Thankful for Safaris

                Since I spent my Thanksgiving in Kampala, I decided to celebrate the holiday weekend a bit untraditionally.  The weekend began semi-traditionally as about twenty people came together for a Thanksgiving feast.  Of the twenty, only five were American; however, each person talked about what they were thankful for and each person brought a Thanksgiving dish.  We had two turkeys (keep in mind that they were still warm as the boda driver dropped them off from the market…), stuffing, cranberries, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and much more.   In typical Ugandan fashion, the power was out, so we ate in the dark.



Thanksgiving 2010

                Friday afternoon, my friends and I left work a little early and got in a minivan and began our 5-6 hour trek to Murchison Falls National Park where we were to go on safari.  Before we got out of Kampala; however, we found ourselves in the middle of a political rally.  Elections are held every four years and the next election will be held in February.  Due to the nature of African elections/politics, it may be good to get out of Kampala in February…

                We arrived at our cottage a little before 7pm.  In Uganda, it’s fairly important to travel during the day when consider that many people drive without lights, walk along the road, or that the potholes are so big, they practically swallow your car whole.   Once we arrived, we had dinner and went to bed early since breakfast was scheduled for 5:30 am.  We began driving to the national park at 6 am and arrived at the Nile at 7 am to catch the ferry taking us across the river and into the park. 

Sunrise over the Nile

                After being transported to the other side of the Nile, we began driving in search of lions, elephants, giraffe, buffalo, and leopards.  Within five minutes; however, we encountered a problem – our minivan was stuck in the mud and we had to wait for the Uganda Wildlife Authorities to come and not only tow us out, but to also jump start our battery that had died as we were attempting to get out of the mud.  This would set the pace for the rest of the game drive where we got stuck 4 more times (one more time which required being towed out of some more mud).  Although it was not ideal being stuck in the mud, it did give us a chance to do a little animal tracking.

Elephant tracks

Good thing we didn’t run into any lions while we were stranded…we would've been sitting ducks

Nevertheless, we were fairly successful at spotting a variety of animals during our game drive.

We saw many giraffe, some of which would gallop across the road were driving on

African Buffalo

I promise there’s a leopard somewhere in this picture

                After several hours, we headed back toward the Nile where we hopped on a small boat that allowed us to tour the wildlife along the Nile River.  While we were waiting; however, we were surrounded by a troop of baboons and a group of warthogs.  Although I am absolutely fascinated by primates, the erratic behavior of the baboons kept me from getting too close.

Notice the baby clinging to its mother on the right

                While on our boat tour, we saw many hippos, several crocodiles, a couple of elephants, and a variety of birds.  Our ending destination was Murchison Falls – an incredible waterfall, which the national park has been named after.

A bloat of hippos

Our captain, Admiral Nelson

Approaching Murchison Falls

Front Row - Me, Lara, and Tihana Back Row - Glen and Melanie -- in front of Murchison Falls

                Once we arrived at Murchison Falls, we were dropped off and began an hour-long hike up to the falls. 

                After a very full day, we were ready to go back to our cottage for dinner and to get some well-needed rest.  The next morning, we drove to the Budongo Forest Reserve to do some chimp trekking.  We came upon three different groups of females and their babies.  The first two groups were feeding.   The third was terrified of us and fled immediately.

If you look directly in the center of the photo, you can spot the chimp high in the trees

Peering high into the canopy trying to spot the female chimps feeding

Along the way, we also ran into colobus monkeys, which the chimps prey on

Our chimp trekking guide, Joshua