ride dangerously.take a boda

so here i am at the eMi offices in kampala uganda about to go fall asleep in a hammock. i don't really know what to write as there is so much to say and the last thing i want to put down is a play by play. i want to note about things experienced, feelings felt, relationships with ugandans and americans, adventures survived and so much more of the like.

tomorrow i leave early for murchinson falls which is on the western most side of the country and will be there for three days. i'm going to safari around with others [others i don't yet know and hopefully speak a common language, but if not that's fine too] and see animals we only see in the zoo. i suppose this is an extended trip through an african zoo. yes, i like that. i would say this creates mild to medium excitement. okay but really, it's going to great! just another amazing adventure i've already packed into these short two weeks.

this morning i experienced all that is unreal about driving in kampala. it's CRAZY! i mean, i should have already known this from traveling previously to some similar countries but this is something altogether new. my friend and i chose to venture downtown on bodas. bodas are motorcycles with an impressively skilled driver who can maneuver through anything. i could have sworn my leg would have touched another moving vehicle at least 15 times and a person 7 more but in the end i was clean of any contact. helmets seem non existent and new borns in mother's laps are encouraged. girls sit two legs on the side and men three deep [perhaps a child on the shoulders as well] i'm not even kidding. we were dropped off at the aweeno market and didn't see another mizungo [translation=white person] until we were back at the offices. needless to say we got some looks. all in all it was a fantastic taste of ugandan culture.

of course...more to come :)

westtogunnison

yes, it's been a while. but this doesn't mean i've been bumming it on the couch waiting for adventure to seek me. it was the first-climbin'/campin'-trip of the summer weekend, family time x 2, and attempts at long haul climbing.
this past weekend just so happened to be a three day weekend [athankya fighters of our country past and present]. and when you work in the 9-5 world of business these little gems of free days off are glorious beyond spectacular. it means you can travel just a little further, stay for an extra night, not have to hustle back and of course pack in more action. or relaxing. or hiking. or simply staring off into the rockies. you can take your pick. we choose gunnsion with a side of laughter.

gunnison is home to western state college, a small state school that i don't know much about. it is summer time so the students have already launched into their summer plans, leaving the place a underpopulated, at least one would think. though this town was packed with people, be it bikers, climbers, babies in buggies, runners galore. we soon came to realize that there were three competition of sorts going on all in the same recreation area. splendid.
we were there to climb. the endurance climb actually. this entailed throwing your body up against conglomerate granite and hoping to the rocks gods that your shoes held on for dear life. thankfully, they did a better portion of the time. you could even go 'hands free' this rock had so much texture. it was fantastic for smearing [scientific climbing term which really just translates to nontechnical footwork gone awry.] we took on the challenge of climbing for 1,440 minutes. or 24 hours, if you wish. either way, we didn't make it and decided that once our tenacity ran dry and i took a nose dive into the dirt we best call it a night. this place, hartman rocks, is an excellent mecca for a weekend combo of climbing, mountain biking and trail running. it was inspiring to be 30 feet high on a climb and look out to see bikers moving so swiftly through the sand like texture and turns of the trail. it makes me admire and give respect to each nature loving sport. another thing that made me smile was taking part in a favorite past time of mine: getting hot and sweaty and then plunging into some body of water. the blue mesa for us which definitely deserves a trip back around to.

[hartman rocks : lovely photo by sejal]