Uganda Safari!!!

Hello to all!

Have read all the comments and laughed a lot. Enough about the goat already. Stan spent entirely too much mental energy on worrying about this and today when we found out the shepherd was going to do the deed, we got the heck out of dodge and came to Gulutown. Stan didn't want to participate, sighting fear of erlychiosis. It's best to leave these things in the hands of trained professionals. Also, we are in the business of keeping things alive and would like to keep it that way. So sorry to hear that Thunder got voted off the island--it's a jungle out there!

Well, believe it or not we did get to go on safari--it was awesome! The Bishop called on monday night and invited us to go on tuesday. We left on tuesday PM @ 3 hour drive and drove around until dusk. Wow! What beautiful countryside! It's exactly how we pictured Africa. The landscape was unspoiled and beautiful. Wide open spaces with intersperced acacia and elephant trees. We saw 4 different species of antelope, elephants, giraffes, warthogs, baboons and a multitude of birds. They are all wandering free in their natural habitat. There are no fences for these parks. As a matter of fact, during the war, the rebels took over the park and all the animals left and went to the Congo. Now that there is peace, the animals are back.

In the evening we went to this very cool "Sambiya Lodge". We stayed in a tukul. It was very rustic and exotic. Whenever we wanted to go from our room to the main lobby, we were required to be escorted for fear of wild beasts. That night we heard african wild dogs in the distance. Not the best night's sleep...

The next morning we were up at 5am for breakfast and the 45min drive back to the Nile to catch a sightseeing boat. We watched the sunrise on the dock before boarding. What an amazing experience! The hippos were everywhere--they're huge! We also saw many crocodiles lying mouths agape for their next meal. We made sure to keep appendages well inside the boat. Bishop Sabino was a great tour guide. He knows a lot about the animals and their behaviors. He grew up in the park. Also saw many, many amazing birds and Murchison falls. Wonderful! Of note, there were many tse tse flies along the way--evidently the african sleeping sickness has been bred out of them so we shoud be okay. After the boat, more driving and many more animals. The pictures shoud tell the tale much better. Zoos are not a place these animals should be living.

Got back to town last night and are gearing up for the big dedication of St Kizito's on Sunday. Fr. Don went down to Entebbe to pick up a few American benefactors and they should be arriving soon. Party at the convent tonight. Gotta go and cook up some goat!

Love and prayers,
Stan and Monique