Lago Mburo: reward expectations lowercase
We were rushing our last days in Uganda after an exciting journey through the interior of the country. The national park of the lago Mburo It was the last stop before reaching Kampala, capital. This park, one of the smallest in the country, it happens to be the antelope's paradise. Mburo was the fine print of a trip that took us from the sources of the Nile mythical Rwenzori mountains, Great Lakes to the lair of the last mountain gorillas. But, sometimes, should pay attention to the fine print. Mburo turned out to be a surprise in the bedroom. Almost at the discount, Uganda gave us amazing days for unexpected.
And Sanga we leave the road that leads to Kampala, from which we are separated by almost five hours by car, to deviate towards Lake Mburo through the characteristic bush and acacia savanna in which the circular clay kilns stand out, over a meter and a half tall, that local people use to cook tilapia. We occasionally come across motorcycles always overloaded: one with four occupants, another with three and a crossed bicycle…
Almost at the discount, Uganda gave us amazing days for unexpected
The little enthusiasm that this park seems to arouse among tourists (not for nothing is one of the least visited) tiene mucho que ver con la imposibilidad de encontrar en sus dominios a los «big five», since there are no elephants and lions (killed to extinction by poaching in the late years 70 and subsequently reintroduced) they are very scarce, the same as leopards. This last fact did nothing but cool our enthusiasm, well Javier, my travel companion, dragged the little frustration (about which we often joked) that after seven months living in Africa, and after touring a few natural parks, I hadn't had the luck to see one yet. «Aquí tampoco», he must have chewed as soon as he got to Arcadia Cottages, the wooden cabins in which we were staying on the eastern shore of the lake, in the zone of Rwonyo.
But it turns out that Mburo is, also, a paradise for birds, of which more than 300 species and, as as the cravings to see predators are quenched, interest in birds grows, a media tarde nos embarcamos en un «boat trip» para recorrer el Mburo, with the unspeakable hope of surprising some leopard drinking on the shore. Before, we had a few beers at a beach bar on the riverside while, a 200 meters from us, three hippos snorted in the water.
Nos embarcamos en un «boat trip» para recorrer el lago con la inconfesable esperanza de sorprender a algún leopardo
The sky was darkening over our heads and foreshadowed rain, but the clouds respected our journey, in which we collect ospreys, Hippos, kingfishers and a few birds that needed more knowledge to identify them. «¿No hay pueblos en España? -The surprised guide asked himself when exchanging a few words with us-, everyone who comes from your country is from Madrid or Barcelona…». When the boat approached the shore and stopped in front of a tongue of sand surrounded by vegetation, we held our breath and fantasized about the leopard that would emerge thirsty from the bushes on the way to the shore. We could almost smell it. Suggestion, however, the miracle did not work.
As soon as we get to the cabins it starts to rain with a crash. It's already dark when I walk to the main cabin to claim dinner. A hippo browses just a few meters away and dozens of impalas flee the beam of the flashlight as I pass. In Africa nothing is as you imagine. I even have a bewildered lapse when I lose the trail for a few yards. When we come back from dinner, the impalas are still there, paralyzed. His eyes glow in the dark like tiny led bulbs. Only when Javier gives an energetic stomp do they run away. Walking the few meters that separate our cabins I can't stop thinking about the lonely hippopotamus.
We walked at night towards the cabins surrounded by dozens of impalas. In Africa nothing is as you imagine
The next day, at six in the morning we are already on our feet. In front of a clearing surrounded by acacia trees, in view of a decomposing buffalo skull, an eagle takes flight while the sullen huffs of hippos are clearly heard, to be confused with birdsong. Impalas shyly peek through the bushes and cotton clouds embellish the intense sky. It's a magical moment, an early departure from the savannah.
Ugandans say that hundreds of years ago Lake Mburo was a dry area of crops where two brothers worked as farmers., December and Mburo. The first dreamed one day that the area would flood, so they should flee to the hills to save their lives, but his little brother ignored him. Some days after, the valley was flooded by rains. Kigarama had taken refuge in the mountains, but Mburo he ignored and drowned, giving name to the new lake. Maybe, thought, Mburo's spirit will help us see the leopard in overtime…
Orphan of any emotion, the driver spoke the desired word pointing to nearby bushes: «Leopard»
And so it was. As soon as you start touring the lakeside track, Norbert, our driver from Gorilla Tours, he stopped dead in his tracks, his voice almost imperceptible, orphan of any emotion (our emotion, for him, it was routine), pronounced the desired word pointing to nearby bushes: «Leopard».
We never would have believed him, but the leopard decided to cross the road a few meters from us, with a carefree and carefree step. Xavier, containing the emotion, was able to photograph his first leopard well, the one who never forgets, like the first lion or the first elephant. The cat had waited until the end to say goodbye to Africa, because I was going back to Spain in a few days. We immediately reconciled with Mburo and his spectacular savanna seemed, even, most spectacular. It was revenge for the fine print, reward expectations lowercase.
