The source of the Nile; see also source of my future intestinal distress

Survived a day of whitewater rafting on the Victoria Nile. Contrary to popular belief (or more rather the screenwriters of Sense and Sensibility), the source of the Nile is not Abyssinia, it is a little town called Jinja in Uganda.* Despite the best efforts of the hydroelectric industry here, this part of river is filled with CRAZY rapids. And despite my own best efforts, I am now filled with a significant volume of river water. The names of some of the rapids we covered should give some indication of how it got there. The Bad Place, Vengence and my personal favorite 50-50, referring, of course, to the odds that the entire boat will flip and everyone will finish out that particular rapid on their own, sans boat.
The rapids on the commercially rafted stretch are a mix of class 4, 5, and 6. Those numbers refer to the number of enhancing adverbs of a religious nature attached to the obligatory “S**T!!” that your terrified brain compels you to shout as you paddle that passage. Needless to say, the combination of frightened shouting and 6-foot waves results in some unplanned hydration.
Our guide, Tim, a jovial New Yorker who has spent the last five years as an itinerant “river person” in the US and Australia, was on his fourth whole day on the river. Not fourth consecutive, fourth total. And today was the first time he was actually doing the guiding as opposed to getting his feet wet (har har). As a result, he was concentrating extra hard on not flipping the raft (though some of the more experienced guides can flip it at will and on request from clients) and dealing with a massive case of sunburn brought on by taking anti-malarials that increase sun sensitivity.
If my intestines survive whatever parasites happen to be hanging out in the water, I might go back for another trip.
Lobster-pink Tim, The Bad Place and all.


*Quiet your itchy comment-typing fingers, I know there are two sources of the Nile and one is indeed in Ethiopia. Or at least I just found out from Wikipedia.