April 25 – June 4, 2010
Route traveled
Ethiopia
Addis Ababa – Dilla
Kenya
Moyale – Marsabit – Isiolo – Nanyuki – Eldoret
Uganda
Jinja – Kampala – Lake Nkruba – Kasinga – Lake Nkruba
Years he walks the earth
No phone no pool no pets no cigarettes
Ultimate freedom
An extremist
An aesthetic voyager
Whose home is the road
So now after rambling years comes a final and greatest adventure
The climatic battle to kill the false being within
And victoriously conclude the spiritual revolution
Into The Wild
It was now time to leave Ethiopia, and on the morning of 25th of April before the sun was even peeking up over the horizon I grabbed my bags and hailed a taxi outside of the hotel. I arrived at the bus station and found my bus, and to my delight I was the first to arrive, and got the very front seat. This was to be a two day journey to the border of Kenya, so I was happy to be seated comfortably. It took at least two hours to get the bus on its way and we were off, the road heading south. I put my music on and faded away on the ride with nothing better than the view from the windshield of the massive bus roaring down the streets thru rural villages. We arrived at the first overnight destination in the late afternoon, and we were to stay here until early morning. I was told to meet back at the bus at 5am to head off in the morning. I was escorted to a hotel across the street from the bus station, and got one of those rooms that you never really feel comfortable in. A cheap room at least, but grimey to the touch and a place you really don't wanna spend to much time in. I wandered around the town, and found some nice to get a burger and fries, and wasted the time idly waiting for sleepy time. Having a tough time sleeping due to the fact that my room was basically in the back of a bar, I finally awoke the next day to pouring rain. I ventured my was hazily to the bus stop dodging the rain drops and found myself in my friendly seat again in the front of the bus. Greeted the driver and conductor and we were off on the second leg of the journey. Basically the same ride as the day before, and somewhere around 3pm we arrived at the border of Kenya, in the city of Moyale. I walked towards the border and changed money with a hawker on the street, and made my way for immigration, got stamped out of Ethiopia and met the friendly immigration officers of Kenya, who to my surprise gave me a cheaper visa than I had expected for only $25. We talked about the current situation of Kenya and I was wished a safe journey thru their country. I walked across the border and was kindly escorted towards a hotel on the other side. The town on the other side of the border is also called Moyale and here I was to wait until morning where I would try and catch a truck to Marsabit. I had some time to kill in this small frontier town, so I ventured off and found some food to eat. For a good while after that I talked to a local muslim who was quite entertaining and also to some other guys around. I was given some tea to drink and later just went to read in my room for the night.
The next day I woke slowly and went down for some breakfast which in Kenya they have somosas similar to those in India and they taste great. I founder a guy that would help me get a truck to take the long grueling journey to marsabit. I was taken to a larger lorry and I climbed all the way up the side of it and was deposited in the back, with the about 20 other people in the massive truck bed. We were all seated on top of bags or satchels of beans and other sorts of things. I plopped myself in the back where I could have the most room. The cover of the bed was closed with a tarp and it was dark back there. We were truly human cargo, and as the lorry rattled off down the road, I knew this was gonna be a rough journey. I was right because these roads were horrible, it was all dirt and mud and holes. Only powerful vehicles would have much of a chance on this road. The road also used to be full of bandits and was quite dangerous but I was told all was well and it is much safer these days. There were about 10 people sitting on top of the front of the truck, and holding on for there lives. I was getting bounced all over the back and was also holding on, I was able to adjust myself between the bags so I would only go up and not fall left right forward or back. It was hot and dusty and I was breathing nothing but dust a lot of the time it seemed. About an hour in the bus stopped and we were told to get out. There were two trucks broken down and blocking the road, and we had about a two hour delay attempting to get these trucks moved. There was maybe 100 people on the side of the road waiting and I mingled around with them just waiting. Finally the trucks got unstuck and we blasted off on our way. It was now very hot and in the back I was sweating, but we trucked on, and bounced on. After the lunch break I attempted my fate and sat on top of the bus, but found it way to difficult to hold on for it was not comfortable at all, so I took my self back inside but this time I sat more towards the front. I was sprawled out with the rest of the human cargo and we were almost on top of each other. I began talking with a young boy, who spoke great English, what I remember most about our talk was that he couldn’t believe that I didn’t pray to any God, and said I had no chance if I didn’t and I would go to hell. I told him it was my choice, but he just couldn’t fathom the idea.
After about 12 hours of this unique ride we made it to Marsabit. Which is the only town basically in the far north of Kenya, engulfed by desert and volcanic craters that look like pyramids in the darkness. After trying 3 hotels I finally found one that wasn’t full. Showered the complete filth off of my body, ate some dinner brought by a boy for me from a restaurant, and I happily laid down in my bed for the night. After that long journey there was no way I was gonna continue the next day on the road. For my basic destination was to make it to Uganda in the most direct route possible. In the morning I switched to a more suitable hotel which was a little nicer. At the hotel I met a journalist from Nairobi and we talked for awhile about Kenya and other things, later I took a walk thru the country side for a few hours and as I was walking getting such wonderful greetings from the people passing by. In Kenya thankfully the greeting is "How are You?" which coming from Ethiopia it being only “You” I was happy because when you are greeted 100 times a day by locals its nice to have a pleasant one. On my way down the scenic road I met a guy breaking rocks and he asked if he could walk with me. And we did for a couple hours and we also picked up another guy along the way, in which we shared cultural differences and the likes, and he even asked me to take my pic with him in a studio so he could show his friends and family. He was also begging me to sponsor him to come to America, which of course was a common thing for me to get asked. After the long and nice walk we parted ways and I rested the rest of the day in the hotel getting ready for another long journey the next day.
I had arranged for a bus ticket to Isiolo which is the next stop on the same road towards the south. The bus didn’t leave until 2pm, which I couldn’t believe, because every bus I had taken in Ethiopia had left at 6 am or earlier. I was happy I could sleep in. I decided to talk a walk in the opposite direction as the day before to pass the time, I also talked with some guys who were quite friendly and who were going around Kenya I think selling something I cant remember. I ate lunch with them and then it was time to head off. When I got on the huge bus, I actually had a seat number assigned to me and I found my seat. The bus took an hour to get going seeming to stop every five feet for some odd reason not to be understood by the likes of me. The road was still bad and after a little while the bus stopped and everyone got off. We had to walk across the bad parts of the road so the bus could make it past. It seemed like an exodus of the people as we were walking down the long stretch of road. The bus made it over to meet us and we loaded back on. Shortly there after we stopped again and had to walk, but this time there were trucks stuck in the mud in the road before us. The delay was much over two hours and at times 30 men were attempting to help move a truck, digging with shovels in the dirt and pushing and pulling with a large rope like tug o war. In these parts the tribes people dress in colorful and unique clothing unlike ive seen so far, and they looked liked the type of people you would see in the national geographic articles of tribes in Africa. Some of them wore necklaces that seemed to number in the 100’s for just one person, it was fascinating. The only thing in the end that got the truck moved was another truck pulling it with a rope. After the first truck was moved a line of about 10 trucks came blasting down the road to make it over this muddy part and it was thrilling to see as no one wanted to get stuck and they were just plowing thru. Our bus finally came thru and we piled back on and were off, this time we didn’t have to stop anymore.
When we arrived in Isiolo, it was a torrential downpour, and when I got my back off the top of the bus it was soaked. In my attempt to find a hotel I had to walk across the street that was flooded, and I was getting drenched. I asked a young guy where the hotel was that I was looking for and he guided me, and he took me thru a “shortcut” which was thru the bar and in the back of the bar being that it was raining so much it was basically a series of waterfalls coming from the roof into the outer part of the bar, and like a gauntlet I had to run thru them. At this point I was soaked to the bone, and unfortunately the hotel was full, so we went to two other ones and they were also full. Getting a little frustrated running around in the rain, I really wanted to get inside. We had to get a taxi to another part of town, and thankfully I found a room. There was a problem however with the two boys who had brought me because they were begging me for more money then I was willing to give them for their help. I gave them a fair amount, but they wouldn’t let me close my door. I had to get aggressive and harsher than I normally would, but I got rid of them and when they left one of the boys smacked the other in the head for not sharing the money with him. I laid out all my things to dry, for everything was soaked, luckily I put my electronics in plastic bags before I got off the bus and they were protected. The room was nice and I decided to rest the next day and wash my clothes and dry out.
I relaxed most of the next day and walked around town, read a bit, and listened to music. This was a small town just like marsabit, with restaurants hotels and a market. From here I was able to head west on the road towards Uganda. For the next day I got a matatu, a mini bus to a town called Nanyuki; where I found a really nice place to stay on the Nanyuki River surrounded buy a nice garden enclave. Here I did the same as the previous days, taking it easy and wandering around town, and talking to some of the hotel guests and staff. I had a massive hotel room and was able to spread out and enjoy the space. I stayed one night here, and the next day I got a matatu to a town called Eldoret which is well known for their cheese. On the journey I could have mistaken being on a safari because on the road I guess we passed a national park, and I could see giraffes and zebras running around. It was a site to see and I had never seen these animals in the wild like this. Arriving in Eldoret I found a hotel room in a 5 storey building, and ventured around town again just taking in the every day life of the people, eating local foods and I found an ATm which I really needed. The line was 25 people deep at the Atm and I couldn’t believe so many people actually used banks in this small town.
The next day it was time to get to the border and after only 8 days in Kenya I was leaving to go into Uganda. Kenya for me is a destination best saved for when I could properly spend some money and enjoy the national parks and mountains, because most of the sites there are rather expensive, so I chose to bypass most of the sites in Kenya and make a beeline for Uganda. With another Matatu ride I arrived at the border town of Malaba, where I walked and walked until I got to the immigration office, I slipped outta Kenya and into no mans land where I walked another long while to the Ugandan Immigration office. I changed Kenyan shilling into Ugandan shilling and easily got a visa for $50, from the overly friendly officer, who was surprised when I counted out the shilling to him, he said how do you know how to count our money, I told him it wasn’t hard cuz there were numbers printed on the notes. From there I walked maybe 40 minutes into town and found a matatu that would take me to a city called Jinja, which is where the source of the Nile River is located. In Uganda like Kenya, the white people are called mzungus and they don’t hesitate to say it. So here it is how are you mzungu?
The day now is May 3rd and I arrived in Jinja on a Monday. After being dropped off I got a motorbike taxi which is called a boda boda and it took me to the explorer’s backpacker’s hostel in town. I felt like a was in a hostel in Australia because it had the same feel to it, and was really nice, I haven’t seen to many places like this so far in Africa, other than maybe in Ghana. I got a dorm room bed, but the place was not so full so for two nights I had my own private dorm room to myself. The food in this place was immaculate and I enjoyed with pleasure. The hostel was also situated in a really nice suburb type looking place and it felt like I could have been back in America while I was walking around. I made it into town after about a 40 minute walk, and discovered my first rolex. This is a chapatti rolled up with an omellette inside, and sometimes a bit of onions or tomatoes, and it was to my great liking, for I was to eat many of these in the future while in Uganda. Later back at the hotel and was hanging out and I met a guy who did the white water rafting at the hotel and I also met some volunteers who had be living in Jinja for some months now. I hung out with them the whole night, they got drunk as I had two beers not really wanting to drink too much, the beers were even bought for me by the friendly rafting guide. Great music was played throughout the night by a guy with a mixing program on his computer.
My destination for this day was to walk the 11 km to the other explorer’s backpacker hostel which was located on the shores of the Nile. I put my speakers on the top pocket of my backpacked and I jammed to the music the whole way. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t done this before, for this was a great way to walk, hear the music, and still be able to talk to people on the way. And it’s quite amusing seeing the faces of people as you walk by, with my portable boom box, but they have no idea where the music is coming from. My walk was a good one, and when I arrived at the Nile, the hostel was very very nice. The view over the cliff to the Nile were really good and I sat there and ate lunch and rested. I also took a dip in the Nile, which for me was a substitute for rafting the river, and much cheaper. The food was once again great. After a two hour break and gazing at the Nile, I was ready to make the long walk back. I bought some pineapple for the journey, and when I was talking to a local shop owner, and I told her I was American, she was surprised, because she said I didn’t talk like an American, and I asked her how do they talk and she said they talk selfishly, and I found this quite funny and I apologized and the behalf of my fellow Americans. When I made my way back to the hotel I walked into town and went to the internet café, where I began searching for hosts on couch surfing and hospitality club so I could have a free place to stay in Kampala. I had gotten a few responses and I had a couple of options once I got there. Later I walked to the source of the Nile, where there is a plaque stating it is the source and which you have to pay to see, I chose not to pay, and peeked thru the gates.
A special treat that I had found in Kenya and Uganda was Mountain Dew. Apparently this was just introduced to the countries not to long ago, and I was enjoying being able to drink my favorite pop. After the source of the nile I went to a decent hotel and had a nice dinner while watching TV, a pleasure that I have missed, its always nice to watch TV and eat at the same time. After dinner I followed the map back to my hotel in the dark, but luckily I had brought my flashlight.
On Wednesday I walked into town and caught a matatu to Kampala. It was only about 80km away and I was happy to have a short journey. I decided to stay in a hostel once I got there and then contact the couch surfing person who I wanted to stay with. So I caught a boda boda to the Red Chili hideaway hostel, which once again was really nice, they even had a swimming pool, just bigger than the size of a hot tub, but still great to relax in. After eating lunch I felt like a was back in st Petersburg, for a put my speakers next to the pool and stayed in the pool for the next 3 hours or so. While I was there a large overland bus pulled up, and they immediately came to the pool. There I met a guy from America, whose name betrays me, who had gone to high school in Michigan. He was working his summers at Mackinaw Island, and he used to be a butler at the palms hotel in Vegas and the personal butler to Elton john while he played his shows in Vegas. He luckily was on the bus with four other young girls, one of them from the U.K. who was absolutely beautiful. I looked at the Michigander and he said yes I know it’s just me and these 4 girls on this bus. We all hung out for a couple of hours, and I was silently contemplating on how I could get on this bus for a few days. Later on had a couple beers poolside with a guy from Germany, and then inside the bar had a few more. The crowd in this place was very friendly, and later I was invited to have dinner with the people from the overland bus. We got a taxi to a place called the Great wall of china, and this was authentic Chinese food, and it was great. I tried some local Uganda liquor called waragi, and we had a feast, using the spinny thing in the middle of the table to share all the dishes. Later that night I even asked the bus driver if I could get on the bus with them, and I found it would be too expensive, and would not be worth it.
I had contacted a French girl who was living in Kampala thru couch surfing and she said I could stay with her for a few days. She was teaching French at the international school of Kampala. That day I had to wait for her to get off work before I could meet up with her so I decided to walk to the us embassy so I could get some pages added to my passport, because I was starting to run out of space. It took me maybe 3 hours to get there and I got to see much of the city, however a nagging irritation in my groin was growing increasingly more and more annoying, more from that later. After finally making it to the embassy I learned that you had to make an appointment and I had to due that online, so being rejected I headed back to red chili where my bags were being stored. I got a hold of the French girl from hospitality club named Julie and we agreed to meet at a bar called just for kicks or something like that. I loaded all my bags onto a boda boda and headed to the bar maybe 15 minutes away. I met up with her and we talked and had a beer, and later her roommate showed up who was also French and working in Kampala. They were sharing a really nice apartment paid for by the school, and it was the first time I was staying in a proper home since I came to Africa. That night we went to a place called Bubbles O’ Leary which was an irish bar full of mzungus. I could have sworn I was back in a bar somewhere back home because this did not feel like Africa. It was also trivia night so the place was packed with expats all having a great time. The questions however were above my knowledge level since I hardly knew the answers to any of them. It was a fun night, I also met one of Julie’s friends who was from Burundi, and goes around Africa promoting better rights for humanity and he was off to Darfur next.
After the trivia night we drove back in Julie’s old jeep thru a complete down pour, I could hardly even see the road and one time we almost crashed and I yelled out and we barely escaped hitting the shop on the side of the road. We entered thru a gate to get to the apartment and I was shown to my very own bedroom. The next day to my delight I had the place to myself, and I made myself at home, went and bought a rolex and some water kicked back opened up a book put on some music and read the whole day, about a kid’s life in south Africa, from the collection of books Julie had at her place. It was a nice relaxing day and I was waiting for Julie to get home to see what she wanted to do that night. When she got home I asked her what she was doing that night and she said meeting up with some friends for dinner. I waited a little while to see if she was going to invite me to hang out with her that night, but she never did so to my surprise I was on my own. Her roommate was going to do anything cuz she was working early the next day. So I was on my own and I wanted to see some live music. I did some research and found a place called Club Obrigatto where a band called Afrigo Band was supposed to be playing. So I jumped on a boda boda round 830 and headed for the club. It was empty when I arrived so I grab a table an ordered a small bottle of Waragi , which is kinda like gin but not quite and a coke. Drank that for a bit and then a guy asked if he could join me and we hung out until his friend came around named Maria. The three of us drank until the show started, and throughout the show. I have to say that Afrigo Band has been one of my favorite shows since being in Africa. They put on a hell of a show, and I had a great time. They are apparently a famous band in Uganda and have been around for a long time. They were even featured in the movie Last King of Scotland. I did some dancing and played some pool, and after a fun night of music I left around 230 when the band finished playing. I then hopped on a boda boda and ate a rolex which is a great after drinking snack indeed. I made it back home after 3am safely and found my bedroom and dozed off.
The next day was quite similar to the last, I read most of the day while my host Julie stayed in her room all day, hangover from a night of partying till 7am. Her roommate also was around and was going out that evening. I was certain they were gonna invite me along with them this night, so I waited and waited and I even asked them if they wanted to go see Afrigo band again with me, cuz they play two nights in a row usually. And with no success they went off on their own without inviting me, (must be a French thing I guess), but this night I knew I wanted to see Afrigo again so I headed off to the club, ordered some whisky and met up with Maria again, this time the club was packed and rocking. Had a great time again, but left a little earlier this time.
On Sunday ventured off into the city center and found out when the bus was leaving for Fort Portal which was to be my next destination. After I happened to walk past the great wall of china restaurant, and I treated myself to some wonderful Chinese. Feeling at home I decided to go see a movie, so I got directions to the theater and walked 45 minutes to find it. I ended up watching Iron man 2 which was entertaining enough, and still feeling at home I splurged again and ate a falafel sandwich in the food court. A real back home type of day, just by myself which I really didn’t mind at all. When I made it back to Julie’s place there was a woman there with a baby, who had visited before a couple days before, and I guess she had been kicked out of her place, and Julie came into my room and asked me when I would be leaving, very politely, and since I was leaving the next day anyhow it wasn’t a big deal, for the woman would be needing the room for awhile. Feeling more like a burden than a guest I stayed to myself the rest of the night, I don’t feel that Julie was a bad host, I just think that since it was her first time hosting she didn’t quite know quite how to interact with her guest, or maybe that’s just how she was, or maybe it’s a cultural thing, I really cant explain. I was treated fine, I just didn’t feel like they wanted to really include me in with what they were doing.
So the next day which was Monday, I got ready to head off for the bus station, the two French girls weren’t there to say goodbye so I let myself out, but before I left I looked in my wallet to see how much money I had left, and there was nothing there! I knew almost for sure that I had had 200,000 shilling there the day before so I was quite baffled. Had someone stolen the money the day before while I was in the city, was it the French girls which I really doubted, was it the lady who was kicked out of her place? Or was it the staff who worked in the apartment building? I had no idea… the money was equivalent to $100 and it looked like I was gonna have to take the loss. I couldn’t accuse anyone for I didn’t know the truth, and I was pretty sure no one would admit it even if it was them, so I walked out without telling anyone, and went on my way, knowing it was only a small loss, but still bothered me a bit. I got a boda boda to the bus station but when we were almost there it started raining hard, and in this part of the city it gets muddy and ugly. So we had to camp out under a gas station for shelter of the rain for over an hour until the storm passed, eventually it calmed down and I walked the rest of the way slippin and sliddin to the station in the mucky muck. The bus took over two hours to fill up and leave.
I had earlier in the week contacted on hospitality club a man named Pastor Basco, who runs an orphanage and a hotel out near a city called Fort Portal. I wrote to him to see if I could stay with him and help out with the kids. He had responded and said that I would be most welcomed. So I was off to see him. After a 5 hour journey I arrived in Fort Portal and borrowed a phone to call Basco. He sent a driver named John with a Toyota truck to pick me up at the bus stop. John came quickly and whisked me off on the 20km ride to lake nkruba. John used to be an orphan and now drives for basco and works at the gas station as a mechanic.
Let me just take a little time to explain the beauty of the place that I have found here in lake nkruba. As I am writing this journal entry I am still in Lake nkruba and it has been almost a month since I arrived on may 10th. The main city called Fort Portal is located in the foothills of the Beautiful Rwenzori mountains, and when you cut down a road into the rural area towards where I am staying the scenery turns to some of the lushest greenery I have ever seen. There are sweeping hills as far as the eye can see, with the mountains of the moon as they are called in the background. The area is surrounded by villages and the closest one to where I am staying is called Rhaimba. The whole areas is dotted with crater lakes that were formed from a volcanic eruption I believe and these lakes are surreal and mystical. The rest of the land is made up into farmland.
When I arrived at the pastors place we pulled up a huge hill to the orphanage which was to be a different place than where I was to stay. The pastor and some of the children welcomed me and we shared a nice meal. We talked about the orphanage and what was going on here. Basco looks out over about 125 kids in some way or another helping them get sponsors for school fees and for clothes and other necessities. At the time I arrived it was school holidays, and there must have been about 20 kids or so living in the pastors house, which was the orphanage. Most of the kids had lost their parents due to HIV/Aids and they really had nowhere else to go. That night I slept in the pastors house and in the morning I was shown to the campsite/hotel. This place is full of hills so to get to the campsite you have to walk up a rather large one, and this trek back and forth from the pastors house to the campsite become my daily routine. As I was walking up the hill I met Rob and Dan from England and Scotland respectfully, and they were helping along with the Felix who was the hotel manager, in digging trenches along the road in order for the rain water to drain out of. I was taken to my room which was quite large, it had two beds and even an extra room with a nice bench in it, which I took outside for sitting.
Now I cant possibly remember what I have done an every single day being here since it has been so long and merged together, but I can only hope to explain what my life has been like. Along with Felix there is his wife Fiona with a baby girl named Carol, and the other worker here is Eldred. They are all about the same age for me except for Carol of course. Meeting the Pastor thru hospitality club, it was expected that he would host me, which means I wouldn’t have to pay, and until this day almost a month later I haven’t paid for a single night staying there. But the one thing I really didn’t see coming was to get fed three meals a day every day and all for free. My stay here has been completely cost free, except of course for things I want to buy for my self like taxi rides and other things like toothpaste and the such. The campsite is on a huge hill as I said and overlooks one of the most stunning lakes I have ever seen, it is in the shape of an imperfect circle and completely surrounded by lush rainforest. From where I was staying I could see the lake below me and at the same time turn around a view the mountains in front of me.
Then I met the kids, who were a lot of fun to be around. I showed them how to use the internet and signed some of them up with new email accounts. We would go swimming in the lake, usually after lunch, and then they would play soccer in the nearby field. The first day I was there I was the goalie, since there was no chance I would be able to run with them. They always play barefoot by somehow manage to shoot the ball at rocketing speeds. I of course jammed my toe into the ground and still to this day it is half the size bigger than it should be, but it doesn’t hurt much at all. All the kids could talk English, and they soon took a liking to my Archos media player. They were absolutely obsessed with playing with the touch screen, and almost every night I would let them watch movies on it. The kids ranged from 5 to 19, so luckily I had some cartoons to watch for the younger kids like Up and Madagascar 1 and 2. Every morning for the first week Rob, Dan and I would wake up get served breakfast which was either a rolex, or a pancake, or sometimes a pancake with banana, and milk chai tea, which I began to love. We would then for about 1.5 hours go and work on digging the trenches for the road. After the first day of using the spade my hands had many blisters, as did Rob’s who were much worse. But every day we got a little further and I liked that felix didn’t want to work much past two hours a day on it. After we finished digging the day was left for us to hang out with the kids, read, swim, or anything else we wanted to do. Usually for lunch we were served Matoke and beans, Matoke is part of the banana family and is quite possibly the thickest and heaviest food I have ever had the pleasure to eat, and we ate a lot of it, at least twice a day. After the first week I started buying chili sauce to put on my every meal to spice it up a little bit, and it needed it. I also must add, that eating matoke and beans will make you shit more times a day than you normally do. Every evening at around 730 we would walk down the hill and up the other hill to the pastors house and eat dinner with him. We would sit on his comfortable couches and have discussion about anything, then we would have herbal tea, and we would get served the dinner, which was more creative than lunch, for sometimes we had matoke, beans, rice , goat meat, dodo which is spinach, fresh avocadoes but not all the same night, but it was a guarantee that there would be matoke and the table every night. And after dinner I would fill our 5 liter bottle with filtered rain water for us to drink everyday. And Rob Dan and I would head back to the campsite at around 10, and I would let them watch a movie on my archos, for they haven’t been around much technology in the last 8 months. They are both volunteering with an organization called Project trust and teaching kids in a village called Kasinga which is located smack in the middle of Queen Elizabeth National Park. They live there in a mud hut with another one of the teachers. And since it was the school holidays they decided to spend it here at lake nkruba. They are both quite young Dan being 18 and Rob I believe 19.
So the first week went much like that and then after being there the first week we were taken on a field trip. We had john drive us to the hot springs about an hour away. By this point I don’t really wanna say, but I feel I must, I had developed a horrible irritation in my groin area, and it was making me feel very uncomfortable, it was hard even to walk. It had been bothering me since I first arrived in Uganda and it had already been about two weeks with it. I told myself if it didn’t heal by Monday I was gonna get some medicine from the pharmacy. But before we did that we went on a 6 hour roundtrip hike thru the mountains to the hot springs. I didn’t think it would be that far, for if I knew I would not have gone on the hike. But I took it slow and survived anyhow, the hot springs were blazing hot and remarkable, the day turned out to be nice, but I needed some relief. The next day since we had finished the trenches I got a boda boda to town and bought some cream, and it turned out I had a nasty fungal infection. I was also given antibiotics, and after a few days it got much better, and thankfully it started healing. Well enough about that unpleasant experience.
After finishing the trenches , we really didn’t have to do much work at all, and we were left just to play with the kids and we also went on some more field trips. The next one was to visit Pastor’s wives family, and they served us a nice lunch. After this rob and dan had left and two days later Pastor took me with his wife to a wedding party in the village, which was also a good experience. Also that week Felix who had a motorcycle, taught me how to ride it and I was a quick learner for I was wheeling my way around after the first lesson. And this was such a great time, the roads were all dirt but I got a good feel for the bike, which was a Senke, it wasn’t in the best condition and the gears would get stuck a lot. The scenery while I was riding was awesome and it felt like true freedom riding around on that bike. The best part about it was that I could use it whenever I wanted to as long as I put gas in it. That Saturday I wanted to take Felix and one of the older orphans out for some good ol drinking, for I hadn’t had a sip since two weeks before in Kampala, so it was about time. We walked the 20 minutes to the village of rhaimba and drank many a beer and played some pool. Had a really good fun night and since felix and Deo who was the other one I took drinking, really didn’t have any money, I could tell that they really appreciated me buying them the drinks. At the bar I met the owner Joan who was also the manager of a luxury lodge called Ndali, I had run out of money and we weren’t done drinking yet so she spotted me a tab to be paid later. She even had her brother give us a ride home in her car, which thankfully she did cuz those hills would have been rough walking home drunk.
The day before a german guy named clive came to have lunch at the campsite. He was in the military and stationed in Afghanistan , and he was a really nice guy. We had agreed to take a long walk the next day to the Mahoma waterfalls, which turned out to be a horrible idea on my part, for that day I woke up quite hungover. However I wasn’t gonna back down and I toughed it out, the only problem was we walked over an hour out of our way and head to turn back, and after three hours or more of walking in the hot sun I was completely wrecked and I had to give up and I hitched a ride back to the camp, where I happily fell into my hammock for the rest of the day. My hammock had become part of my everyday routine as well, with me laying down and reading, and since the campsite had a library of over 50 books, I was quite content on spending a lot of my time reading good books. I met up with clive later and he said he finally found the waterfalls and said they were really good. He was heading back to germany for a bit and then back to Afghanistan, so he didn’t need a lot of his things. So he gave all of his military issued medicines and creams and other things to me, which turned out to be quite a lot. He gave me 2 bottles of antiseptic cream, fungal cream-which I had still needed, paracetemol, bandages, a tube of detergent for clothes, Imodium, some kind of cream that you rub on for pain, some kind of powder I have no idea what it does, and I guess some kind of pill that you take to prevent stomach problems, the only thing was that all these were written in German so a few of the things I didn’t really know the purpose for, but I had a whole bunch of medical supplies now.
That Monday we loaded the kids all into the truck and took them back to their boarding schools. The pastor allowed them each to choose a couple of articles of clothing for themselves that had been donated. While we stopped at a gas station I bought all the kids ice cream, and by their reactions I could tell that most of them had never tried it before, and they were quite happy. We said all our goodbyes to the kids, and were off. Pastor stills has about 7 kids living with him full time, and they don’t have enough money for boarding school. One of the kids, who didn’t even have enough money to buy his trousers for his school uniform, wasn’t able to attend classes before he had them, so I bought them for him, and he was so pleased that he wouldn’t have to miss any school, but they took a week to tailor them so he missed the first week anyhow, I also purchased on of the girls school uniforms and I bought one of the kids some sandals for his were pink and falling apart. All this was not costly at all, but to them the prices were astronomical, and it made all the difference.
The orphanage was much quieter now without all the kids running about, it was such a peaceful and natural place, and I was still really enjoying myself, and I really couldn’t leave just yet. That Tuesday, I decided to take a motorcycle ride and visit joan at the ndali lodge. This place was so nice, with a view of maybe 3 lakes up on a massive hill, and I think a banda cost $250 a night! Even the banda I was sleeping in at the campsite would normally cost $35- $50 a night during the high season, and I was staying in it for free. I met up with Joan and watched a movie with her at the lodge and she invited me the next day to go to Fort Portal and spend a day of drinking. The next day she picked me up at 1 in the afternoon and we headed to town. We met up with her friend Rose and her husband from Holland. We also met up with some other mzungus who had been living here for awhile, we drank most of the day and into the night, I had stopped drinking but joan and rose and her husband kept on until 3am, a great good time indeed, we then made the 20km ride back to the lake.
The next day was to be another field trip, and this time I was going with Dan who had returned to visit his village in Kasinga, inside the national park. I didn’t sleep much that night and was woken up at 9am and it was time to go. We caught a ride into town with the pastor, and dan and I got a matatu to Kasese, where we got another matatu to Kangaroo junction which I had called it. Here we were to really enter into the bush, and we had made it into the national park, which usually costs I think $50 but I was getting in for free. We then caught a matoke truck to the village where rob and dan live. Dan kept on telling me the whole ride that it was very dangerous and we could run into elephants and lions, for the village is in the middle of the bush along with all the wild animals of the park. Half way to the village we did encounter a danger, but it was a massive bush fire, there were flames in the road and flames all around us, I could have sworn we were driving thru hell at one point. It was smokey and quite a surreal experience, but we made it thru, Dan said he had never seen it before like this, a little later there were 2 massive elephants blocking the road, and Dan became quite scared and ducked down, almost as if they might recognize him and come charging at us! They eventually moved and we made it into the village safely. I must say Dan received an epic heroes return, for when we arrived I would say about 100 kids ran after us and welcomed dan back and me there for the first time. It was an overwhelming experience, but quite thrilling. Rob and Dan were the only white people that have ever stayed in this village, and were quite a big deal there. I was immediately thrown in the same category as them and all the kids would call me teacher. Rob wasn’t there so I was allowed to have his bed for the two nights which I stayed. The mud hut was raw and primitive and they really lived rough. And this place was hot so so hot, we were right on the equator. We went to visit the school later, and all the kids sang and danced all in my honor, and it was a really nice gesture. In the village I saw hippos, buffalo, Ugandan cobb, antelope, huge birds I don’t know the name, and huge elephants. The lions were around but I never did see them, which everyone said was a good thing anyhow. The two days spent at the village were really great, as well as tiring , because of the heat, and inside the mud hut it was like an oven. I got a great inside look into village life, that is the closest I have gotten to living like a villager in Africa and it was a good experience, and seeing the national park for free was an added bonus indeed!
The next morning was a Saturday and Gerald, dan and robs roommate drove me back to town on his boxer motorcycle, and when I arrived back in Kasese I got a matatu and went back home to lake nkruba. There I met back up with Rob who was back. I settled in back to my banda and my hammock and was glad to be home for it wasn’t a bit relaxing in the village, but this place was a haven for me. It has been almost three weeks now since I had arrived and I was planning on staying a full month. I then really kicked it into chill mode. When I was gone, Fiona, Felix’s wife had a baby girl which they named Hannah. I went out to the village and bought her a little pink baby dress as a gift. For the next days up until today I mostly hang out in my hammock all day reading and listening to music. I couldn’t have asked for a more relaxed time. The week lazily went on has brought me to the day that I am writing this, which is Friday June 4, and as of now I am planning on leaving on this coming Tuesday, which will make it a full month here.
"The Circus came to town...I guess it must have stayed...It's like an endless parade"
-Warren Haynes
Enfuzi
Friday, June 04, 2010
Fort Portal, Uganda
Other Entries
-
1To Timbuktu
Jul 29310 days priorSaint Petersburg, United Statesphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 2 -
2Passport Malaria
Jul 30309 days priorSaint Petersburg, United Statesphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
3Journey
Jul 31308 days priorSaint Petersburg, United Statesphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
4The song remains the same...
Aug 18290 days priorSaint Petersburg, United Statesphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
5Go ahead flip the coin so the game can start
Dec 14172 days priorFarmington Hills, United Statesphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 2 -
6The Juan J. Sister express
Dec 27159 days priorRabat, Moroccophoto_camera0videocam 0comment 1 -
7Wallah...Down the Rabat hole
Jan 17138 days priorBobo Dioulasso, Burkina Fasophoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
8Akwaaba
Feb 01123 days priorKokrobite, Ghanaphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 1 -
9Yagga Yo
Feb 16108 days priorKokrobite, Ghanaphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
10My travel Pics
Feb 16108 days priorKokrobite, Ghanaphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
11Juju
Mar 0591 days priorCairo, Egyptphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 2 -
12Inshallah...let my people go
Apr 1748 days priorAksum, Ethiopiaphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
13Gobas Utopia
Apr 2441 days priorAddis Ababa, Ethiopiaphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
14Enfuzi
Jun 04Fort Portal, Ugandaphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
15Illuminated Heart of Darkness
Jul 0430 days laterStone Town Zanzibar, Tanzaniaphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
16Be Easy Zambezi
Jul 3157 days laterDurban, South Africaphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
17The Heart of Africa T.I.A.
Aug 3087 days laterFarmington Hills Michigan, United Statesphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 1
2025-02-17