A Warm Welcoming at Mahogany Springs

I finally caught up on some sleep, showered again, waved good bye to the armed guard in front of the hotel, and headed back to the airport. Before we even reached the airport we had two roadside check points where I had to get out of the van and go through a metal detector. It was strange because they did not check my bags or make my driver go through the metal detector, so I’m not sure what good it was doing. I got to the airport and there was a sinking feeling in my stomach when I was unable to find my flight on the departure list. In fact they would not let me in to the airport and asked that I hang out in the “waiting” area. I began searching through my documents looking for a local contact number to find out what was going on when I was approached by someone from AeroLink Uganda. My plane was held up in Nairobi, which was now shut down due to two Iranians traveling with fake passports. But this was Uganda and they would not let that delay my travels, they re-routed a plane to come pick me up even though I was the only one scheduled, and take me to the Bwindi Kihihi airstrip. As I was at the airport with more than enough time for my scheduled flight we actually left about 30 minutes early from Entebbe.




The excitement was building, I finally felt like my adventure was starting to manifest itself.


While it was clear when we took off we flew threw a storm that tossed this little plane all over. While the pilot may have thought my uncontrollable giggling was just nervous energy, it was really that in the back of my head I heard nothing other then the screaming and panicking of my mother with every jolt and drop as if she was in the seat next to me.

Finally the airstrip was in sight.


Lucky for us this lady had cleared the airstrip of any debris.




We landed after the hour flight and the plane quickly took off to get back on schedule. I waited for my driver from Mahogany Springs, Martin, who would prove to be an incredible resource for gorilla trekking, and a very cool guy. In fact the entire staff at Mahogany Springs was nothing short of amazing and made you feel like an old friend. It was a little over an hour drive to get to the lodge in the classic African vehicle, the seemingly indestructible Toyota Land Cruiser.

I’m guessing that it says “objects in the mirror are closer then they appear” in Arabic.

Along the way we passed a wedding and I learned that I was a Mzungu, as that was how they all referred to me. I believe it means “white person” but I don’t think it has any negative tones associated with it.


We left and saw some people picking tea leafs.


We finally arrived at Mahogany Springs and like I said above I was greeted and treated like an old friend. This place was amazing. The rooms are full of character and fit perfectly in the hillside, offering amazing views from the moment you get up to the moment you go to bed.




The rooms are huge with two beds and after much debate I settled on the right one, or left one depending on your point of view.


Great place to relax with a beer, to reflect, to understand. Freedom is not just a dream, it’s there, beyond those fences that we build all by ourselves.






Always a favorite, an open air shower


And the beer you drink in Uganda, Nile Special, brewed from the source of the Nile. It tasted good but requires a few extra enzymes in your stomach to process, and took me a few days accumulate to.

I can’t believe I am here, in the jungles of Uganda, heading out to track the mountain gorillas. This is exactly where I need to be and it only took a little over two days to get here. The skies opened and rain fell from above, almost as if to wash away not only my expectations but also all my concerns. I could start fresh in the morning with a clear mind.


I only had electricity from 5pm to 8pm at night so I plugged in my cameras to gain maximum charge for tomorrows adventure and drifted off to sleep.

VIDEO: Uganda - Day 1 - Mahogany Springs