A Long Way North

The flight arrived early, we flew through the visa process (which included electronic fingerprinting) and our bags were there waiting.  Victory!   

But we soon discovered that meant we were early to meet our new host, Augustine.  Although there was a multitude of signs advertising free wireless, neither of us could get ANY of our devices to connect.  Liars.  We wait – unplugged.

Augustine arrives about 20 minutes later with two of his friends – Tony and Sam.  Together we walk towards the beat up Land Rover that is going to shuttle us all the way to the very north of the country – Lira, Uganda.  My heart is in my throat and the coupling of exhaustion, nerves and development training have me rambling about the most inane things.  Have I mentioned that I make awesome first impressions?  It doesn’t help that Chelsea is as personable as a zombie right now, leaving the bulk of the small talk to me.  Jerk.

 Loaded up with three across the back, Sam starts the car.  And nothing happens.  Again.  Nothing.  Chelsea and I exchange a look and a flurry of what I later learn is Luongo is exchanged between the men.  Uganda, we have a problem.

The men get out, they circle, they discuss, they point.  Honestly, they do absolutely nothing.  They try again.  And miraculously it starts. 

As we pull out of the airport and onto the road to Kampala, I begin to notice my surroundings.  And panic.  Kampala is dusty, littered and covered in thick smog.  And then we hit traffic.  Augustine informs us that this is not uncommon, and that it can in fact take up to 2 hours to go 5km because of the traffic police holding people up.  Not quite the lush wilderness I had envisioned.

 The remaining drive north is a bit of a blur.  After 24 straight hours of travel, it was an uphill battle just to keep my eyes open.  I have only snapshots in my head of the countryside as it changed from the southern part of the country to the north.  Once we left the city and got onto THE road to Lira, the landscape became more stereotypical.  Lush greenery, picturesque African trees.  The more north we go, the flatter the land became.

 And the less consistent the roads.  You’d be flying along and all of a sudden, boom.  Gravel.  And the pot holes here rival Boston during the harshest of winters.  Even on the roads that are paved, it is frequently only one side, which leads to a haphazard traffic patterns.  Blinkers are used to signal your intent to pass someone – not to merge back into their lane.  Cars, trucks, bikes, motorcycles and people line the road.  People walk EVERYWHERE.

 Soon we pulled over for a break and I realized it was time to face the music – my first pit toilet.  As I walked the plank (literally) to the facilities, I braced myself.  I can do this.  I have popped my fair share of squats.  Can’t be worse than any Dave Mathews concert I have been to. 

 Open the door….occupied.  I don’t know who was more surprised, me or her.  Lesson one:  bathroom doors here do not lock.  I awkwardly retreat and wait my turn.  All in all, not a terrible experience.  It is literally a hole in the ground that you crouch over.  But they really do not smell.  Well not as bad as your average porta-potty anyway.  Cross that one off the list.

 Back in the car and onward ho!  Shortly thereafter, we pull over to a roadside stand and immediately the car is swamped with children selling water, bananas, pineapple and meat on a stick.  We don’t even get out of the car. I suppose I just met the Ugandan drive-through.

 At one point, Augustine pointed out an upcoming landmark – Karunda Falls.  This year they begin construction on a hydraulic plant that will help provide more stable power to the area.  The falls are small, but the water gushes at an impressive rate. 

 Shortly after the Falls my first African dream (aka stereotype) comes true – MONKEYS!  A number of them line the side of the road.  Staring at cars, running around.  Doing monkey things.  I am thrilled and re-exhilarated. I LOVE monkeys and fancied myself the next Jane Goodall in a younger life.  And then we see cops on the side of the road pointing at our car.  It appears we are being pulled over.

 The cops come over and from what I can gather we have been speeding.  Augustine gets out and walks to the back with another cop.  I can’t quite see what is happening, but my guess it included an exchange of cash.  Sam gets a tongue-lashing from the female cop about the state of his drivers permit, but in the end they let us continue on.

 At about 2:30pm, we enter Lira.  The town is bustling, lively and full of countless stores and even more people.  We pass through and head a down a side road.  One last turn onto a dirt road and we are heading towards our new home.  At long last we have arrived.

 We were both so exhausted, that after a brief snack and a tour we decided to turn in for the night.  Until Augustine informed us that it was only 5:15pm.  Nap it is then!