Today is working day in Iganga. I am writing my report and even though it reminds me of a lot of nice memories in the village it gives me sadness too. Yesterday I was thinking about coming back to Miami and it kept me awake for quite some time since I know it is going to take me some time to accommodate. I will definitely miss this great country a lot.
Yesterday I came back from Mt. Elgon after a 4-day trip to climb Wagagai summit. It was one of the greatest adventures that I have ever taken and at some times I thought that I was not going to be able to achieved it. We started at the exploration center in Sipi Falls were we met our guides Jacob and Paul that were fully armed with AK-47 rifles (supposedly for poachers but it seemed a bit much to me!). We then proceeded to hike for 28km until our first camp that was at about 2900 meters high. We passed Tutum cave around lunch time, which was a large natural rock formation were tons of bats could be heard. The next day we did another long 20km hike to the second camp at 3900 meters of altitude. We were all pretty much exhausted from the long climbs, the amount of mud, and the blisters around our feet. Next day was Wagagai climb which took 9km and provided awesome views. We could even see the Kenyan mountains in the distance from this peak at 4300 meters. The descent was very comforting and we even made it to Sasa river camp which was at a much lower altitude (not as freezing cold as the night before!). The last day had an awful descent through the face of a mountain that looked like a wall. It took us about 4 hours to cover the 6km and it should had taken us a little longer if the rain would have been stronger the night before. All the clothes were pretty much covered in mud, but a nice shower and lunch at Rose's last chance restaurant gave us a much needed comfort.
Two of the team members of the expedition (Ted and Cameron) left this morning and the other one (Marshall) will leave for Nairobi tonight. I will be leaving for Entebbe tomorrow were I will spend the night and I will fly out on thursday via Addis, Dubai, and New York.
I AM GOING TO MISS AFRICA!!!
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