It’s 5am in Nairobi airport and the temperature is rising. The biggest chunk of the journey over, and it’s now just a hop and a skip over Lake Victoria and we land in Entebbe for the start of our adventure.
As you know, Zuleika and I have embarked on a “journey” (in every sense) to document the great work done by the Rwenzori Founders. We can’t wait to meet the team in person after so many Zooms.
It’s a small plane, just two each side of the aisle but it’s packed and the scramble to get cabin bags in the overhead lockers before anyone else, is contagious. After a short flight, we land perfectly after flying in low over the water and in no time we are out on the tarmac. Uganda – The Pearl of Africa. The heat hits you as if you are opening the door of a baker’s oven – all senses alerted. As we follow the crowd, we spot a Lily Trotter on the runway and a huge tractor trailer of fish in crates trundling by, smelling a bit, and bound for a hold along the rows of small waiting planes.
Whilst Zuleika sailed through, I had a tense moment getting my Visa approved, followed by an even tenser twenty moments with the customs officials – but, supervised and guided through the customs process by our friends at Talking Film Production (the guys we will be working with over the next four weeks), we escaped into the traffic throng of Entebbe.
Our guest house, in colonial style, is the Hummingbird Camp and a haven for all species -walking, flying and crawling. Having been shown to our rooms we emerge, not daring to even sit on our comfy beds in case we went horizontal, to relax in the garden under a huge umbrella with a bottle of water each. We’d made it. The idea, the research, the contacts, and the financing have got us to this happy point. 36 hours awake but we were buzzing and not wanting to miss a moment.
The GoAway bird (a bit like a hysterical Kookaburra) welcomes us from the bushes along with the distinctive call of the Robin Chats and the Ibis, whilst a Red Headed Agama and his Gekko friends sunbathe on the wall ignoring us completely.
Zuleika was born in Uganda and feels instantly at home here. I just feel something very special that I can’t put my finger on whenever I am on this amazing continent, a warmth from its sun and its people that warms the soul.
