I needed to get away from the legal issues surrounded Cayenne for a while, so decided to go to Sipi Falls. After a 3 hour bus ride to Mbale and an hour cramped Matatu ride to Sipi Falls, I arrived at the Crow's Nest hostel. It was about 7 or 8pm when I arrived, so it was completely pitch black. Standing at the corner where we stopped was a large group of local men, whose intentions I was unsure of. The man I was talking to on the matatu told me that Crow's Nest was just up the dark pathway leading into the woods and that the man standing there worked there and would escort me. I didn't really have much choice but to trust him, so I grabbed my bags and headed into the dark with him. I think he could sense my uneasiness because he eventually presented his guide permit, which made me feel a lot better.
When I arrived safe and sound at Crow's Nest, I gladly gave him a tip as that was definitely not a trip I would have wanted to make on my own. I reserved a room in the nearest hut, just up the cliff, and settled in with some new friends in the lounge.
It was difficult to see much that night because it was so dark, but the hostel is situated on the edge of a cliff that surrounds a massive valley and is directly across from the largest waterfall. The wind, I suppose due to the landscape, was the most intense I think I have ever experienced. It was unrelenting that first night and combined with the outdoor toilets and creaky wooden doors, it gave the place a feeling of an old horror movie. Despite the beauty of the large white moon that lit up the sky, during my trip to the bathroom in the night I was practically running back to my hut.
My first morning in Sipi, I met up with Robert who would be taking me to my 100 metre abseil, ten metres beside the main waterfall. Abseiling is pretty similar to the belaying portion of a rock climb in that you are slowly being lowered down a rope to the ground. It is different in the sense that you are in complete control of the movement and your spotter merely serves as a safety backup by controlling the speed of the rope behind you. Lowering yourself is accomplished by changing the angle of your slack to loosen or tighten the knot attaching you to the rope connected at the top. The first 20 metres or so you are pushing out against a rock, the rest you are just hanging there and slowly descending.
Those first few seconds when I started leaning over the edge and had really no idea how to work the ropes, were legitimately scary. However, despite my attempts to look at the small knot that was keeping me from falling to my death, or to look down at how far the ground was, I couldn't feel scared. It was absolutely amazing and beautiful to watch the water next to me pouring down 100 metres to crash on the rocks below, surrounded by the lush tropical green landscape.
I am not sure why they call it abseiling, but I do have my own theory: it was probably the greatest ab/core workout of my life to keep my body upright as I hung there 100 metres from the ground.
After abseiling, we hiked up to the spot where they do the rock climbing. They had asked me what I wanted for my lunch and I had originally decided on Chicken and fries as the vegetarian option of a tomato, onion, and cheese sandwich didn't sound very appealing. Before my abseil, they said they had no fries, would I like spaghetti. By the time I actually received my lunch, it was some tomatoes and onions between two pieces of white bread: the vegetarian option minus the cheese. This is Africa.
I have done indoor rock climbing before, but this was really not even in the same category. I did the easiest one first, but it was definitely not easy. First of all, you have no clue where to climb as there are areas where it basically just looks like smooth rock. My guide would tell me which tiny dents i could fit maybe my big toe or one finger into to push my way up. Once you fall, it is even harder because you need to pull yourself back into the wall with nothing to grab but a centimetre long hole in the rock. I have never done a workout like that where literally everything from my toe muscles to the tips of my fingers were exhausted.
I was planning on doing a hike to the other falls afterwards, but once I sit down for lunch there was no turning back. It was still light out, but I wanted to go to bed since I was getting a terrible migraine. I just needed to take out money first as I was pretty low on cash. I managed to catch a shared car that reeked of gasoline into town to go to the bank.
There are two banks in Sipi: Stanbic and Centenary (an African bank). Needless to say Centenary didn't work, and Stanbic ATM was malfunctioning, obviously. So by the time I paid my way back to the hostel, paid my bill, and set aside money for my trip back to Kampala, I had about 6,000 Ush ($2.40) to spare. I woke up early to watch the sunrise over the cliffs and took an early matatu to Mbale.
In Mbale, I finally found a Barclays and got some money out. I was starving as I hadn't been able to afford to eat anything since lunch the day before so I sat down for a big breakfast and considered whether I wanted to go back to Sipi to do the hiking and coffee tour now that I had money. When I realized that I forgot my phone there, basic math made the decision for me ($12 phone > $6.40 matatu ride).
When I got back to Sipi, one of the guides from Rob's Rolling Rock, Peter, was at the bus stop. The matatu driver gave me my change and I was confused why he charged me only 7,000Ush. "It's because I am here and that is the real price," Peter said.
I helped to make some delicious and fresh coffee right from the raw beans on my coffee tour. It is a much longer process than I realized. Then we went for a hike to the second falls. They were smaller, but even more beautiful than the first one. At one part, there is thick green grass growing underneath where the water trickles down so that everything you see is lush and green. You could walk right in behind the falls and some people even stood underneath them.
On my way back to Mbale (my third matatu ride between Sipi and Mbale) I finally figured out the mystery that perplexed me on our first trip out. On my first trip, the matatu pulled over and one of the three guys in the front seat got on a boda, only to get back on the matatu a few miles down the road. This second time when, again someone from the front seat got out, I thought I had it figured out. I looked out the windows for a police station and finally saw two white uniformed officers at a checkpoint by the road. They aren't allowed to have three in the front seat in Uganda so they have to take someone out when they drive past the police. I suppose it is a step in the right direction that Uganda actually has these safety laws as opposed to Tanzania.
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