ahh....uganda - Day 1.

I made it! I am not a sex slave. I did not get kidnapped. And it was not a huge mistake. It was incredible.

First the bus ride. We loaded at 5:00pm after a brief run in with a money changer. (they tried to rip me off like $20 bucks!) But we caught them! And then we were on our way. 10 hours of bumpy twisty turny dirt road yuckyness. But we made it around 4am uganda time. And i'm almost certain I contracted a parasite somewhere along the way. Maybe it was the peeholes or the lack of sanitary food...who knows. But for the majority of the trip it felt like rabid squirrels were trying to claw their way out of my intenstinal track. Rabid quirrels and windy dirt ugandan roads at 2 am was not my favorite combination. But the anticipation of the experience was a legitimate distraction.

After a brief stop at the boarder between Uganda and Rwanda, and a deliciously cold Mountain Dew,

we made our way to our hotel, Hotel Barbados. and you could sit on the toilet and wash your hair in the shower! The hotel was 80,000 Uganda Shillings per night which equals about $37 a night. And I had a big four poster bed with a mosquito net that had lace around the edges. and even thought the matress was like a big foam rock, I had a pillow and a hot shower and scrambled eggs every morning so I was a happy happy camper!

After very little sleep, we headed out for a town called Jinja, like ninja but with a J. A total tourist trap for idiots like me who treasure natural wonders. Jinja happens to be the source of the River Nile, the body of water that has privided life for millions of people for millions of years. The price into the park was in Ugandan and Non-Ugandan price. Ugandan - 3,000 UGX ($1.40). Non-Ugandan - 10,000 UGX ($4.55). Talk about a rip off. And the determiniation of Ugandan v Nonugandan was not scientific in anyway. I could have totally been Ugandan. Stop judging me based on skin people!!!

So we walked through the gauntlet of tourist temption in the form of little huts that lined the staircase down to the River. Yessh so many lovely things. Drumbs and earings and sculptures that were made out of banana leaves. How can i resist such temptation? But alas, the River was calling me. We walked out onto some beams that jutted out into the river. And all you can do is stand there and soak in the power moving under you. And then i got sucked into a boat ride to the real source of the river nile. How could i go oall the way to Ninja Jinja and not see the real source? So of course it was worth the Non-Ugandan price to jump in the yellow and green boat called "god is good" that went about 10 feet up the river and the stoped with awh and wonder. At first i was thinking, man these people got me again. This is just 10 feet up the river.

And then I saw it. The way the water was bubbling and moving in one spot. 40,000 liters per second. Just bubbling up from inside the earths belly supplying half of history with it's entire story. And i just sat there. What else can you do? Well except take a picture and make a face?
Until the tour guide told me that on the other side of the river were two prisons. One for adults over 18 and the other for 17 down to age 6. You put 6 year olds in prision I asked? What for? Well you know for 6 year old crimes he answered in total seriousness. Hmm...nothing could destroy the Nile River like a prison for 6 year olds. What is this world?

We also saw some water falls, and some more crafty goodness. And a sign along the road that seems pretty profound if you ask me.

We stopped by the church house there just to poke around. I met a missionary whose family just moved to memphis. Took his picture cause i thought his mom would appreciate it. Then back to Kampala.

We stopped a roadside market and bought grilled bananas. Ummm...yumm!

And then Hakuna Matata for dinner. I might have previously mentioned the fame of Ugandan pork. Well, that night, i consumed. Not quite up to Nashville Barbeque but i'm not gonna lie - it was delicious. Pork on a stick. Like a kabab. With rice and beans and cassava (this tree root thing).

and then off to a cozy slumber in my lacey bed. The security guard greeted me and said "Welcome home sista." "well thank you security guard. Thank you so much."

What a great day.

Day 2 to follow! Blessings

Shai