Leah and I became fast friends and went to dinner together most nights. She is originally from Panama but is working with the CDC in Tanzania right now. One of the nights she and I took a taxi to the Munyono Resort on Lake Victoria.
Lake Victoria behind me.
Here is a view of our hotel courtyard (Protea Hotel). Very pretty, comfortable, fast internet, very efficient hotel management, and yummy breakfast buffet.
On Thursday, Leah arranged an excusion for a number of us to visit the Nile. Here we are in the bus leaving Kampala.
Sights along the side of the road...
My seat-mate Robert from Tanzania.
Uganda outside of Kampala looks alot like Rwanda...small towns, tea fields, green hilly countryside.
First we stopped at Bujugali Falls. This was a very pretty area of rapids on the Nile.
Dangerous waters!
We took small boats out on the water- thankfully they had life preservers for us!
This was a pretty pelican near the shore.
We stopped and went on a short hike.
The guide pointed out where they are building a new dam and indicated all of the islands and the shore here will soon be submerged, but more power is needed!
A cow on the pretty hillside.
Next we went to the Source of the Nile-- where Lake Victoria begins to flow into the Nile.
We took another boat ride to get a closer look at this source.
Here the guide is pointing out where natural spring water bubbles up from the under the water, also filling the Nile. We were skeptical of this story.
We stumbled accross some rocks and climbed on a small rocky island. I slipped at one point and submerged one foot underwater ver briefly. After reading about the water in Lake Victoria- I am a little concerned I caught schistosomiasis (a snail parasite that hurts the liver over time)- let's hope not! I am going to consult the very knowledgeable CDC staff in Rwanda about this when I get back.
We stopped on the way back and bought Casava- which is sold as "fast food" on the side of the road. I'd never seen it before. This harvested from the ground, grilled on the barbeque served in newspaper with salt. You eat the whole thing- and it tastes a little like a potato.
4 comments:
The water in the boat looks scary! Sounds like an amazing excursion. Thanks for posting pics.
Hi Wendy
Really enjoying your blog. Thanks so much for keeping it!
Not complaining--but pix more than 2-3 days old do not enlarge when clicked upon.--At least for me.
Love you--be careful.
Uncle Bill Moore
In Malawi, they eat casava that's been dried, pounded into a flour and then made into a polenta-consistency relatively flavorless food called nsima. It's used mostly as a starch to scoop other stew-type food. how'd you like this casava?
Flight from Kigali= $350-400; driving from Kigali = 8 hours?
Kampala Serena Hotel (spa in the hotel, nice gift shop, and local crafts within walking distance)
Telephone (+256) 414 309000
Places to visit with est. times of travel from Serena:
Garden Center- movies, mall, food court not far from hotel ~5min (people love the Banana Boat store here for crafts)
The Game Store/ Java House Coffee Shop/ Shoprite strip mall ~20 min: the coffee shop is a Kenyan chain and super yummy, I bought myself a hairdryer, window fan with the correct power cords and a cookie sheet at the Game store. People get many things they need here.
City Center ~5 min ~20 min- outdoor/ garden local food
Khana Kazana ~15 min- Indian food chain like Kigali
Mambo Point, can’t remember how far- excellent Italian food, $$
Activities:
You could arrange to drive out to Jinja (about an hour outside of Kampala) and visit the Source of the Nile and visit the old Dam, these are two common tourist stops where you can ride a boat around on the Nile. I think it cost me $40-50 for the trip and guided boat stops.
Some people also arrange to go rafting on the Nile.
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