Kampala, Kabale & Kigali

The trip started on Wednesday with a 2 hour coach ride to Kampala. It was a familiar, uneventful drive that only got interesting upon our arrival into the heart of the city; crazy is the only possible word to describe the taxi park and the boda ride to our guesthouse wasn`t any less so. The purpose of staying in Kampala for the night was twofold; to have an early start on our bus ride to Kabale and to afford us the opportunity to visit La Petite Village for real cheese sandwiches and chocolate croissants. The guesthouse was nice enough; 4 beds in a room, a bathroom, a shower with hot water and a complimentary breakfast that we ate on a patio while the sun burned off the morning haze; no complaints here. We got up early on Thursday morning and were on bodas heading back to the taxi park by 8:30. Emily`s driver (she was leading our convoy) happened to pull up next to a large bus going directly to our destination, but unfortunately he also led us into a pack of wolves. People here can be very forceful about wanting your business and one of the gentlemen proceeded to grab Emily`s bag right off the boda before she could even react; not to steal it, just to get her attention. Another man tried to grab Ditte (Emily`s foster child) off the bike too and made her cry. It was all a ploy, of course, to gain our patronage. I would like to say that all their behavior gained was our animosity but due to time restraints and our desire to leave as soon as possible, we did board, though reluctantly.

The bus ride to Kabale (just above the border to Rwanda) was 7 1/2 hours, but beautiful. It wasn`t the most comfortable ride ever as the seats were hard and I had my backpack on my lap for all but an hour of the trip, but I had George beside me and was content to just chat and watch the scenery go by. There were some interesting parts to be sure, like how bouncy it was in the back of the bus over the rough spots, putting together sandwiches with the remaining bread and cheese from La Petite and a pee break that involved a handful of Ugandan women squatting in a humorously sparse forest within 20 feet from the bus; they looked like a bunch of large colorful hens roosting on the forest floor. Another interesting aspect of that drive was how much it reminded me of the drive to Osoyoos through the Okanagan; miles of green hills, fields and forests broken up by small towns and orchards and spotted with the odd dilapidated wooden barn. Except in this case it was fields of tea, orchards of banana trees, dilapidated brick and cement structures and instead of towns with establishments like Earl’s Hardware Store and Flo’s Café, there were long rows of identical cement storefronts painted in all different colors and selling anything from Mentos to mattresses. Other colors notwithstanding, but most predominantly the telltale red of Coke, MTN’s vibrant yellow and the bright blue of Uganda Telecom leading me to a most startling revelation - all across this planet, there are seemingly two things that we cannot live without: cellphones and Coca Cola.

Our arrival in Kabale was met by a whole new pack of wolves waiting to ambush us as we exited the bus but I was prepared and just pushed through them as George and Emily followed behind and with an edge in my voice asked that they all back off until I`d spoken to my friends. Luckily both George and I caught the eye of a kind looking older man through the bus window as we were pulling in who just smiled and waved his key, so when he showed up in front of me soon after, I said, ”Let`s go”. It was a 15 or so minute drive to the dock where we boarded a rather sketchy-looking canoe made from a hollowed out tree and another hour paddling across Lake Bunyonyi to the island that accommodates Byoona Amagara; the resort we stayed at. This was the perfect beginning as we were tired from the trip, but the lake was calm and quiet and the sun was setting, it`s muted rays causing the lake to sparkle like a disco ball. As we neared the island, George got it in her head to take a little swim. We weren’t sure which island it was so she asked the guy, “How much longer is it, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, half hour?” He replied, confidently, “5 minutes.” 15/20 minutes later, we arrived at the dock and an exhausted George waded onto shore. We arrived on the island with just enough light to have time to settle ourselves in our incredible ”Geodome”; a thatch dome with three beds, some shelves and tables with a large opening leading directly to our porch and affording us a glorious view of the lake.

The first night was unexpectedly cold and George and I both woke up early because of it; we later came to an agreement that if either of us woke up cold like that again, we were free to climb in bed with the other. As much as I liked the thought of waking up to the sun shining after a glorious uninterrupted sleep-in (something that is simply impossible at home), I admit to absolutely reveling in the complete and utter silence that was afforded until a little before 7 when the birds started with their morning symphony. Even though the extra clothes and extra blanket kept me warm during the subsequent nights, I still woke up early every morning and never once did I wish it any other way.

George and I had to be up early that first morning anyways to take a very chilly 8am boat ride to the mainland as this was the day of our trip down to Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda and the starting point of the 1994 genocide that took the lives of up to 300,000 people. I was hoping to be home as early as possible to get the most out of our time on the island, but the process of getting down ended up taking nearly twice the time I had anticipated. After we got to the mainland, we caught a boda to Kabale town then opted to grab a private hire as our hands and feet were frozen and it would have been another 30 minute or so boda ride to the border. The border was a bit time consuming, but interesting to say the least. We were bombarded by men wanting us to exchange money (which we did end up doing at a rather horrible exchange rate due to the fact that we needed money for the matatu), got a Ugandan exit stamp, walked 5 minutes through no man’s land to reach Rwandan customs and then went through a final security check before finally stepping foot past the gate into Rwanda. We had expected a long row of matatus lined up to take people into the country, namely Kigali, but ended walking for a good 15/20 minutes down the road before finding just two, parked and nearly full. We agreed on a price, squished into the backseat and sat for a bit listening to a mix of Ugandan and late 90’s worship music before heading off.

If it had been a straight shot, we may have made up on some time, but between having to stop and get out for a police inspection and stopping every 5 minutes to pick up or drop off other travellers, it was noon by the time we reached the city; 5 hours from when we left the island. The drive was incredibly beautiful though; especially the first hour or so as it was spent traveling along a windy road built into the hills that flank a valley flowing with tea bushes that went on for miles and miles. Our time in the city was short but sweet. We took a boda straight to the Genocide Memorial, spent just a couple hours there and grabbed lunch at the café before heading back to the taxi park. I won’t spend any time going into the memorial as it was everything you would expect - informative and devastating – but the city itself was pretty amazing; this strangely modern, industrial-feeling city surrounded by all the dust, simplicity and desperation you’d expect from most African landscapes. And the bodas, don’t get me started… They were more like street bikes then the ghetto hogs we have in Jinja. There are also more safety regulations in Kigali pertaining to bodas – single passenger only and helmet required – but they were made rather redundant by the fact that the helmets weren’t easy to tighten, therefore had to be held on, and the paved roads equaled much higher speeds; not that I’m complaining. J Just to make the ride even more interesting, George was proposed to and when told that she was already married (a lie), the driver inquired, “What about that one?”, in reference to me. How romantic.

We really wanted to get home before dark and it was looking like that might not be possible but upon returning to the taxi park, we started asking random people where we’d find a matatu to Gatuma (the border city) and were led to none other than the exact matatu we came down on. I most definitely said a wee little prayer of thanks as this led me to believe there were few matatus that take that trip and the fact that we took 2 of the last few seats left me even that much more grateful.

The trip home was, thankfully, much quicker as everyone with us was going to the same place therefore giving no reason to stop. Getting through the border was much quicker as well simply because we knew the process and we called the same driver who picked us up in Kabale to take us all the way back to the dock. Apart from making the unwise choice of walking a ways while we waited for Justice (our driver) to show up (we couldn’t have been stared at more if we were walking along the road buck naked), we made good time and got back to the island just as the sun was setting.

Initially we only had one full day to spend on the island, but midway through, after having a glorious morning eating crepes, going swimming (it’s the only lake in Uganda that’s safe to swim in) and reading Hunger Games on our little patio, I broached the subject of extending our trip just one more night because…well, why not? It was an easy choice and the only complication was that we had to move to a fabulous, quaint little cottage just a short staircase from the water’s edge. I am telling no lie when I say that this cottage made us all feel as though we’d entered into the Magical World of Disney; I swear I wouldn’t have been surprised had the 7 dwarves come wandering home from a day at the mines. Two days of relaxation on a gorgeous island surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve set my eyes on and nights hanging out with George and Emily talking, drinking white wine spritzers and reading our novels of choice, was just what the doctor ordered.

We got an early start Monday morning and the trip home went faster than expected and wasn’t horrible despite how unpleasant it sounds to spend 8 hours on a bus and 3 hours on a crowded matatu, given the dust and the propensity of Ugandans to drive as fast as physically possible which, even for me, can be pretty unnerving at times. On the bus, George and I had two seats raised above the main door which afforded us a much more open and spacious ride but when choosing, I did not account for how much traffic and activity there would be as people got on and off the bus. The view was just barely consolation for the amount of times I was hit in the head with an elbow or a piece of luggage. The matatu ride included a small fender bender in a crowded roundabout, George sick in the back row and a few near death experiences. It was definitely a long day, though, catching the boat at 8, getting a car to Kabale, taking the bus to Kampala, a matatu to Jinja and catching a boda straight to worship night to hang out with some friends (including the girls from the house that we left behind); basically every kind of transport available in Uganda, within a 12 hour period.

All in all, besides taking a rather pathetic, slow motion tumble down some stone steps that left me bruised, face down in the garden, it was a wonderful holiday full of great life experiences, rich conversation and just plain old good times with friends.

Next on the docket is a trip to Zanzibar, Tanzania at the end of March with my friend, Laura; she’s from Edmonton but we met in Haiti 2 ½ years ago. She left around the time I did and is currently teaching in Abu Dhabi so we’re meeting up to spend her spring break on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

I do apologize for the massive amounts of words without any visual aids, but I thought the best thing to do would be to put together a video which I will post a link to soon.