Jinja, Uganda - Day 162 - Boots on the Loose

Ride to the border in Kenya was FANTASTIC (comparitively speaking of course); crossing was a breeze (although we later found out that a friend we met from Ireland almost went to jail for smoking at the border). First thing I noticed in Uganda was all the pink. All the bycycle taxis, and school kids wear bright pink shirts. Walked to the matatu station, me, Jamie and Alissa crammed in the back with packs laying on our laps for the next 1 1/2 hours. Not far before Jinja, the lady in front of Alissa and I stuffed a bag of grain (hopefully, but still not sure) between us and before we knew it we came to a checkpoint and someone came on and gave her shit for what she had in her lap (more grains of some sort). Didn’t even thank us for smuggling her stuff, and didn’t really say much when we asked what the deal was. If I had realized what was happening a bit earlier I would have said something to her, but it seemed best to keep our mouths shut during the search.

Spent the first night in Jinja, then decided the next day to move out to the Bujigali Falls which is 10km out of town. I won’t go into the specifics but getting money out took about 12 attempts per person, spread across 2 days (I’ve heard the money runs out at ATM’s on Sundays in Africa). Jinja itself didn’t have a lot going for it, but out at the falls was BEAUTIFUL. There you can go bunji jumping, rafting, ATVing, zip trekking, etc.

How to Get Rid of a Hangover: I was never planning on whitewater rafting in Africa, but hearing what everyone else had to say about it changed my mind (and seeing the videos from the day before). Day started just below the dam where the White Nile leaves Lake Victoria; throughout the day we would travel 30km over 11 different sets of rapids of various grades right up to 5 (a couple pushing the limits into grade 6). Our raft flipped at least 3 or 4 times (thankfully crocodiles don’t hang around near the rapids), but I don’t remember exactly the number as the day was a big blur of adrenaline. I do remember that the 2 most challenging ones we managed to stay in the boat for (Woot!), my favorite overall was the first of those 2 which was going over a good 10 – 15 foot waterfall. Crazy.

Lunch was in the boat floating down a slow part; the scenery was BREATHTAKING. The greenest greens growing out of the redest reds possible. Forests, farmlands, locals fishing from their boats, the odd person on shore waving or washing clothes, birds all over the place, the hot sun turning my black helmet into an oven.

After the final, and probably the craziest rapid of all, hiked up to the truck and developed a serious empty stomack buzz during the ride back to the camp off the beers we were provided with. What a blast! Despite how great the day was, the campsite was terribly run, and any bit of service required seemed to be a burden. They completely forgot to make Jen and I pay at all, and it took every bit of strength to chase them down in the end to get them to charge my visa. The level of service has degraded significantly ever since leaving Ethiopia; it’s now like Thailand was where you’re just another dumb tourist and no one seems to give a shit about you.

Jen’s daybag has now gotten so full of food that it’s turned into her feedbag and she’s had to resort to purchasing a 2nd, more manageable day bag that she carries around. We’ve also made a serious development as a couple: since we’re so tired of no one ever having change on this continent and us constantly owing each other minute amounts of money all the time, we’re now maintaining a “kitty” for the common costs; we found the name sounded a little cold at first so we’re calling it the Relationship Fund instead (or RF for short)…

Next day in Jinja was mainly spent healing (the day Jamie, Aaron and Dina headed back to Nairobi… all hungover on a bus for 12 hours), following day was also spent healing, but also included a walk down to the actual Bujigali Falls to look at the madness we had gone over, as well as going for a swim at a pool at one of the nearby, fancier campgrounds.

When we finally left, we managed to hitch a free ride into town with a truckdriver which was great; so great that we wanted to wait the 3 hours and get a lift into Kampala (the capital of Uganda) with him, but unfortunately he never showed so we hopped on the bus instead…