The Beast of the Nile

June 25, 2010

We took a boat ride down the River Nile, and went to see its source: where the Nile begins and where Lake Victoria is filled. All of my life I thought, naturally, that the Nile flowed from Egypt, but its true source is in Uganda. The violent current flows north to its final destination in Egypt. On the surface the Nile looks calm and peaceful. In the hot and dry weather of Uganda, it was beyond tempting to jump into the refreshing water. Yet, a beast thrives below the surface.

What is the beast? It is the strong current that is created from the source. As we floated down the Nile, we admired the diverse wildlife: birds, pelicans, snakes, and even a komodo dragon along the rivers edge. The green vegetation grew wild before the area was settled by the British and alligators and crocodiles roamed freely as the kings of this location. Increases in population and development have pushed the crocodiles north. You could see the rolling green hills for miles, and a light breeze cooled us from the heat.

We arrived at a tiny island, right at the source of the Nile. As we looked north, the Nile flowed peacefully, and to our south laid Victoria, the largest fresh water lake in the world. We stepped off of the boat, and knelt at the edge of the water and saw water thrusting from beneath the soil towards the water. Where is this water coming from? As we look out at the water, for about 15 feet the water is completely calm and every few seconds a ring appears about 10 feet in diameter. Beyond the rings that reach the surface from the source below, the current picks up and forces its way downstream.

Down in the depths of the water, are wells, thrusting out water from the crust of our planet. Evidence of the wells is seen by the flowing water from the edge of the land and from the air bubbles that create the rings at the surface. From the wells, comes the violent current, thus creating the deceiving River Nile and revealing the source of the beast.