We had an approximately 8 hr flight including 1 hour in Entebbe, to Istanbul. Because they we two different airlines we weren’t able to get boarding passes from Istanbul to Amman. Coupled with the airline changing our flight to Istanbul by close to an hour later, not knowing where to go ti get the pass, and then where to and what to do. Are we going to make the connection??? We did, the seats were more, we got food even the flight was only 1.5 hours, leg room was more… all in all a better first impression of Jordan even if the plane on the inside was in poor repair.

Sept 18/23- Jerash and Dead Sea.

Jerash…

wear runners , take sun screen, hat, swim suit, towel, 40 JOD for tipping. plus 10 JOD for water.

Beaky from 6:30-9; 7:30 leaving.

Amira-CEO. It’s the first time we have ever encountered a woman CEO.

Traffic is very crowded in core …. Because everyone has their own vehicles, or uses taxis because public transportation is not scheduled.

We stopped for water that the CEO purchased for the group. We all contributed 10 JOD (more than USD) for the week instead of what we’d done for the previous 2 weeks, which was to purchase water individually for each 2 day period. That was a guessing game and it meant packing it ourselves. We also have a cooler in the bus to keep it cool…. Yeah!

We got stopped at a random check of vehicles. CEO said “this is why Jordan is a safe country”.

Jerash… oldest well preserved roman city from Roman age… end of 1st century bc., then Greeks came and then Moslems. They started excavation in 1925. Up to now only 25% has been excavated. City named after “gold river”. The reason these empires came was for the money. It was on the trade route from east, that they controlled. They controlled the 6 largest cities of which Jerash was one. 324ad it came under Byzantine rule. 636ad, the Moslems & 18th c under ottoman rule. In 585 AD & 748 major earthquakes …. abandoned the city.

Art of gate is Corinthian.

Under stadium it was used as stables under Roman’s. Under Bysantians used as shops. …. Has tiles.

Only partially restorated so you are able to imagine what it might have looked like. If it was totally restored it wouldn’t be considered heritage…. Jordan needs the tourist industry.

We are inside stadium

City is divided into 4 sections. Main gate faces Amman.

7 metres thick wall of defence walls. Were 60 metres high originally

3-4000 JOD for olive trees in front of hotel… ancient.

They used to burn frankincense in homes and still do, to keep bad spirits away. A single gram of it worth 2 JOD each. Each camel can carry 400 kgs each. 200 camels to transport but divided into smaller groups in case of attack

Temple …. People not allowed inside. Had to be built above everything else … to see the whole area.

Forum (ionic style) plaza in centre is oval. Under it is huge cistern… where they recycled the water.

Southern to northern gate road is called “cardio”… the heart.

Theatre…. Seats are assigned with number…,

At huge Red stone water bowl … “aqua park” is used by lovers. That where I felt so sick. It’s toooo hot.

The weather network app says it’s 28C. I cannot believe it. There is no humidity. Talk about dripping perspiration!!!!

We have some people (12) that had joined us after being on a tour of Egypt. They said this is much cooler than Egypt where it was 40.

There 5 refugee camps in this area. Palestinian, 2,200,000 Iraqi refugees as well as Syrian, Lebanese & Afghanistan

Population.. 11 million total but only 5 million are Jordanian. Regardless of original country they came from, they all have all the same rights as Jordanians.

Medical is covered for government employees. Private companies may or may not provide insurance. It costs approximately 1000 JOD for private insurance per year. Donation by royal family makes it possible for those that cannot afford a surgery especially for children who have cancer.

Dead Sea … Jordan valley parallel with Palestinian West Bank

33% salinity…. If you have an open sore we were told to put Vaseline on to protect. 27 different minerals in the water. When Jordanian medical centre was built not too many years ago they used candles because there was no electricity.

Bedouins and farmers …2 tribes

Water level of Dead Sea is reducing by a metre a year. By 2050 it is expected to disappear. The sea level used to be 436 metres below sea level 10 years ago ….. now 390 metres below. Somehow that doesn’t make sense.

2 towers of the sixth circle apparently can be seen from Mt. Nemo

They used to have 8 traffic circles (roundabouts) over about a distance of 8 kms but they took then out … instead integrating with streets with lights…. A BIG mistake according to Amira.

The restaurant that we were taken to tonight was absolutely fabulous!!! So many different choices and so good. If you are ever in Amman…… I recommend you try “MO’s”.

Leave at 7 am with luggage… breaky @6:30

6am breakfast …. Leaving 6:30 from Gorilla Valley Lodge

No plastics allowed in Rwanda (Water bottles allowed)

Visas and passports at border then 2 hours to Kigali, then genocide museum and a Women’s Centre

When asked if the local people have ever seen the Gorillas, Paul said that once a month they’re allowed to go up for free otherwise they could never afford it. Everywhere you see women particularly, walking carrying something on their heads. It’s no wonder they have good posture. If you didn’t stand up straight you wouldn’t be able to carry stuff.

Everything is very lush here. We did not see any rain while here but the hillsides are shrouded in mist. It was still slippery muck.

People everywhere carrying gerry cans…… for packing water in.

Women carrying hoes on their way to and from the fields. Funny ….. you don’t very often see a man with hoe. I guess most of the work being done these steep hillsides, are by women. Because they egg y are so steep they would have to bend over much.

Another checkpoint near Kibale town and another after…. Check licences, weight of load plus where you’ve been.. Now onto the Uganda/Rwanda border after returning the rental camera …. That didn’t take all that great photos.

Rwanda, “land of 1000 hills”. Time change 1 hour back. 3 official languages… Rwandan, English and French. They drive on the right hand side of the road as opposed to the other 3 countries we have been. There is also a speed limit of 60 kph that is monitored by cameras. Good roads with no rumble bumps that we have seen…… thank God! My body has been jarred and shook like never before. If you get caught for speeding, it is a $100 fine…. A lot for most. There were 2 tribes but they are no longer allowed to be recognized as either…. now they are all one. There are elections every 7 years but current president had been in power for 20 years. There had been troubles in this country since 1925 but in 1994 when Tutsis who had been in exile wanted to return to their country, the Hutus thought if they killed them all then the country would be totally Hutu going forward. Of course some leaders helped to stir the pot.

Apparently, there is lots of money here but most are poor. The general population looks to me like they are not as poor as Uganda. It is an expensive country so some with money will have their 2nd home in Uganda. The hillsides as well as the lowlands, are neatly laid out with farms.

The difference in fees to see the gorillas is …….200 USD in Congo, 700 USD in Uganda and 1500 USD in Rwanda.

Laundry day …. Laundry splayed out on the grass along the highway.

Hydro poles are made out of cement here unlike the other countries which are poles.

At Genocide museum

1,000,000 were slaughtered in 3 months. 250,000 are buried on the grounds. In 100 days neighbours killed neighbours. Apr 7, 1994 was the start….. not that long ago. Europeans were in power here the 1800’s and early 1900’s. They decided to call the people that had more than 10 cows, Hutus and those with less than 10, Tutsi’s. Can you believe separating into separate tribes over the number of cows you had? And then you get some evil leaders that convince their people that they must kill their neighbours and friends. It reminded me of some other would-be leaders that are inciting the same kind of hatred….playing on peoples fears and insecurities. The rest of the world turned their backs on this country and allowed it to happen including the UN peacekeeping decision makers. How very awful! It all made me cry. I could barely keep it together.

We then went for lunch and a tour of a women’s centre…..a centre where single moms could get an education and learn a trade,,,,, sewing and and producing products for sake. One they have completed their training, the government will help them pay for their own sewing machines.

Some people are staying over but we have a 1:50 am flight. Not much point. Off to the airport at 10 pm. It’s going to a looooong night/ day we’ve been up since 5:15 am.

It is shortly after 7. Only one person slept in this morning

We were entertained by a band of former bush dwellers (Pygmy) dancing and singing, before we got started on our trek. They were convinced in 1991, to come out of the bush.

We are in Rushaga. In 1994 it became a World Heritage site. It is 331 sq. Kms. I’ll have to get “My gorilla family” app. We are told there are only 1760 gorillas in total in the world.

We share 98.4 % of our DNA with the gorillas.

“Tindagine” which means “Fearless” is the name of the family of gorillas that we are going to meet.. There are 17 family members

Highest mountain is 4127 metres in Uganda…. Is near Kibale town. We started at 1900 metres and going up to 2000. Our guide is trying to make it easier for us (because we are not the most fit group). Instead of going up and over, up and over repeatedly, he is trying keep to the valley. It is still a struggle. Every day the Gorillaz make a new nest and before they leave they pee in the middle of their nests to mark their territory. Each adult, juvenile & child are required to make their own nest with exception of the babies that stay with their mothers

In our group besides us 4 ladies (3 from Victoria) including one from NZ and the solitary guy from UK, we have a couple from Kampala. Bridgette and Gerous just wanted to see the gorillas as we all do, having seen them on tv. They were on their honeymoon. We also have a guide and 2 others with AK 47’s, one in front and one in back. We meet up with 3 trackers that have been following the gorilla family all morning. They call this park “Impenetrable” because you cannot see through the jungle. Every step of the way, they are slashing with machetes, making new trails.

We finally came across the family. Unfortunately, they kept moving downhill with us mostly only able to catch their backs….. especially the “silverback”. Silverbacks can weight up to 200 kgs. We stayed very close to them for an hour then slogged through the jungle back down slipping and sliding. It was an experience but one experience I don’t need to repeat. We all survived the trek. It was an endurance test…..5 plus hours. OMG, it was so tough….sweating profusely, filthy clothes and shoes ….from skidding on our butts….. not sure if they will ever come clean. But….. we did it!

I am sorry but I will have to send pictures once I am home. We just don’t have enough free time to deal with them. I promise you will be amazed at what we’ve seen.

We actually got off to a late start…. 8:15 instead of 7:30 as we were told. We had several absolute downpours this morning…. Sounds so noisy on the tin roofs. Each downpour lasted less than 5 minutes. Paul says we have a long way to go so it will be “pedal to the metal”.

Shortly after leaving camp someone spotted at least 2 cubs and 4 lioness. 2 waterbucks walk right on by the lions all unconcerned. Apparently if the waterbucks senses danger it will shake its head exuding a terrible smell.

7 in total…. 5 adults (1 with limp … right front leg) and 2 cubs…. Adults on the move….towards us as diversion away from the cubs (that are maybe month and half old) that went to a thicket. They went there for protection from several buffalo. The pride eventually were around 100 metres from us. It was great entertainment for quite a while. Just beyond that up the road, there were several guys weed whacking the grass along the highway. I wondered if they get danger pay.

There was a road off to the right were the police were checking vehicle licences, if any were over weight, etc. That road is to another part of the park where there are tree-climbing lions.

As we learned yesterday, the lion numbers are not increasing, unlike other creatures, because villagers poison them for killing their livestock. There are also some village spies that report what some of the others are doing.

Again I missed an opportunity to get a picture of hanging meat. It is hanging in the heat of the day…. Not refrigerated. It is slaughtered and sold daily consequently it doesn’t get to age. The result is that they only seem to have tough meats.

Grasshopper catcher. They are tin funnel-like with lights on at night. The light attracts the hoppers, then fall down into funnels and are trapper. They eat them.

Lots of single women with children….. abandoned by fathers.

Crested cranes… mate for life.

Schools run for 3 months and off for 3 weeks…year round.

Entering the Switzerland of Africa…. Very hilly….more than the rest which is saying something.

Stopped for lunch at “Food Stop” @2000 metres

Just up the road, I was able to rent a DSL camera for $60 USD for 2 days….. just so that I can get photos of the mountain gorillas.

OMG the hillsides just keep getting steeper, the roadsides more twisty.

Something about 900’ below sea level a lake, 1 of the biggest lakes in the country

Spectacular scenery.,…. Unbelievable!!!

95% of visitors to Uganda are coming to the gorillas. People breaking big rocks into small rocks. they are paid by the pile but they have to wait for the truck to pick it up before they are paid

Tomorrow we should have :-Long pants, Rain jacket, Gloves, Passport, Poles, Mask, Repellant on clothes before going into forest. At least 1.5 litres of water

Max 8 people per group….*8 am briefing

Oh my …… it was so wonderful to be able to sleep in a bit. Kluges Guest Farm, a long way on an ugly road from main paved road. , was a beautiful very nice place to stay. The roomy tents had real beds with bedding and not too far to bathrrooms and showers.

We leave here at 9:35.

Cavalcade of trucks preceded by 2-3 armed vehicles that looked like military….numerous trucks with money, followed by 2 more armed vehicles.

Uganda is a beautiful country with green mountainsides. Actually it was pointed out that 2 mountain peaks had snow on them this morning . The soil is rich….. seems to grow lots of green beans

*165# painted on some shops. Is it advertisement for mobile banking on your phone much like we have at least on IPhones, “Wallet”.

Motorcycles are loaded with everything imaginable including a huge sheet of steel.

We crossed over a bridge that separates one kingdom and another. The one we just moved into, the king had been put under house arrest for organizing a militia group. The participants of the group were arrested and put in jail.

Lafarge cement factory …. Biggest in country…. employs 1000 directly, 2000 indirectly.

Kasese… closest town to Congo were got Ugandan Shillings and water etc.

Queen Elizabeth NP is 1978 sq kms, 13 villages. Because their farms have been encroached into the park, the lions have been eating livestock. Consequently the farmers have been poisoning the lions. The park has lost of 15 of its lions. Lake George across the way is totally within Uganda border.

We have been upgraded to Simba Safari Lodge ….. very close to the park. It is really very lovely…. Even better than the last place which was tents. This is like a motel with rooms next to each other.

We stopped at the equator again but this time in Uganda near the entrance to the QE park. Did you know that when bullets or rockets are fired, they veer to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern and that hurricanes do the same. They don’t cross the equator.

This area is so different than what we saw earlier in the day. It is flat like the Savannah in Kenya but green.

Waterbucks but no pix

Uganda Kob

An elephant way off in the distance

Lioness and cubs in the grass but still too far away

Crested eagle

300 feet away we actually got to the elusive leopard but of course my camera is not working. Oh my God, he is gorgeous!!! His back legs are straddling the branch of the euphorbia tree… swishes his tail, etc. the spots are quite a bit different than the cheetah. I’m so disappointed to not be able to get pictures. Maybe someone else has some that I can use.

There are no giraffes or zebras in this park.

Big buffalo

Red head spur-fowl

African waddled lapwing

Saw another bird with long tail.

Turned around in search of lions on the road apparently but when passing the place where we saw the leopard before, it had jumped down from its perch and was down laying on a mound of dirt.

Buffalos…. Don’t have good eyesight. They use their nose. Then we see a huge herd.

Bushbuck…. are solitary.

Dusk…. Herd a elephants

Another early morning. Breaky at 6 and on the road for 6:30 but just a wee bit late.

Last evening was sooooo hot. I am not able to find out temps. Wifi is somewhat sketchy.

15 elephants on left, 10 on the right…. ….ripping out the trees….. crossing the highway.

Black & white African pied wagtail

Egyptian goose & lapwings

A male Kob will fight to death if any his herd of females are attacked. If female wants to mate it will come to the male.

Striped or banded mongoose running all over the place.

Hippos laying in mud

Waterbucks

19200 sq kms….I think…. But no lions seen today except by researcher…. Off road

Bridge connects Edward and George Lakes. Kazinga channel

Gonoleck… black headed. Bright red underbelly

Kazinga Channel towardslake George 17 kms + 24 km long.

900 metres above sea level

Was named Kazinga Channel to QE to Idi Amin Dada and back to Kazinga Channel

300 elephants lost during idi Amin reign

Elephants are very good swimmers Can travel 50 kms in 6 hours.

With African elephants the tusks turn upward. They have 40,000 muscles in trunk.

Yellow backed weaver

5000 hippos in park. They are aquatic animals because, during day (16hours/) they are in the water and travel by land during night. Male weighs 1500-1800 kilos. Can travel 30 kmps on land. Elephants have 50 kilos poop per day. Lions are endangered in the park

Nile monitor lizard is biggest lizard in Africa.

15-20 hippos in a school with one dominant male.

African fish eagle mate for life. They gave a 20-24 year lifespan

Male baby hippo can be killed by the dominant male … not so for the female so the mother will take her male baby away from the school til it is grown. This one has a scar on her back from fighting for her baby.

Malakite… orange breasted small bird.

Vervet monkey and baby, the smallest monkey….. in candelabra euphorbia

…….Crane

Sometimes a lion will sleep up off ground in a euphorbia like the leopard was yesterday.

Up at 5:15, breaky at 5:45, leave at 6:30. Very misty.

You should have heard the jungle noises last during the night…cool!

We are going to Kibale NP…. An 1.5+ hour journey to see the chimpanzees. Before we get there there were so many baboons. Then…… my camera decided not to work….. grrrr! What am I to do!!! I have come all this way to not to be able to use my camera is making me sick. I will have to check with the others to see if I can get some of their photos.

I will say that at the early part of our walk there were chimpanzees but they were high in the trees. I’m thinking “is this all we will be seeing” but ……. Wow….. right at our feet, some laying splayed out on the ground and some checking their fellow mates for bugs and then eating the bugs. It’s called grooming. They are really fastidious. Our guide tells us that it is, beside doing a service to each other, that it is a sign of love. Because our DNAs are close to each other, we were all required to wear masks so as to not pass anything along to the other.

It was so stinking hot, the perspiration was running into my eyes & off the end of my nose …. It made me so nauseous. I think I need to drink more water.

There are 8 different species of primates on swamp walk.

200 birds …. None were pointed out.

Super sodia is the red tulip tree

Red tailed colobus… 2 were grooming

Simpson green mamba

Black vervet monkey

We didn’t see all of the walk cuz it was just too hot and humid…… again feeling sick.

Some of the gals stay in camp for the day. I am envious that they have had their “batteries” recharged.

Where we will be staying at our next stop, is 37 kms from Congo border

Leave 7:45

Kingdoms until ‘62 when they got independence

47 languages, 52 different tribes

English and Swahili( official 2nd language). Our guides are Arthur and Paul. They speak 2 different languages but when together speak “Ugandan”

Muzumba is what we all are …white person

Guide says Uganda is best food basket in Africa

Most shopping is done in markets

Coffee, tea, pineapple (export), maize, sugarcane are main crops. The people seem to be quite industrious with many, many shops along the road.

Matooke…. Green bananas. It is a main staple for Ugandans. It’s like potatoes in that it can be boiled, mashed and. fried.

Cassava…,,peel and cook is used as a thickener

Greenhouses for growing flowers for export.

Farmed Eucalyptus trees.

You see hanging beef that is slaughtered daily and then sold to smaller shops. It is then moved to other locations.

You see a groups of men with motorcycles under shelters. They local taxis.

Black-head weaver birds

These guide/drivers are driving very fast compared to the ones we had in Kenya. The roads are much better here though. It seems the motorcycles drive on the shoulders like it is a “bike lane”. When we are doing safari I will probably be different. It will probably be “African massage” much like most of Kenya. Today we have a long way to go.

Drove through an area of road construction. It is a swampy area so they are building platforms to building a bridge over it.

Coffee plantation

In Queen Elizabeth NP there are 13 different kinds of monkeys including chimpanzees. Besides buffalo and ? there are 300 species of birds.

I noticed a big mound of dirt on the ground with smoke coming out. When asked, Arthur said they put green eucalyptus logs on ground along with something else and cover it with dirt. A fire is lit under it which is allowed to burn for 3-4 days. What you get is bbq charcoal.

We see brilliant orange/red trees that dot the hills. I believe they are “Flame trees (small flowers) and African Tulip trees”

Apparently the falls in Murchison Falls NP can be compared to Niagara Falls in Canada. It feeds into Nile River. It is a huge park with all the “Big 5” but we are not going there.

Tea plantations. ….. for export.

Black & white hornbill

Banana leaves for covering food, bark for fibre… weaving, feed the cows with the chopped wood. It takes 1.5 years to produce fruit but 6 months to ripen. Then it never produces again. Only one crop per tree. P

Ross’s Turaco

Prunus africana…. Medicine tree, furniture making and charcoal

Black & white colobus -troupe of 9-15. Hold baby between tree and mom at night. During day … on back. 8 months to gestation… born white but start to change at 3 months

Papyrus for roofing, woven for mats in house. Also ancient Egyptians used it for making paper