Belfast 4/5 November 2006

Belfast 5 November 2006

Giant's Causeway. Another windy clifftop walk. It's smaller than we expected. Is that the Boot? Must be I suppose...Oh, no, here it is...I think. Too much whiskey from the nearby Bushmills Distillery fuelled the imagination of the people naming some of these formations.

The distillery itself is closed (guidebook and tourist ileaflet agree) but open when we decide to chance a visit - a developing theme. A fire alarm midway through the introductory film to the guided tour. (We'll help you save the stock!) Three whiskeys to taste. Jenny hates them all so I get hers. Sweeter, 16 year-old. Aged in sherry nd port barrels.

Dunluce Castle. Spectacular. Perched on a windswept headland. Sun set behind it.

Belfast 5 November 2006

Sunday morning dawns overcast. Spectacular Antrim coast road. Arrive at Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. The sign says closed for the end of the season on 31 October but, ambiguously, states "Open Today" underneath. A windswept clifftop walk to the bridge. The attendant helpfully informs us that the bridge will be dismantled tomorrow as it is worn out at the end of the season. He could have saved that till after the return crossing. Pose for photos on the bridge. Smile? No, gritting teeth and not looking down.

Belfast 4 November 2006

Flew Easyjet in the sale. Into Belfast International rather than the scarier option of Belfast City with its short runway and approach over the harbour. Picked up hre car and drove into the city avoiding the motorway to enter from the west. Irish tricolours.

Interesting exhibition at the City Hall in Donegal Square on the city's history to date - including the newly appointed Sinn Fein Mayor - and the fascinating old, wood-panelled Linen Hall Library. Walked the city centre to crooked Albert Memorial Clock Tower, Custom House, Harland and Wolf shipyard cranes, St Anne's Cathedral. Mountains at the end of every street. Back through the narrow, dingy, seedy alleys of the Setts.

Had a beer in The Crown, a Victorian saloon bar. Dark, low-ceilinged with private booths that you can reserve for (ordinary looking) lunch. Only missing the fug of cigarette smoke to complete the nostalgic timewarp.

Drive out of town following signs to Carrickfergus while Jenny falls asleep. Blowy walk around the harbour and castle.

Take the coast road to our hotel - a converted 17th century castle, complete with haunted tower. http://www.hastingshotels.com/index.cfm/aID/202/Content_Key/592/type/category/CatName/Ballygally_Castle.html
There's a wedding party expected when we arrive (my heart sinks) but the friendly service is maintained without a hitch. Nice meal in the quiet restaurant. Knock on the bedroom door..."Oh. You're not my father-in-law." Can only agree with that.

Uganda 9 December 2006

Morning drive to the equator. Stop. Watch water spiral out clockwise and anti-clockwise a few metres apart on either side of the equator then flow straight down on the equator itself.

Petrol stop in Masakah. Mateo asks us if we want lunch. It's a bit early but there is, he says, nowhere to eat for the next three hours. Okay then. It turns out that just round the corner is the same place he stopped at for lunch on the way out. Definitely on commission.

Again no buffet. Chips with everything. Except everything bar the fish is off. So those who ordered chicken and chips just got chips!

Enter Kampala. Some roadworks or an accident are blocking the main road in. We go round the houses and see, amongst other places of interest, the Catholic Cathedral and President's Palace.

Entebbe Airport. Check in very orderly and it turns out the onward connecting flight from Kenyatta is no longer cancelled. Some are put out: "But we wanted a night in Nairobi." Others are not dressed for UK arrival but for overnight in African temperatures. Cue hasty unpacking of longer, heavier, warmer clothes.

Change Ugandan shilligs for Kenyan and go through passport control. Spend the last Ugandan coins on coffee and cakes in the airport cafe.

Uneventful flight back to Nairobi - crossing the Equator for the 5th time in as many days. Southbound again - see how the other half lives.

Again Kenyan Airways informaton is good. Check at the service desk that we have veggie food ordered. They confirm the instructions (that are carried out).

Wait in departure lounge. Tedious, junk TV. The flight leaves less than an hour late. Re-cross the Equator. Northbound. Homeward.

Uganda 8 December 2006 cont.

It's over. Scramble back uphill to retrieve our packs and exit the forest. Emerge high on the hill. Stop for lunch. Take in scenery - green hills and dramatic mountains in the distance.


Awesome is an over-used word but I can't think of any other to use. It is the only way to describe the sense of wonder at being so close to some of the last 750 mountain gorillas in the world. They have babies. The population was down to 650 a decade ago. But for how long? When will some human upheaval eradicate them or their environment? A pessimistic view of their prospects for survival.



Another scramble back down the hill to the bus. Back to the village. One last haggle secures a candlestick at less than half the original asking price. Then grab the luggage and into the bus for the long drive back.

Mateo breaks the news that our overnight flight back from Kenyatta has been cancelled so we will have to overnight in Nairobi. General dismay at disarranged plans. Also going back same route we drove out from Kampala instead of going via Queen Elizabeth National Reserve due to bad roads. Disappointing but we're less concerned than others as we are going to Kenya shortlyso hope to see the game there.

Overnight at Lakeview Hotel. Colonial feel. Buffet meal including local dishes (at last!) Say goodbye to Joseph of the prodigious driving feats.

Uganda 8 December 2006

First sight - a youngish male in a tree overhead. Then a baby. Where's the mother? Nearby.

Silverback. Huge. Impressive. 25 stones? In the trees 20 metres downhill from us. We are practically level with him. Completely impervious to us he grasps brnches and chews on selected leaves.

The whole family is in the trees around and above us. Lazing. Eating. A female climbs overhead, pees then defecates, scattering us. Deliberate? Who knows? A message to her nearest relatives?

A mother and baby clinging on. Peering down at us, shyly. Curious.

After nearly an hour the silverback descends. The mother and baby come down within feet of Nadia. She is petrifies and delighted at the same time. Eye contact. No fear on the part of the gorilla.

We move down the hill. The silverback settles on the ground maybe 20 ft from us. Others are closer. Two juveniles barely ten feet away through the bushes.

Our hour is up but the guide says we have a few minutes more as they've just come down.

The silverback swngs away downhill. Snaps a young tree on his way - sheer exuberance.

A mother and baby swing down right in front of us. She agile, the baby clinging on. Mooch off.

The juvenile males pass behind us less than four feet away. A casual glance at us. No threat. I feel completely safe.