Day #19

6-7-09

Incredible. That is the word that comes to mind when thinking back through all the breath-taking sights of today. The pictures I've taken hardly do it justice. My bedroom for the next two nights is overlooking a vast, beautiful valley with Lake Edward, Lake George, and numerous mountains in the distance. Right now everything is green because the wet season has just ended. However, the dry season is soon approaching and according to the locals, it will all be brown in due time. So I'm thankful we are able to see the green. Though from the pictures I've seen, brown grass would be more faithful to my prior expectations of Africa.
On our way to our boat ride we saw an elephant, water buck, wild pigs, and various birds. It was really quite exciting and I got a lot of good pictures.
Then, on the boat ride we saw hippos, buffalo, an elephant, a small alligator, and again, more birds. It was just really enjoyable to be on a boat and relax. Allowing my hair to be whipped by the wind was so nice. This took place in our safari van, as well, since the top opens up and we were able to peak our heads up out of the vehicle. I cannot explain the joy and excitement of spotting an animal and being able to take its picture. The two highlights were the herd of 11 elephants and the one lioness we were able to observe. I didn't get any good pictures of the lion because my camera batteries decided to die right when the opportunity arose to take a picture.
But overall it was a very fun trip and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I can't believe tomorrow is our final night together as a group... this three weeks has flown by! But it's been absolutely amazing. I'm excited to see my family, but at the same time, I'm going to miss Uganda. I'm almost positive I will be coming back... possibly even to live. I'm still waiting on God for direction, though.
I'm thankful for this time to rest and reflect in the midst of God's creation before heading back to the States. This really is a great way to top off the trip.