Rafting the Nile

Well it has been an eventful last few weeks here in Africa. I was invited last minuet to go rafting with a group out in Uganda. I found out I was going on Monday, and had to be back in the city by Tuesday to catch the bus. We all headed out early Wednesday and took the 10 hour bus ride to Jinja, Uganda. I was not sure what to expect, other than what my friend Clayton was telling me (terrifying me). Clayton has rafted the Nile something like 18 times, so he gets cheap entertainment from terrifying those who have never been. I have rafted before, but never have I been dodging class six rapids. We stayed at this place called "nile river explorers." What a fantastic place. The man that started it is from South Africa and has been running the place for over 14 years. The staff there was also great. We spent a week there, so got to know some of them well. There was Josh from New Zealand, Jessie from Australia, Jack from South Africa, Adam from Scotland....ect..just people from all over the globe that has a passion for kayaking. So, they decided that they would just move out there and live it everyday. They were a blast! Rafting takes all day, so we woke up early Thursday morning and rafted the Nile. I have never has so much fun. My adrenaline was pumping faster than it has ever before, I was shaking before every rapid, and it did not help having Clayton trying to freak me out either. We flipped a few times, but non of the falls were too bad...well, non after Bujigali Falls.....we flipped on this class five and non of us came up for a good 5 or 6 sec.. now this sounds like nothing, but when you did not catch a breath on your way under and keep hitting the raft when you try to come up for air, it feels like eternity. I was pretty freaked out, but I was not going to let it stop me. So, we continued down the nile. We got done around 5:30 ish and they had this great barbecue waiting for us. We spent the rest of the week relaxing and doing absolutely nothing...it was fantastic. Uganda is such a beautiful place. Everything is so green and lush. There were these wonderful tea farms on the way in that stretched for miles and miles. It was a site watching the workers with their baskets picking the leaves, it was beautiful. It rained at some point everyday..which if you were in Kenya, you would understand why it was such a big deal. Our roofs were made out of tin, so i was rocked to sleep every night. We made our way back to Nairobi on Monday and this time the ride was a bit longer..12 ours or so, but still not bad. Most of us had been up all night hanging out, that we slept most of the way back. I am not in the city staying with a family here and headed out to Kamulu either Friday or Monday...we will see. I hope all is well back home and that Fall has started a new season full or love and energy in each of your lives.