Jinja

On June 16, 2010, we got picked up from our hostel at around 7:30 am to go white water rafting on the Nile. The source of the Nile is Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa and 4th largest lake in the world. On our way over there, we crossed a bridge and I saw a crocodile in the water; I have always been afraid of crocodiles, there is just something very creepy about them. Maybe it's the fact that they drag their prey into the water and drown it, and then leave it to bloat and get soggy for a few weeks before eating it, maybe it's that they are deadly in the water and pretty dangerous on land as well. At least sharks stay in the water, crocodiles and alligators can come into your backyard and eat your dog or child. I know people like Steve Irwin tried to show that animals like crocodiles are not evil, etc., but I just don't like them.

Anyhow, I figured that at the rapids, there wouldn't be crocodiles, since they prefer calmer water. After eating breakfast at the company, we got fitted for life jackets and helmets. I asked a friend of ours who did it before whether anyone fell out of the boat, and he said that I should be asking "if" people fall out of the boat, since the entire boat flips over, multiple times. Somehow that didn't bother me that much, since I had a helmet (I have a lot of faith in helmets).

Our guide, Demarco, is a very funny man. We practiced falling into the water the right way, flipping the boat over, and flipping it back. When the boat flips over, there is an air pocket below it. The guide will climb on top of the raft, and then we all come out, and hold onto the side of the boat. When the guide flips the boat back, we are supposed to duck under the boat (where the air pockets are) to avoid being hit when the boat flips back again). Demarco said he wanted to avoid getting his shirt wet, which made me think perhaps we would not tip over, but I guess he was joking and the sarcasm bypassed me. On a particularly large rapid, a bunch of locals sit on the shore (like, a hundred people at least) to watch the white people flip over on their rafts. Every boat flipped on that rapid, except for ours. Demarco says it is because he prayed. He told Michelle, one of the girls in our group, "you are not religious, you just pretend to be". He then said to me, "this might be a stupid question, but if Jackie Chan popular in China too?" I explained to him that yes, he was very popular, but that I actually am American and cannot really say what's very popular in China or not. Regardless, Demarco told me. "when you go back to your country, can you please tell Jackie Chan to come to Uganda? Ugandans really love Jackie Chan." I told him I would give him a call and relay the message.

Our boat flipped over twice, which is actually quite good. Once however, I got hit in the fact with the oar, on the side of my head, right below where my helmet ended. I suppose the helmet was not as helpful as I had thought it would be. While we were rafting, we had a professional photographer take photos and videos. I look very grumpy in the video, although I was having a very good time.

At one point, the water was rapid, but then became very still. Demarco said if we fell out there, to get back in as soon as possible, since there were crocodiles in that area. I can't tell whether he was joking or not, but I clung to the rope during that period. If the rapid is shallow, we are supposed to lie on our back and avoid swimming. If the rapid is deep, we are supposed to try to swim to the boat. At one point, we went down a waterfall (Demarco was saying it is so small, it doesn't even count as a waterfall, but it is a significant drop). Many boats would get stuck at the waterfall, and they had people around that area with ropes, since it is common that the power of the water will trap you, so you can't even swim out.

There is one point where the rapid is so bad that we had to get out and walk, while people carried our boat on land to the other side. Demarco told us there was a racist rock in the water that only hits white people ("muzungus"), and not black people. I might have been okay, since I'm a "mchina". We ate pineapple, which was very sweet, and had an early dinner after rafting. We stayed the night at their camp, and went back to Kampala the next morning.