AJ Bear in Fort Portal

Fort Portal is a beautiful town. The people are very friendly and the weather is great. I now have a new name of “Akiki” which is a pet name given to me by the Clan leader. The mountains are majestic – especially when the dust settles and you can see them clearly. The soil is fertile and the vegetation is lush. Kibale forest is close by and there are many different primates including chimpanzees, different varieties of monkeys and baboons. I was tickled pink when I saw them right on the road and the baboons are absolutely crazy and jump on the vehicles.

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The CEO is a slave driver (he actually objects to me calling him that and instead likes to think of himself as “focused and hard working). After visiting 10 different schools- many in rural villages where we had to drive for hours on dusty roads, he finally consented to a free day. Although, I’m not sure how “free” it was since we had to get up at 0400 hours to go to Queen Elizabeth Park which is in southwest Uganda. We saw many buffaloes and cobs, as well as a few elephants and two hyenas. Leopards roam the Mweya Peninsula, which lies beside Lake Edward- unfortunately it was raining and they refused to come out. Nearby Lake Katwe is a huge volcanic explosion crater. Boats on the Kazinga Channel float past hippos and Nile crocodiles- we saw plenty of those from our little boat. The Ishasha area is home to tree-climbing lions, but once again the rain deterred them from coming out to be seen. We did however see many different species of birds- a definite paradise for the bird watcher.

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Our driver was a pro at missing all the potholes but with the rain, the roads get really slippery- almost worse than driving on ice in Edmonton. Incidentally, I will never complain about the potholes in Edmonton.

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Alas, there are no giraffes in the Park. Which are my favorites- so I’m just going to show you one of my most cherished canvases that AJ drew back in the day.

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One of the biggest surprises in Fort Portal was finding our very own prayer congregation. It feels like home and speaks to a sense of comfort and belonging. There’s nothing more gratifying than being able to go there on a regular basis and thank the Almighty. It keeps me grounded.

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