Uganda- Having to go home...

So time was running out for me, and with the ongoing construction of the Bujagali dam, time is running out for the Day 1 section of the Nile too, and knowing I may never come back adds a special sadness to coming to the end of my stay. Max had flown home early for surgery on his back but others had arrived to take his place. In a rather bizarre coincidence Pierre, a guy I had met paddling in Scotland arrived and we had a good laugh. He actually managed to disappear for some abnormally long downtime running Kalagala on the same day I managed to boof it and ride it out head dry! The Irish guys John and Enda were also a great laugh, and Wes (the dude) was still around and we all had some great social breakfast meetings at DeNile Cafe, or as Si liked to call it "Itanda Rehab" hahaha!

Oli had left a few days previously to go Gorilla watching, Jethro had had a severe spanking on Itanda so was taking it a bit easier, Si had burned himself pretty badly on a boda exhaust, and Pablo was just being lazy and stoned all the time, so I found myself boating with some random people! Wes was one of my favourite people to paddle with, we ran a few of the back-channels together, and I had a horrendous beat down in a pour over on Brick-Yard. Thankfully I managed to hang on until it spat me out (cheers for the sketchy assed line Wes!!! hahaha!!!) and that was the closest I came to swimming all month. We also had a few runs of Blade Runner, another super fun rapid that offers a few different lines.

Before long the Montana boys arrived back at Eden Rock and I felt well enough to party it up at NRE again. A few more wild nights (and days on the river!) and Rush Sturges rocked up, fresh from an expedition in Madagascar, and the nights got a bit wilder hahaha! I couldn't shake the feeling of my time running out though, and the thought of leaving made me really sad, not just the place, but all the awesome people I had met in my time there. But as always people started to go their separate ways. Wes left for Kampala for a night out before flying home to the states, Pablo left soon after for Germany. Before long it was the last day, and after a breakfast Silverback run I packed up most of my belongings and carted them over to NRE where Daryl, Si and I would be picked up for our shuttle to the airport.

I went then with John and Enda and a new arrival Monica (who turned out to be friends with Paula, a good friend of mine from back home- yeah small world again hahaha) for a last Silverback mission, via Bladerunner. I also decided to rock out on the ramp since it was my last trip down to the river, and managed to stack it quite spectacularly! Monica took some photos of me and John running Bladerunner, which was good since most of my photos were of partying rather than paddling! Right after Bladerunner we were caught in a rainstorm and had to make the paddle to Silverback in torrential rain. I said goodbye to one of my favourite rapids and then made the trek up the hill through the jungle to meet the bodas.

After a while we realised there must be a problem caused by the rain, since none of the bodas had arrived. This was slightly concerning as I was cutting time rather fine with my last run and needed to be back for our airport shuttle! We started walking to meet them, and after a while a couple of the drivers met us, informing us the road there was washed out and the other drivers would have to take another route, and we would have to take a different route back to NRE that involved quite a detour. I did however make it back with enough time to have a final farewell beer and finish packing my stuff up.

The people we meet when we travel are one of the best things about it for me- with paddling especially. You get to meet like minded people from across the world who share the same passion as you. In that respect this trip was one of the best so far. Some mentioned some not, I made some amazing friends and have some great memories, so thanks everyone for being a great laugh! It does however make leaving somewhere so special even harder. Its sad to think that with the completion of the Bujagali Dam, the day 1 section of the Nile will be lost, and fewer people will visit, and it will cease to bring so many people from all across the world together. To think that will be lost is heartbreaking beyond description... Ah well, what will be, will be... Next stop Ottawa...