Uganda yesterday.

 We rode to Kampala 2 days ago from Kisumu, crossing the border from Kenya to Uganda. 

The day was fucking insane. It feels like a week. The border crossing was NUTS. No rhyme or reason and many hours to get through but we did. I

I'm shortening the accounting of events here. We rode for many hours through fields of food and cool cows with giant horns and meridians full of Marabou storks that look like dinosaurs especially when they take flight. 

We passed trucks and carts full of bananas

and motorcycles full of chickens or incredibly well dressed locals and got up into the mountains and then... the rain. Holy shit the sky opened and dumped so much water down for about an hour that we took refuge in the garage of a gas station... with the rest of the town. 

This is our group at the first equator crossing. I'll add the hiding in the gas station garage photo when my phone decides to join my team, she's been extra bitchy since the rain bath.

Cari and I hopped in the truck and let the boys ride through Kampala on their own and thank God we did. They fought through crazy traffic, roundabouts with 6 unmarked lanes and untethered goats for good measure, spilled at least one bike and arrived harried and full of piss and vinegar, but laughing and happy to be there.

We ended up at a cook hotel with a revolving restaurant at the top where we watched thunder and lighting strikes over the city with our dinner. I also think we were the only group at the hotel. It was eerily empty.

In the morning we rode out of Kampala which was also nuts, dumped our bike, lost a rider (he did manage to drop a pin and be reunited with us later in the day) and took the most nuts bumpy dirt road up a mountain with villages of people who ... chopped up rocks? not sure why. The road was wet and dusty at the same time, rocky and full of grooves... we basically 4x4'd on our bikes. Got to the prettiest lodge I have ever seen, the bird nest resort, looking over lake bunyonye. 

that's me in the lake. John had to double check it was safe to swim in... hippos? I asked... nope. urethra fish lol. But it was safe so Chris and I jumped in.

He's so cute!!

That fucking road, man. My poor ass. 

I think we are caught up now? I missed some things but every hour here has a full day's worth of adventure. I am so, so lucky. Miss you guys though.

working backwards; it's been crazy.

 Right now I am in Rwanda in a little cabin in the jungle. It will drop to 12 degrees tonight and the locals are panicked that we might freeze to death. In this room we have a radiator, a fire in the fireplace they have lit and built into a bonfire, 2 heavy down duvets on the bed, extra blankets. I'm roasting, lol. 

Every day since we hit the bikes has been better than the last and that is saying a lot. The people here, my God. The sweetest,happiest folks I have ever met. Children run alongside the bikes and everyone is smiling and waving at us and it's so clean here! There is a mandatory acts of service here for people of age .. Umughanda. On the last Saturday of every month every able bodied citizen 18 to 65 must improve the area through cleanup, planting trees, repairing public structures, clearing bushes... read up on it. It's beautiful. During those 3 hours all shops are closed, no cars are on the road, everyone just makes Rwanda better... and you can tell. It is spotless, no garbage anywhere. The communities are so close socially and so welcoming and proud of their areas.. I could live here. And I am saying this in a room with no water because TIA - this is Africa and something went wrong lol.

there was dancing... we danced.

it's all mountains and valleys and terraced tea plantations and visually moved me to tears.

this is where I'm staying right now.

people in the villages all wave as we pass.

The children are just glorious sweet happy little souls

Our crew.

I guess I should talk about the crew. 

Abbotsford bike show 2022 we met John Ayers of Ayers adventures at a booth. He talked us into coming to Africa with him and I am so glad he did. The impact that man has had on our lives will never be measurable, the gratitude everlasting. This is John today. Happy, laid back, responsible, and such a ridiculously huge heart. He's kind of cool, I guess.

The ride here was up and down mountains over the curviest roads I've ever seen, and at a good, solid pace if you have a death wish. We had a great, exhilarating ride right up until we were nearly ended by a semi truck, at which point I hopped in the van and let Chris carry on with the group. It was the first scare of the trip and really nobody's fault except the semi with failing brakes. 

To get here we crossed the border from Uganda today and that went really well and that is surprising. The borders here are... random. One of our group managed to exit Uganda without entering Rwanda... She just hung out nowhere. They took her back to get her stamp lol. Cool trick though.

 We all just had a wonderful dinner and are really coming together as a group. This is a beautiful things here and I am so lucky to be a part of it.