On the road, in a bus, going to the mountains, and coming
home. There is a coffee co-op that the
Ag Think Tank went to and it is south west of here in the mountains by Queen
Elizabeth Park. Since all roads
(drivable anyway) lead to Kampala, first, you go there to head in the direction
you really want to go and mine was W. These are the lizards that await you. Here
in Arua ours have red face and neck with black on hands and feet. Harmless bug
eaters.
Next is a picture of the main
staple of the central area Matooke up here it is cassava. In this region they
cook the matooke and serve with beans it is rather tasteless but is eaten by
most not from the N.
The picture
here is of the little hut the vilagers live in, sticks with mud between and
grass thatch for a roof. The area around the house is swept clean every day and
is free of grass for a perimeter. A bundle
of matooke weighs about 25# and you will see 3 bundles on a bike being pushed
up the large hills in the mountains to get to town and sell for $4. Amazing to
me as town is a long way to push a bike.
Next up is a view of the
crater lake that this lodge sits on top of.
There are no houses around the whole crater on the inside, but the land
on the back side is broken up into small plots that are farmed. I didn’t see
any huts though which is unusual as most villagers stay close to the garden
area’s.
Last photo shows the lodge
and cabins they are the pointed peaks on the top of the ridge of the lake on
L. Wonderful view and beautiful place
but a hard climb up the steps to get there.
While hiking around the area I went down to the crater lake and took a
swim. A colubus monkey was taking a
drink and I scared it. It started at me
for a bit and then took off for the trees. I was grateful. Had it been a baboon, they are known to
pursue women and take food away from them. I had no food
So that was my time away with
another volunteer who lives in this area of Fort Portal See the statue?
Then it is back on the bus
and the scenery from there this was the road back to Arua where the land
flattens out and becomes the savannah again.
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The flat land after crossing the Nile into the W Nile. When the war was going on the bridge was the only way of connecting W Nile to the rest of Uganda. A lot of people lost there lives on either side of that bridge as that is where both sides lined up to shot at each other. Some of the expat locals remember the rides....
SIGN: Bridge ahead OR No passing, never sure. Bus is usually biggest on road so everyone else gets out of the way except the double lorry's then you get out of their way.
When there is a large large group of huts it usually means these were resettlement camps during the war. This is a picture of what I would do the mission moment at church. This is what people lived in to the tune of 3000 displaced people and a couple pit latrines and a bore hole or the river is close. Most displaced people were kept in the hut area and food brought in. Since boredom was a problem the corn subsidies were used to make liquor and a "Good time was had by all" for a few years. This is a large problem with resettlement camps .
One of the many towns on the road notice the woman with babe on back and geri can in her hand going to fetch water and man with nothing on back and nothing in hand...
Some more men..... Same scenario
Uganda National Road Association is what the UNRA means
Fresh sugar cane for sale. In Asia it was rolled and the juice sold. Here it is cut and sold and families cut it smaller and everyone gets a piece to chew on. It is extremely fibrous.
I tried to get a better picture of the elephant but wasn’t quick enough. He was hanging out under a tree in Pakwach
near the river. You might see the difference in tree trunks. The fat one is the one the elephant is under. Because they hang out so close to the road and they are dark, it is a reason a bus hits them. the one that got killed by the KK bus (and 7 people were killed when it rolled with lots of injuries)
KK had to pay the park for the elephant. An elephant in Uganda costs 70 million shilling. Don't know how much a person cost....
This is part of the railroad tracks that connected the country before Amin. Now it lies in disrepair and it would be so much nicer to travel by this route. Since the discovery of oil this may be a way of transporting it because the roads are so bad for tankers. Mud in wet season and doomed roads with huge holes in dry season. Rumor has it they will get paved roads to move the oil... Stay tuned
Good to know you can get a decent place to stay in Nebbi. Just 3 hours from home now
The sign post are like going through N Dakota and telling how far to Billings MT. It just makes the road seem that much longer....
This little guy comes when the bus pauses in a town and begs for your empty water bottles. He then sells them for 4 cents to the gas station who fill them and keep for boda boda drivers who run out of gas on the road. Cute KID see the next picture...
Same little guy but look at the size of his shoes. Reminds me of when we use to buy basketball shoes for Jake and would always get them a little big. The only time they truely fit him was when it was summer and baseball season... Also notice the pile of bricks. Everything in Uganda is under construction so every house or shop has a pile of bricks and sometimes a pile of cement...
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| Look what made it all the way to Uganda... This guy was meeting his wife and four children on the bus | LOVE FROM UGANDA |
