It’s been over a month since we wrapped up our Ugandan adventure, and what an adventure it was. It was a near overload of input to our senses and sensibilities. This being our first time on the continent everything was new and different. It took a while to comprehend the living conditions – at first they were upsetting – but as we spoke about them and focused on the basics – what we saw were clean people, well clothed, looking fit and and healthy. They seemed happy and waved eagerly as we passed, especially the children. We were visiting during a school break, so there were lots of children around.
Notice the meat hanging in front of the butcher shop
At some point we noticed there was a distinct lack of “grandparent” aged individuals. Our guide explained that the population is 60% below the age of 15, and the AIDS epidemic of the 1970-80s eliminated a large cohort of the population. I wondered about clean water supplies but eventually noticed the central water stations, watching as women and children carried the large jerri-cans on their heads. The things they can carry, all with apparent ease and grace.
So much agricultural and not a single piece of farm equipment in sight. Manual labor. We watched men set a power pole in place by hand, while several others pushed/rolled the electric cable spool down the road, hand stringing the cable. Not a utility truck in sight. It’s easy to forget how fortunate we are, and how hard so many others have to work for things we take for granted. I’m not a religious person but the phrase “But for the grace of God go I” comes to mind.
Terraced mountainside with a variety of crops – from tea to beans
We saw a ridiculous number of bird species. Our local guide, a 30ish(?) Ugandan, was amazing. He is self taught as a bird watcher, starting in 2010, and went into it for the money if you can believe that! He has a degree in business, but whatever area he was working in wasn’t looking good for the future, so he started looking into tourism. That led to bird watching. He took a training program to learn to be a guide, and started out doing local bird watching day trips from the Kampala area. He was recently hired by the Tropical Birding, a birding trip company. I’m sure he’ll do well. He told us that as a child he ran his family’s small shop more profitably than his uncles. I believe him.
Black-shouldered Kite
The road conditions were mostly difficult. Relatively short distances took hours. We saw a large Chinese presence in the road construction projects. Wondering what their interest is, we finally learned that oil has been discovered in (and around I suppose) Murchison National Park. The Chinese have developed the extraction wells but haven’t started pumping yet. They are also going to build a pipeline. We went to an area that in August had been untouched – by December it was very disturbed by roadworks. In a way it felt like living in the movie “Avatar” — destruction of a native community to recover a fuel called “unobtanium.” Everyone just wants a better standard of living.
“Look elegant with smooth silky hair” was a frequently seen advertisement, painted on a building as seems to be the way to advertise here. Perhaps the western influence? So many structures in villages and towns were painted bright red or yellow for the competing cell phone providers.
We stayed two nights at “the oldest hotel in Uganda” built by the British in 1923. Hemingway stayed there, reportedly to recover from (at least one) his plane crash(s). Since we were traveling with Brits it was fun to tease that the least the British could have done was upgrade the hotel before they left in the 1960s! It was another opportunity to adjust our perspective and consider our standards. Great Indian food.
Preparing grasshoppers for market
We never did get to try roasted/fried grasshoppers, although we did see women preparing them for market. Our guide told us they were delicious.
We left Uganda on December 23, in time to see the people leaving the cities in droves for their family villages. The markets were busy, filled with everything from fresh pineapples to chickens. We watched in awe (?) as a well dressed woman climbed onto the back of a motorbike, carefully wrapping her scarf around the live chicken she was carrying.
Yes that’s a chicken under her arm
Our guide told us that everyone celebrates Christmas in Uganda, regardless their proclaimed religion. I liked that.
Carrying a Christmas tree to the home village
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