Looking Back on the Break PT. 2

Our tents at The Haven Lodge after Day 1 of Rafting

On the bank of the Nile after the 2nd day of rafting

The guides

Nile River

Here are some more pictures from rafting!


Our next destination was even further east in Sipi Falls. I believe they did have our reservations here. We stayed at the Lacam Lodge. We were excited because it was a little more expensive ($20/night) and our driver even let out a “ooooooooh” when we told him we were going there. The landscape was breathtaking. Nestled on the edge of a cliff in the Western Rift Valley, we had a great view of the valley and plains below. Our accommodations were interesting. We stayed in these bamboo huts with no electricity. Everything was lit with kerosene lamps at night. The rooms were about 10ft by 5ft wide. Enough to fit one bed longways, a ladder, and two bunk beds sideways. The beds were very comfortable though. The bamboo didn’t provide much insulation though, so it got cold at night and could hear everything going on in the rooms on either side of us. The showers were up the hill a little ways and were heated by a wood fire. Surprisingly, the meals were really good. We ate like kings and queens. They gave us multiple courses for each meal and weren’t stingy on the portion sizes. We hiked one afternoon for a few hours and saw the three waterfalls of the area. One funny thing, we were in the middle of the hike, taking a break by a small creek with a waterfall. We were taking pictures and cooling off. As we were leaving, we heard some music from a distance. It was Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas”. It was so funny. The girls started dancing and singing. It was so funny. Never would I have thought that we would hear that! It was coming from the church we would end up going to on Christmas day. The place was amazing. Christmas day was interesting! We spotted that church up on the other side of the main road and heard that the service started at 9 or 10am. We thought we were getting the hang of the African culture, so we moseyed on over around 10 to be safe. We were wrong. First people to show up! The new rule of thumb is to go whenever you hear the music. We sat there while they blared music and sang. Slowly, people trickled in while they sang and even deep into service. How long is a Christmas service in Africa, you might ask? I’m not really sure, I left around the 4 HOUR MARK! We repeated the process of singing, dancing, and hearing a sermon quite a few times. Each from different pastors. We also got called up to the front to introduce ourselves. It was hilarious and awkward. We all made fools of ourselves in one way or another. Finally some of our snuck out. I thought I was determined to ride it out, but one of the pastors said they would take an offering before they continued, I couldn’t take it anymore. One of the girls, Hannah, and I danced our way up, gave our offering, then kept dancing right out the door! We thought it went pretty smoothly. I must say though, the singing and dancing were passionate and intense. Our worship at my church in Kigali is great with passionate songs, but if you went from most churches in the US to this one, you would have been blown away. You could feel the people rejoicing in that bamboo and tin roofed building. It was really moving. I tried to dance the best I could, but it didn’t matter either way. It was a lot of fun. Also, we think they had just gotten a new keyboard somehow, because they played that thing THROUGHOUT the service. It was like the synthesizer sounds at the ballpark + random notes. Pastor makes a good point? New pastor comes up? Awkward silence? The keys were being hit in random spurts, and was awesome.

Local kiddos

View from outside my room in Sipi Falls

Is this what you guys pictured me living in?

During our waterfall hike in Sipi Falls. From L to R: Doug, Kerry, Micki, Hannah, me

Lacam Lodge's restaurant. Very rustic.

Our Christmas Day Family Photo

Accommodations in Sipi Falls

I'm not finished yet. TO BE CONTINUED...