Africa

It starts simply enough…

My father is on the board of a Christian charity that runs schools in several countries across East Africa. To coordinate this effort they hold regular meetings with the local staff.

This year the meetings will be held in Uganda, ten days in Masaka. My father is also a bit over eighty, a spry and active eighty, but still. My mother made it quite clear… Dear, if you are going to Africa you need a travel companion.

Andrew? Do you want to go to Africa?

Why not.

Thus I find myself on a flight from Portland to Washington DC, then on to Brussels, then yet one more hop to Entebbe. All too long in the air. I realize that when we reach Entebbe I will be almost exactly halfway around the world from the islands from where I started this journey.

There is currently little to see… The Moon reflecting off the wing, Jupiter high above, somewhere unseen far below is the dark cold water of the North Atlantic. The chill cabin seems to echo the frigid night beyond the plastic and glass.

It is a far different scene than I expect to see sometime tomorrow upon arrival. How hot and muggy will the shores of Lake Victoria be? I consider all the photos I have viewed lately while planning this trip. A dry land of scrub and scattered trees, in other places a rich land of rolling green hills, not that strange after spending so much of my life in the desert southwest, or even the dry side of Hawai’i.

A night in Entebbe, a drive to Masaka, then a full day’s drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park for a few nights in a Safari lodge. An adventure to be sure, and possibly the only time in my lifetime to visit this continent. I hope to experience Uganda properly.