Several months back, my heart brother Vincenzo (Enzo) mentioned he was going to Mombasa. My brother is getting is Ph.d in human rights in London and his flat mate kindly invited him to join her family at their Mombasa vacation home during their February holiday. Long story short, Enzo wanted to travel into Uganda from Kenya but was not familiar with the country and did not want to be a solo traveler. And that is where I came in.
Don and I spent 3 days in Uganda approximately seventeen years ago. We honeymooned in Kenya and then made our way to see the magnificent mountain gorillas in the Congo, via Uganda. It was a most remarkable journey, and with only several days in Uganda, I wished I had seen more of the country. Me being me, I stayed in touch with Ken, our Ugandan guide for all these years. When I approached him about traveling with us, he did not hesitate for a second. Fast forward almost two decades and soon I was on a plane bound for East Africa.
The first leg our our journey would be Rwanda. There we would visit the genocide cites, do some reconciliation work amongst ourselves. I wanted to sit in a place of trauma and hold a space for love and healing and forgiveness. As have thousands before me have done. I also wanted to see a new part of Africa and connect with the people of Kigali (unfortunately, this would be the only stop in Rwanda, excluding the drive to the border). The three things that always stand out about traveling are the people that I meet, seeing the incredible natural world that the creator has manifested in physical form and of course there’s the food. Having been fortunate to have spent time in Kenya, Uganda, a day in the DCR and Egypt, I was excited to check out another part of the motherland. As I sit here and work on my blog in hotel, on one of the thousand hills of Kigali, listening to the sound of a wedding celebration just outside my door, I know that this was where I was meant to be in this moment and yet they were a few moments of doubt prior to setting foot on the motherland.
The preparation prior to leaving were a little bit different than other trips that I have taken. I found myself feeling anxious at times, more often than I was comfortable with. Upon inquiry, I realized what lay beneath. I have left the family to go on domestic, sojourns, as well as to take care of family but to go halfway across the globe without my two small gems was the trigger of my angst. It seems the older I get and the closer I get to the other side of this human life, the more I become aware that there are dangers. That I am mortal. The idea of leaving and going so far away from my most precious people and not be able to see them or get back if there was a need, it poked at me like a thorn. In my meditation and check ins with my heart, I knew that there was no danger for me. Otherwise, I would have heeded any forewarning. It was more about the letting go, leaving them and what that meant on many levels. They are individuating, as am I. My two small gems are slowly but steadily becoming adults and need me less and less.. And I, too, am individuating in a different way, as I age and move towards a different stage of my life. But as a wise sister-in-law told me recently, they still need me to support them as they grow. And the truth is also that we need each other. That helped me to remember that the bonds remain no matter where I am and that divine order truly does run things. When the fear arises, it is imperative that I remain to trust; that Creator is guiding and protecting on every level, in every situation. Even when there’s pain and suffering there is a divine order. Once I faced my fears, sat with them, I was then able to move forward into the excitement of one of my greatest joys; traveling.
With these things in my mind, and in my heart, I now I’ll find myself in Central East Africa, listening to beautiful music and the sound of laughter and joy of a couple celebrating their wedding, just outside the door. I sit here, relaxed in my ideal temperature where I am wearing no socks and a tank top. I feel the breeze blowing in the air and I am happy. I’m enjoying being in the moment and there is a welcome anticipation of what lies before me as we prepare to move forward on this most fortunate and beautiful adventure
Below are some of the photos from the first few days.
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