Fort Patico

On Saturday, we went to Fort Patico, which is an hour outside of Gulu (actually the distance is probably only 20 miles, but the roads are so terrible that it takes forever). Fort Patico was where the Arabs ran their slave trade of Africans. Sir Samuel Baker came to Uganda, ended the slave trade and then set up a fort there. It is pretty much a bunch of enormous boulders, but the views are incredible. It was a bonding day with our teachers, so I got to meet Grace's youngest son Jacob and her sister Josephine. I also got to meet Okello P'layeng's son, Bill Clinton (not kidding). Jacob is precious but very shy. He finally warmed up to me at the end of the day, but I think he enjoyed watching me. We ate a picnic lunch of a Acoli food; I was helping to serve so I didn't get to eat much. Matt and Kate made homeade guacomole, which was delicious, so I ate that and chapatti chips. It makes me massively crave Mexican food and a large margarita.

After lunch, we went on a "hike." In the States, you would call this bouldering as we were climbing sheer faced boulders without any gear. It took us about 20 minutes of walking through the bush and a family's corn and cabbage fields before we made it to the bottom of the hike. I can see how people can easily get lost in the bush. The grass was so thick and way above our heads; it is very eassy to get disoriented. There were some local boys who helped us find out way; they were walking without shoes and then climbed to the top with no problem. When we finally reached the top, it was worth it. The views were breathtaking, and it was fun to sit and relax with everyone for a couple of minutes.

I began to worry about the trip down... did I mention the sheer rock face we climbed up? But I made it safely. I am going to write a letter to Keen and explain to them how amazing their shoes are; I think their grip saved me a couple of times. I came out of the hikes with several bruises, cut and scrapes, but no broken bones.

I think I am ready to bungee jump...