Adventures in Jinja

We went to Jinja (3 1/2 hours from our home, on the Nile River) the first week of July.
We stayed at new friends guest cottage by the Nile River.

We went to Jinja for a get away, for a couple appointments AND to celebrate Luka's 8th grade graduation ziplining!

We enjoyed the quietness and beauty.
Coming from Michigan it is so sad not to be able to swim in this huge river.  Michigan has like 20,000 lakes and that is what you do in the summer time.

I love palm trees!
(I think God does too since He decorated the inside of His Temple with them.)

Bummer some of us got sick the first couple days...

Makai loved all the playgrounds and pools he got to swim in in Jinja!

I enjoy looking at the craft shops in Jinja.

So Luka really wanted to raft the Nile for his graduation but the companies said you have to be 16 years old.  The place we stayed happen to be next door to one of the rafting companies so we decided to ask in person.  To our surprise they said Luka can go! (And we got a good deal!)  Josh, Luka and Lydia went together...and were thankful to still be alive!  Lydia loved it.  Josh and Luka told the guide out of medium, hard or crazy medium enough.

Ok, here are some pictures in sequence down the grade 5 rapids.
Number 1 - throw your paddles

Number 2 - Hold on!

Number 3 - Where are they?!

Number 4 - The raft made it.

Number 5 - I see three heads and a guide, they survived!

An adventure to remember!

Drive out to the rain forest through the sugar cane fields.

We decided to still go to Mabira Forest to have another adventure - ziplining!

So I didn't go because I HATE heights!  But the rest went and they let Makai go!  He is 3 years old!!!  And they were 40 meters high - like 12 stories up!  Seven different lines.  Above the trees, over a river...I was terrified, a nervous wreck!
But Makai LOVED it!

Makai being hoisted up...before I could decide if this was a good idea.

Emalai climbing up.
(Once up she decided it was too high and went to the small lines.)

What a brave boy!  He cried when it was done!!!  The workers thought he was great.

In town we began to see a lot of racing cars.  We learned there was circuit race next to where we were staying.  Of course Luka wanted to go and it ended up being his favorite thing (are you kidding me - out of all that you liked the race the best?!).  I am glad he had the opportunity to do something he usually can't and misses.  And it was a cultural experience!

Oh my dust!!!

And that was Jinja!