A
week or so after we got back from safari, Alicia, Keanne, Erika, Brecklyn and myself
went to a place called The Hairy Lemon. It’s a beautiful little island about 1
½ hours journey from Jinja (not too close, not too far for some time away). It
was a bit of a whirlwind trip as we left on a Monday morning and came back the
following afternoon, but it was still long enough to enjoy the peace and quiet.
Not only was it extremely relaxing, we were also able to spend some time
swimming in the Nile and had the pleasure of sharing the island with a couple
British guys who had us laughing late into the night while we hung out and played
random games.
The
current was really strong in the river which made it really hard to just relax
so Erika and I had the great idea to walk up river and ride the current back to
where we were stationed on the beach. This turned into an absolute fail as we
both underestimated the depth of the water and spent a good 30 seconds caught
in the current getting pulverised by rocks. I’m sure Erika looked graceful and
poised throughout the entire ordeal, I on the other hand probably looked as
helpless and desperate as I felt, floundering and gasping while I tried to get
my feet back underneath me.
Tuesday
morning, we were woken up by monkeys using our tin roof as a trampoline and
spent the day lounging, reading, swimming and just generally soaking up the beauty
of the place.
Because of a connection we have with one of the local rafting
companies, we were able to get a ride to and from the island on one of their
big trucks as the stopping point is a short walk from where the canoe drops us
on the mainland. Shortly after we arrived, a huge storm blew in and though we
were under cover, all of us (the rafters and staff included) had to take cover
in the kitchen as the wind was blasting the rain in on us and blowing everyone’s
salads off their plates. It caused a delay and when we did head back, the dirt
roads had us sliding every which way, but it made for some good entertainment.
Other
interesting facts about this island? Lots of wildlife. Although they’re around,
I have seen maybe 1 or 2 live snakes in Jinja in the whole 20 or so months I’ve
lived here. On the island? 2 in the course of 24 hours. And not just any old
snakes…very poisonous ones. We also saw a monitor lizard, but they’re just
plain cool.
Taking the short canoe ride to the island (yes, my elbow is in the picture, the redo was blurry)
The path to our cottage
If you look closely, you can see the head of a rather large snake directly to the right of tip of the grassy area.
The green mamba that slithered out of the water...
The "swimming hole"
It's a giant glowing starfish! Nope, just me. :-)
