uganda update

i am writing this from an underground internet cafe in kampala, uganda. unfortunately there is no way these connections will upload any non compressed pictures so photographic evidence of our travels will have to wait.

we also have waaay too many stories to tell to do them justice under time pressure so we will have to start with a brief overview and then parcel out the stories over time.

first off, you can check out our friend chris' blog for his version of the initial part of our trip. he is listed as "c haynes" on the side bar.unfortunately chris got a bad case of food poisoning and spent our initial time in kampala emptying his gastrointestinal tract and lying in bed with kylie and watching a ugandan cowboy lip sync to george strait on an elevated stage just outside our hotel window. where was i during this crucial moment you ask? well, enjoying a swedish massage and sauna with the locals of course.

ihave discovered that ugandans LOVE saunas and massage and they like their steamrooms hot and steamy. in canada we seem to have some sort of mediocrity regulation (probably some misguided public health campaign) that prevents steam baths and saunas from getting truly hot, but in uganda they have no such qualms. plus steam seems to open people up and i was able to have some great conversations with ugandan,kenyan, sudanese and congolese businessmen (i should amend the first sentence in this paragraph to read ugandan businessmen love saunas... i met no farmers or tailors).

after kampala we headed to masaka where, after exploring the city, chris went to bed and i... you guessed it...enjoyed another sauna and swedish massage (45 min - 1.5 hour massages run $4-8) while kylie read.

from masaka we ventured out into lake victoria to stay on the beach in the sesse islands. this was definiely the highlight of our trip. the original plan called for 3 nights on the island and we ended up staying 5. we stayed at a place called "hornbill camp" run by a dutch guy with a lot of experience in africa and a lot of knowledge about economics, politics, aid work etc. fantastic. we read books, lazed on the beach, i developed kayaking calluses, went swimming, hiking, rented motorbikes and drove all over the island, ate a lot of amazing food and pretty much had an amazing time.

now we are back in kampala and met up with our old friend myla rae last night for dinner. we also hooked up with an old friend from fort portal who is now going to school in kampala (oh, and i got a massage and sat in the steam bath - the best one yet, 1.5 hours of joint cracking elbow digging karate chopping painfully wonderful swedish massage and a steam bath so hot that i couldnt stand up straight without burning my face).

tomorrow we plan to go and camp in the rainforest and then after that make our slow way back to kenya. tonight we will enjoy our balcony overlooking the crazy kampala taxi park (faithful readers will remember a google earth picture i posted of this place last year) which is a great experiment in chaos theory.