Getting to Africa

Hey Guys!

We are back for more blogging adventures, this time on a 3 month stint to East Africa. Here we will visit Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya with a one month placement in Uganda with Veterinarians Without Borders (VWB). We are both super excited to be back on the road again, so let's dive right in!

We had a pretty eventful trip to Uganda, and this blog will cover everything leading up to finally stepping foot on Ugandan soil. We spent 2 days in Ottawa, getting an orientation from VWB staff, learning about what we will likely be encountering while we are in Uganda. We will be working with local farmers to try to facilitate their efforts to raise healthier cows that produce more milk. We will likely be facing some unique challenges that we do not have in Canada- infrastructure is not to the same standard, and it is also a tropical country with a selection of disease we do not see. 

 We got to see the Parliament buildings all lit up one of the nights as it was still going from Christmas.

So at this point, once our orientation was done in Ottawa we were set to fly Ottawa --> Toronto --> Amsterdam--> Entebbe (Uganda). However, our first flight was cancelled. The 'curse' of the start of each big trip being interrupted continues. However, we only jokingly call it a curse. This same curse was what allowed us to see NYC at Christmastime a few years ago, and that was super magical. Anyways, back to the point. We went to the WestJet counter and after a lot of bumbling around (I'll give you the Coles Notes version), we ended up on a flight Montreal--> Doha --> Uganda. 

Where is Doha? You might ask. It is the capital city of Qatar. I had heard of Qatar, but never anything more than that it was a country in the Middle East. After a quick google that it was a safe place to visit, we decided to fly through here, with a 16 hour layover. When I say decide, we weren't exactly spoilt for choice. The next days flights through Amsterdam were sold out, so when we missed the first flight it really threw everything for a loop. More on Doha later. 

We still needed to get ourselves to Montreal, so we boarded a VIA Rail train at 7 pm that night. We ended up in a great little hotel downtown, and decided to head out and experience some of Montreal's famed nightlife. Johnny Blair had told us about a few good places to check out, and this picture below is from one of his haunts. 

I did this shot for you, Johnny. 

We didn't fly out until 8 pm that night, so we had plenty of time to explore this great city. We first went to the St. Joseph's Oratory of  Mount Royal. It was built in 1904, and is Canada's largest church. I think the thing I was most impressed by was the pipe organ in the upper basilica. There was a person playing it while we were there, and it was amazing. 

 There was also great view of the city from up there

Then we headed down to Old Montreal, a beautiful collection of streets and buildings. Some date back to the 17th Century. 

 The Old Clock Tower overlooking the St. Lawrence River 

We had an absolutely fabulous meal of poutine for Jared and a Montreal smoked meat sandwich for me. 

Here we are in front of the Notre-Dame Basilica, built in 1672. 

We boarded our red eye that night, heading for Doha, Qatar. We didn't feel too bad when we disembarked, and were eager to head out and see the city. We even got a free hotel room out of it! Qatar airways gives (mostly) everyone with an 8 hour or more layover a free room for the night. We also had free transfers into the hotel in town, and credit for meals. We love this kind of stuff.  We had the option of ordering room service, which we totally took advantage of. To be able to eat really good food, and sleep in a real bed was so divine. But back to our city tour.....

I am standing in from of the Souq Waqif mosque in downtown Doha. Eating chicken biryani!

 The commanding skyline of Doha along the West Bay

 Centre of Islamic Art, which showcases traditional pieces throughout history. I would have been SO into this if it had been open. It was still beautiful to look at from the outside. 

 Traditional dhow boats used for fishing. I think a lot of them take tourists out now. 

The outside of the Souq Waqif bazaar. In Arabic, souq means bazaar.  

We came across a 'pet' alley, full of birds, rabbits, kittens, puppies, turtles. It was quite extensive! It is always sad to see that many birds crammed into such a small cage, though.

Lots of textiles, rugs, clothes, and various souvenirs. Too bad this isn't on the way home! Jared wanted to get a huge sword

At the end of the night we sat and smoked shisha to wind down and watch the people go by. I am not condoning smoking, just so everyone is clear. It's just one of those things you have to do for the cultural experience. 

Walking back to the hotel, we came across this HUGE arch made up of two swords. 

The next morning we boarded a plane to Entebbe (Uganda). When we touched down, it felt like a sense of accomplishment. I felt really lucky that we got to have this little mini-adventure added on to our already great upcoming trip.  

After clearing customs and getting our bags, we met up with our driver, Bruce. We started on the six hour journey to Mbarara, the town we will be based out of for the next couple of days. 

We passed by the equator on the way.

Until Next Time!