We arrived at the Nile, rushed down the hill to the nearest toilets, and only then - feeling ever so much more comfortable - did we stop to stare in awe at the scenery. We had stopped at a touristy place where several small waterfalls interrupted the broad flow of the powerful Nile. Lush trees of all kinds teemed along the rolling green shores. On an island of sorts across the way was a great swarm of bats that flew up in an amusing uproar of zigzags the entire time we were there. Beyond that the long green hills rode away to hazy blue on the horizon. And above that was the sky, a great roiling mass of deep, deep blue that poured towards us and threatened a fierce downpour. But the sun held out stubbornly for a while longer while we stood, and we basked in the river’s beauty, caught so dazzlingly in this conflict between sunshine and storm.
We went as near as we dared to the power of the river, but frequent danger signs with skulls and crossbones warned us away. A couple locals showed off for us by jumping without any hesitation into the seething mass of water and riding their jerry cans or kayaks over the falls. They probably do this all the time and think it’s relatively simple, but I couldn’t help it - I was very much impressed.
The voice of the falls was as captivating its face, and what with the gorgeous flowers, the birds calling, and the sweet breeze, I could have stayed in that little paradise all day. John Paul goes to a university in Kampala that he calls “heaven on earth” because of its gorgeous landscaping. I think we discovered another “heaven on earth” today.
But the time did come for us to go - only after we had taken what pictures we could of the beauty. But film never does serve to enhance the reality of the thing, and so we could not take quite all of it with us as we walked away, even for all the photographs we took. God’s creative genius is something man can never hope to match. We can only stand in awe of You - yes, and give back in thankfulness what You have given us.
We loaded back into our buses (the British team was spending the day with us, but had come in their own bus) and took a short drive to a nearby restaurant. The moment we sat down to eat our delicious food, it began to pour. It rained hard and furiously for a good half hour, and we sat under the high tin roof of the restaurant (there weren’t any walls) and listened to the rain come clattering down. But as we finished our meal, the rain let up almost entirely and teased the sun into an effort at shining again. It was enough for us to take a boat ride down the Nile to find the source of the river. It’s a place where the big, wide lake (Lake Victoria) and the big, wide river meet, and there’s just a rocky island of sorts to mark the spot. But just being on the Nile was exciting enough. Threat of alligators and all. We did see a little baby by the way. Baby alligator that is. Swimming along right next to the shore. It was only about a foot long, and I think I might have been tempted to pick it up except that it was too far away and someone in our group had seen the mother earlier.
And that was our trip to the Nile River. Between an African safari and a boat ride down the Nile River - and this doesn’t even take into consideration the dear children and the African people - I feel not only deeply, deeply blessed, but downright spoiled! God, I thank You.
Us at the Nile.
The restaurant where it poured.
