Landing in Entebbe

My 50th birthday present to myself is a Ugandan safari.  Why Uganda? 400 of the world's 800 mountain gorillas live here and I'm going to track them.  It just seems fitting to start a new decade with a tremendous adventure!

The gorilla safari idea was hatched on a girls ski trip last January.  Carrie Worley did the planning and chose Gorilla Tours to make the arrangements. Her friend Kathleen Murphy joined us at the last minute and the group was complete.

13 days, 3 women, 1 driver, 5 Ugandan national parks, 1,500 miles (covering half the country) and 1 Toyota Land Cruiser.

Flying to Uganda from Pensacola takes about 22 hours.  I hit Entebbe very late on Nov. 14.  It seemed surreal to land at the airport made famous by the 1976 hostage situation. The images of the terrorists and ranting dictator Idi Amin kept flashing through my mind as I requested a holiday visa.

The first hotel, The Boma, was the perfect introduction to Uganda.  A garden oasis in Entebbe.  I settled into Africa and visited the wildlife center and arboretum on Lake Victoria, the birthplace of the Nile.  Carrie and Kathleen arrived late that evening and the fun began...