Lake Bunyonyi

I haven't posted in a while, and it's not entirely my fault.  It would have happened this weekend, but our internet has been down because, according to the IT department here "a bird stepped on the router."  I can definitely see how the marabou storks could cause some serious damage... they are enormous (and dirty, and creepy, in a way that makes me appreciate NYC pigeons).  Anyway, the internet has now been restored, which allows me to tell the tragic tale of our weekend trip to Lake Bunyonyi July 1st-3rd.

Lake Bunyonyi is a beautiful lake near the western border of Uganda.  And fortunately for us, it's a very relaxing place to recover from food poisoning.  Three of us were out of commission for Friday night and Saturday.  If you'd like an epidemiological analysis of the incident, Megan took care of that on her blog.  It was unfortunate, but we were expecting it at some point during our travels this summer.  And by Sunday, we were well enough to take a boat ride to explore a few of the lake's many islands, along with our coworker who drove us for the weekend, and a friend of his. 

My camera had not arrived for this trip, so photo credit goes mostly to Megan (although I occasionally grabbed the camera out of her hands and took a few shots myself).

This is the view from Kalebas Camp where we stayed.  I can recommend the accommodations but maybe not the food.

Sunday boat ride:  Elizabeth, Megan, our guide, our driver (captain?), Donna, and Abu.

The view from the top of Bwama island.

On Bwama island, there is a school housed in a former leper colony.

When we visited, the school children were all dressed up and on the way to church.  It was a big day on the island, because the bishop was coming for Confirmation.  

Shortly after passing the bishop's procession, we nearly got run over by a different kind of procession.  

Back at the landing site, boats like these were arriving full of people in their Sunday best, while others bathed in the lake and still others were doing laundry or filling jerry cans with water to carry home.  

Sunday is laundry day.

This is Punishment Island.  Not much of an island, but this is where unmarried pregnant women used to be abandoned - usually to starve, or drown trying to swim to shore.  "Don't worry," our guide told us, "That tradition was stopped a long time ago."  When?  Apparently not until the 1950s...

A final view from Kalebas Camp!