Circling the Drain
Some of the best experiences I have had while travelling are those lucky, happy circumstances that arise out of taking the long route, or stopping for a stretch on a long drive. Recently my greatest personal experience took place in Uganda in eastern Africa…
We had made a snap decision to embark on an adventure and head to Uganda. In three weeks’ time, we had gathered visas, updated vaccinations and luckily procured coveted gorilla trekking licenses. We were whizzing along the highway between camps when we spotted the Ugandan Equatorial Center sign. My sister squealed, “Take that exit!” and we found ourselves in an empty parking lot that ran along the noisy highway. Sitting low on a concrete car parking bumper was the Equatorial Scientist/Instructor, waiting for his next lesson’s participants to stumble upon him.
And our lesson began. Three, 3’ high kiosks with kitchen sink basins attached to them stood in a row. One straddled the Equatorial line, while the other two fell on the north and south of it, albeit two foot apart from each other. Our instructor began his lecture. He filled each basin with water from gas cans resting in the shade and dropped a leaf into each bowl. He ceremoniously reached under the first bowl and pulled the old-fashioned round, rubber water plug. The southern basin’s water began to swirl the leaf counter-clockwise and then sucked it down the drain. We moved to the sink basin on the Equator and the leaf was pulled straight down the hole. We moved on to the Northern basin, (just a few feet away mind you!) and the leaf swirled clockwise with the water. We all broke out into a delighted clap. It was…FASCINATING.
And in just a brief visit the lecture was over. We cheered for that last leaf as it disappeared, tipped our scientist for his research efforts, loaded up onto our vehicle, and in a short time, we were having dinner on a beautiful patio at the edge of the jungle. Each night at dinner we took turns around the table and shared our favorite part of the day, no repeats allowed. That day we had witnessed bands of marauding baboon noisily taking over the roadway. We had quietly stepped around a sleeping owl that our guide pointed out to us on our way out of the last camp. We had passed by a huge lone male elephant that was pulling down a heavy branch from a tree with his trunk to reach better leaves for his lunch.
But everyone’s favorite part of that day? The Ugandan parking lot scientist who illustrated so beautifully to us the power of the Equatorial pull…
Article by Kristin Eberwein
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