Around Jinja

On Saturday, Godfrey drove Ronald and Elizabeth up to meet us for a day visiting the source of the Nile and other sights near Jinja.  Our first stop was Bujugali Falls, which is not one waterfall but a series of rapids.  In a few months, they will no longer exist - a dam is being built for hydroelectric power not far downstream.  Power outages happen here almost daily, so it's definitely needed, but it's also sad to think that soon all of this will be underwater.

 Next, we drove to see the source of the Nile, where it flows out of Lake Victoria.  

This photo is taken through a rolled-up car window because otherwise,

 I would have been wearing a layer of red dust as thick as the one on these plants.

Not sure of the scientific logic behind this one.  

Ronald's non-explanation: "More babies are conceived in the morning."

Lake Victoria at the source of the Nile

We took a boat tour...

.. and saw a lot of birds.  My camera's zoom leaves a little to be desired, so these next few pictures are kind of like a "find the bird" activity.  This one is a Malachite Kingfisher - a bright, shiny blue and orange little bird.

Some type of heron?

A different type of kingfisher.  Clearly I'm really up on my bird species.

We also saw some fish eagles, which are huge and look a lot like bald eagles.

Laundry time

Photo by Megan Guzman

Monkeys!  

Shameless mzungus pose embarrassingly on the Nile zero mile marker.  

Delicious Nile tilapia... if you're a real local you eat it with your hands.

Photo by Megan Guzman

View along the Jinja-Kampala road.

Photo by Megan Guzman

Tea fields

Sugar cane fields... this is the last picture I took before my camera battery died completely.

Photo by Megan Guzman

Our last stop of the day was Ssezibwa Falls, a local spiritual site where people come to meditate and leave gifts for the spirits which they believe will bring them luck in love, childbirth, even business deals.

Photo by Megan Guzman

On the way home, a qualifying football match was going on between Uganda and Guinea-Bissau - kind of a big deal.  We listened on the radio (Godfrey and Ronald had to translate most of it, but we understood "Goooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllll!") and saw people gathered around TVs watching.  

We actually drove by the stadium where the game was happening on our way.  We knew we were getting close when the sound of vuvuzelas coming in the car windows got louder than the radio.  Everyone was out in the streets and traffic was crawling.  A truck carrying a group of guys in ominous-looking masks drove around with a loudspeaker blaring music and announcing the latest goal.  At this point, I was feeling some national pride and was wearing the Uganda jersey I had spontaneously purchased.  This made me very popular ("Friend of Uganda!") with the people celebrating along the sides of the road.

We're hoping to actually attend the next home match - inside the stadium this time.