The boot

Boots come in pairs. This is a functional and as I've learned an emotional pairing. 

The weekend's  plan was safari-ing at Murchison Falls . We'd get picked up at Casa and head to Murchison via Lira in a counterclockwise loop around Uganda . Now as we stopped in Lira for a bit , I had taken my boots off to air out feet ...and boot number 1 fell out.... This realization did not occur until many miles later ... Let me show you 

So I get out the van...and my shoe is missing ..

I have no backup shoes. 

So we go into a nearby hotel,http://www.paraalodge.com/, and buy myself some African sandals 

So I'll get back to the shoes. 

We stayed at http://redchillihideaway.com/hideaways/red-chilli-rest-camp-murchison/

Not a bad place buuuuut. ... Bugs galore....and then after live managed to settle in your bed..put your mosquito net down...fan on the highest setting

It starts raining ..and the power cuts off...no biggie.im used to it...and the waiting begins. I wait for the power to come back on. I wait for my fan to cool me down as I start to perspire ...profusely ..

And .... 

It...

Never..

Comes ..

On..

And the night was...sweaty..

So we got up at dawn ..to get on the ferry (across the Nile) to start safari-ing 

We get on first...and then the ferry breaks ...a few feet away from the dock...

For several hours...

People who had to use the bathroom on shore ( ill find pictures later with the decent gap between shore/ferry) had to have someone paddle a small boat to the ferry then paddle them back :) 

And then there was talk about the safari not happening..given there's no other ferry ... 

But we made it across.

- safari pics to follows (there's lots)

Highlights: lion sleeping after a kill ( we drove up to it) , lion cubs , tons of giraffes,tons of buffalo, fair number of elephants , antelope

Then we took the Nile safari ...while it rained . The rain was less than ideal but it made for more hippo action as the hippos spent more time out of the water. We saw two crocs as well. We then made our way up to Murchison Falls, the waterfall . At this point, our guide said that those of us who are hiking...will get off the ferry...on the river...on to this kinda sketchy little land piece leading immediately to the trail. 

Our hiking mates from Sweden were decked out in fleeces, hiking boots, ready for action. I'm wearing a shirt and jeans (poorly flexible jeans) and flat bottomed sandals. These are less than ideal ....wear for a hike.  The hike was about 45 mins -1 hour. It was steep at points, precarious with slippery rocks and a steep drop off into the waterfall ...and at the end...you had to clutch the wall. At one point the guide told us that if you stray too far from the wall, you're likely to fall into the falls. However not to worry, we would be quickly consumed by the waterfall and die. So my hiking experience was punctuated by slips ,tachycardia , wobbly legs and diaphoresis . Genuinely I thought it was at least 10% possible that I may..uh..slip off ..to my death...which thankfully I didn't.

So some tips for any Murchison Falls Hikers

Awesome idea as the views are amazing from the hike.

Use boots.

Hydrate.

Flexible pants/ shorts.

Keep your hands free.

:) 

wonderful experience, wouldn't trade it...not sure if I'd do it again under the same circumstances :/

So the only thing left to do was Rhino Trekking 

In short, we basically paid to get into the sanctuary . Then we had a guide drive with us part way and then after donning wading boots, walked into the areas where the rhinos were. Basically we walked up to about 40 yards (or less) and take photos of these wild rhinos . 

*Amazing photos to follow 

Highlight : Ashley getting within 20 feet of the dominant male rhino , inadvertently. 

So really the rest of the day was on the road , heading back from Masindi to Mbale. 

The most remarkable thing that happened on our way back would be seeing a special ceremony.

It's called Imbalu and it marks the circumcision ritual of teenage boys in Uganda.

http://friendsnaturesafaris.com/nature-blog/item/1-imbalu-ritual-bamasaba-tradition-of-circumcision/1-imbalu-ritual-bamasaba-tradition-of-circumcision

The young boys dress in traditional garb and go around collecting money for their post-circ recovery. They spend time visiting relatives. Usually these rituals are performed in longer school holidays like Easter weekend and later in fall. 

My Pics 

Then home , sweet home to Casa del Turista

Oh, and the boot. So boot number 1 was located by our guide's contacts in Lira. Somehow they made calls and pulled strings to get my boot on a bus to Mbale. By a miracle, my boot made it back to Mbale before I myself made it back. Now my shoes are whole again and the circle is closed. :)

Monday, not too much happened. The girls headed to clinic in Manfwa (rural clinic) and I rounded with Dr Jan/ myself and saw a few patients : gentleman with AIDS, gentleman with metastatic prostate cancer ( previously had needed narcan in office b/c family had been giving capfuls of oral morphine ...the red one ( see previous post) , gentleman with some sort of chf , cirrhosis/ hepatomegaly (unknown etiology .... And no, getting a biopsy is not feasible) with what seems like urethritis , kiddo with dysentery , kiddo with quinine resistant p.falciparum malaria ( persistent fevers and parasitemia despite quinine treatment ) , and my poor soul of a lady with mt. Ovarian ca with malignant ascites who I tapped again. In case you were wondering how my setup looked ( see below). Basically I put a iv cath in my ascetic fluid...plugged iv drip tubing and cut off the tubing, secured it to the bed so the fluid could drain to gravity , into a collection container. Being the procedure master I am ( sarcasm ) , my attending asked me to teach the clinical officer how to do this tap. So the Robert Abdullah tap in uganda procedure.

Premedicate with oral morphine if needed .

Patient in LLD position.

Prep site with gauze / iodine .

Sterile gloves on.

Have assistant have iv tubing / "giving set" ready as you'll need the tubing to hook up to cath 

Use biggest needle (In my case 18)

z line technique 

Insert iv As far as possible with flashback of ascetic fluid

Remove needle..secure cath as best as possible

Set up drain ( cleverness encouraged )

:) all in a good day's work 

And lastly , Happy Birthday to my girlfriend of 2 Years, 4 Months , 2 days :) 

- Rob