Welcome to Uganda
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2007
1
5
19
Trip End
Nov 11, 2007
Kampala,
Uganda
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
We landed in Entebbe on time, and easily got visas and out of the airport. Entebbe is located on a peninsula on Lake Victoria. It is very green, and the soil is red, and development is sparse mud / brick houses with red tile roofs. The taxi drive into Kampala took about 40 minutes to 1 hour and was crazy - it reminded me as to why I had such a hard time driving in Africa - sensory overload. There is lots of traffic that includes trucks, cars, boda boda's (motorcycles), bicycles and pedestrians (a lot pedestrians). We passed all kinds of open shops - you could buy anything from a motorcycle to a pineapple to half a cow to a hand-made bed frame (they were built on the side of the road). Add in the worst smog I have ever experienced and that explains the drive
Kampala Road
. There were people selling milk or beer from kegs on their bikes and a truck full of cows and people.Our hostel is nice. We arrived last night and showered (hot water), had some dinner, then managed to sleep for 12 hours. I was exhausted from the traveling - it was so nice to sleep anywhere other than a plane seat or a bench! We saw 3 monkeys at the hostel this morning and then the two resident goats wandered by. There is also a puppy at the hostel who is very fun but need some serious training - he can get red clay everywhere if you aren't careful (which I wasn't). Today we have just been touring around a bit, trying to get our tour organized for tomorrow, going for lunch... Once again the taxi rides are the highlight - we ended up near city hall in the business district, but I couldn't even guess how to get back to the hostel. The weather is excellent - probably about 25 degrees and more humid than home. Chris and I are still battling the 'awkward tourist' but hopefully we will lose it once we get settled in a bit.
Tomorrow we head to Bwindi to see the Mountain Gorillas, then to Lake Bunyoni so we will likely be out of contact for a few days. We will try to update / email as we can but so far phone / internet has been hit and miss.
Stay well and take care.
