When Kody visited in September, we missed our chance to go to Murchison because people bailed the morning of our scheduled trip. I decided to take advantage of American Memorial Day to squeeze in a little trip. We met up a the Red Chilli Backpackers hostel in Kampala with the rest of the group and set off for a safari weekend.

Water buffalo

Giraffes

Olive baboons

Sunset over the Nile

Warthogs resting in the shade of a neighbor's tent

Don't get too close to the hippos!

Cliffs over the river banks on our Nile boat trip

Murchison Falls in the distance

Uganda's newest tabloid, "The Onion" - much racier than the US version!

Standing at the top of Murchison Falls

Too bad we lost Kody :(

Alas for poor Mr. Golden Pig, the day has come to break the piñata. Kody and I demonstrated how the whole piñata thing works, and got them ready to take a swing.

Dividing up the booty

After two and a half weeks, he meets his end and has a new life as a (smelly, moldy) mask.

World AIDS Vaccine Day

This year, the different research groups working on HIV vaccine research in Uganda held coordinated events to commemorate World AIDS Vaccine Day. IAVI’s event was at Kigungu,a a fishing community near our trial site in Entebbe.

Kody and I worked up some ideas to paint on the side of a fishing boat, playing on the theme of protection – lifejackets for water, and condoms on land. The highlight of the day was a boat race, with life jackets and a small cash prize for the winners.
























Marching through the village













Picked up a few friends

Once I started taking pictures, everyone wanted a portrait (smiling or not).

The community lines up to receive free health services – voluntary counseling and testing for HIV, deworming, blood pressure checks, etc

The piñata is officially now hard enough to be decorated.





So far, we’ve stretched out the family entertainment for 9 days. I think we can keep the kids entertained with this project for at least two weeks.



Shoes tumble outside the door as the kids run in the house to work on the piñata.
The neighbors get in on the act

Well, we’re definitely still in the rainy season. I had my wipers replaced, but they kept popping off every time I tried to use them. Thankfully, I had a Kody to brave the downpour and tie them onto the car for me. With ribbons, no less...

Treehouse Camping

Well, the piñata wasn’t quite ready for the party, so after adding another layer, Kody and I headed over to Leslie’s house. Her friends Kate and Cam built an amazing treehouse for their kids, and we were invited for a treehouse sleepover. We headed over on Leslie’s boat, with tons of supplies and fixings for some very nice meals. Ever had fondue while camping?

Leslie's house - just waiting for the canvas walls!

I’d last visited Leslie’s land late last year, and wanted to head up the hill to see progress on a primary school that Kate is helping to complete in the community. Nearly ready for pupils! Here’s the school last year.

The treehouse - two full levels, and one loft!

Sundowners on the third level perch

Waking up to a lake view in the loft

Enjoying the sun as we pack up for home! (That's the mattress from our bed at home. Home we didn't bring critters home.)

Cinco de Quatro

On the way home from Fort Portal we stopped at some roadside markets to get ingredients for a Cinco de Mayo feast. I’d been missing Mexican food and it was a good excuse to have a little party. Dinner was great, but we had no idea how hard it would be to pull off. Homemade tortillas, passion punch (sadly, no tequila in the stores), black beans, spicy slaw and fajitas. Mmmmmmm……

For décor, Kody decided to make a piñata with Alex, Brian and Patience. Here, the kids in action.

Kody and I headed to Fort Portal, about 3.5 hours east of Kampala, for the Labor Day holiday. Our first night, we stayed at a nice little community campsite which has its own crater lake. In the morning we headed off to Kibale Forest to do some chimpanzee tracking.

At first I thought we might not see too many – initially, we only saw a lone chimp high up in a tree. The guide took our group across the forest at a fast clip and eventually we found a big group. We saw quite a bit of action – the group hunting colubus monkeys together, fights over honey, mating, and power plays between the males. Scarier – and more exciting – than I’d thought it would be!
Eating honey stolen from the bees

Hunting colobus monkeys - these guys are the gorund team, waiting to catch any colobus that their friends manage to shake out of the trees
















Our second night, we treated ourselves to a bit of luxury at Ndali Lodge, perched on a hill top between two crater lakes (one of which you can reach via a steep staircase from the lodge).

The crater lake below Ndali







Boys fishing in the lake















We got caught in an afternoon rainshower during our walk around the crater's rim. Hiding in the grasses wasn’t much cover.

We rushed back from Fort Portal to attend the wedding reception for my colleague Paul, who was marrying Rose. Rose and Paul met at IAVI – our first IAVI marriage!


Kody's first taste of Ugandan wedding cake




From forest to ballroom in 4 hours