debbieann

Our time in Kampala is coming to an end - we really like it here. This morning we went to the big market - Owino Market - even went there on a boda-boda (local motorcycles, no helmets, somewhat unsafe) - it was really the most reasonable way to get there. Kampala traffic is pretty jammed at rush hour and the boda bodas can move through it. Plus much, much cheaper than calling a driver/car. Anyway, the market is massive - used clothing, cooked food, fabric, sheets, produce - really anything you could possibly want. Friday we'll go to a pork joint and then Saturday we'll fly to Rwanda. It has been a bit of a challenge to figure out what to do in Rwanda if you do not want to see gorillas. Seeing gorillas is very expensive and not that important to us. We'll go to the genocide museum. And then maybe to Gisenyi. We are staying with a couchsurfing host for the first night. Our first time as guests instead of being a host.

Then after Rwanda we'll go to Joburg. Then back to Perth on June 18. It is tempting to just stay in Africa - we both like it a lot, but we have to go back and file for perm residency - we also love Australia, it is just that Uganda has felt like a big adventure.

We did get to the Uganda Museum on Tuesday - it is dusty and run-down and yet somehow charming. Last night we saw Men in Black 3. So a nice mix of Ugandan things and a little american culture thrown in - we also saw Avengers while we were here. My art house independent films are a bit harder to find.

This weekend we are going out to Murchison Falls and staying at Chobe and Paraa and doing a safari drive and a boat trip. A two night wkend outing, when most of the time we have just been doing one night. This is a longer drive too - 3.5 hrs.
http://www.chobelodgeuganda.com/
The lodge looks nice - we are going to stay in fancy tents down at the river. In the evening apparently hippos wander by. Sarah is here from the US. Also we planned a small stopover on our way back to Joburg - we'll be staying in Rwanda! Probably not the usual vacation hotspot, but I'm sure it will be interesting.

I finished reading the two books of short stories by African women writers. I also read Rian Malan's book called Resident Alien. Now I am reading The Beautyful Ones are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah, he is from Ghana. The bookstores here do not have big sections filled with local writers, or even African writers. Several books by African writers that I want aren't available. I read a statistic that Uganda publishes fewer than 100 books a year. I'd like to read One Day I Will Write About this Place and also The Dancing and the Death on Lemon Street. Books were a little easier to find in Johannesburg.

We went to another pork joint that was excellent - Bamboo Nest. We also had a great meal at Mama Ashanti - west African food, which I think I like better than east African food.

Oh and we also had grasshoppers! bought live and cooked by Charles. They were ok. sort of like small land shrimp.
We have one more week in Uganda.

We have been having great weekend adventures from Kampala. This weekend we took a boat from Port Bell to Kalangala. It takes about 3.5 hrs. The way over was very relaxing - we sat upstairs in first class w one other person and got to chat w the crew. A very easy way to start the weekend. The catamaran was made in Seattle and then shipped to Uganda and assembled. It is very nice and pretty fast. Lake Victoria is huge. We arrived and had a very easy island vacation - rode on the back of a motorcycle through town, swam in the lake, had a huge bonfire at night w meat cooked over fire.

The way back though was very interesting - the Ugandan Rugby team decided to celebrate winning the championship on the ferry and on the island. We got to celebrate with them on the way back - there was lots of beer and music and dancing. Here is the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg1mDmGTNlw

It was a fun wkend, we chatted w other people, got to see lots of birds, read our books, and relaxed.

I went rafting on the Nile - and it is crazy wild HUGE rapids. I think I did not understand how hard it was going to be. I'm still bruised and sunburned and my neck hurts. class 5 rapids! We went with Nalubale Rafting Uganda - if you go to the facebk page they have a photo of Charles about to get hit by lots of water:
https://www.facebook.com/Nalubale
On the very first rapid our raft flipped over and we all went for a swim in the river. This part of the Nile has only been rafted since 1996, there are only 3 companies rafting it. It is dam released water and when we went it was pretty low. the drops were sometimes as long as our raft. It was wild. They even let people take boogie boards through the rapids. It was a full day on the river and I really enjoyed the parts where I wasn't being dumped in the water. I swallowed a lot more of the Nile that I wanted to. but - still - it was fun. Wish my Dad were with me! they had cute small plastic kayaks. There were 6 customers, 2 guides in our raft, an oar boat w our lunch, and 5 small kayakers to rescue us or the paddles. I think this part of the Nile is called the White Nile or the Victoria Nile. also Source of the Nile.

Here is one of the shorter youtube videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx6DLqkduPw

I was certainly the least physically fit person in our raft, but the guides got me through it. I never could tell what happened when we ended up in the river - it happened so fast.

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Entries tagged with uganda

last few days in Kampala

Kampala, Uganda

Ssese Island Beach Hotel

Whitewater rafting on the Nile

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