Back Up A Few Weeks

11/12/08

This week has been busy. And it’s only Wednesday! I’ve been acting as driver for Amber and her 2 research assistants as they start the preliminary work on her project. The map we have of the area we are working in is deceiving to the eye. It looks like it’s not that far but we’ve driven over 320km in 2 days. My explanation for it is that the roads are much less straight than the map suggests. One road we took was, if you were to scale it off the map, about 40km long. But the cars’ odometer tells me we actually went 60km. I suggested earlier that perhaps the odometer is not that accurate but that was when it seemed that the total mileage of the car (or should I say kilometerage?) was much smaller than I would’ve expected for its age. I don’t know what to think now. Perhaps I’ll start thinking of distances in matter of time. That drive will take 30minutes or 1 hour, for instance. But that kind of knowledge only comes from experience. And what I experienced this week is that you have to take some roads much slower than others depending on how wet the ground is. Which brings me to another experience we’ve had this week.
The rainy season started a month or so ago but it’s only in the last week that I could describe it this way. Oh yeah, it has rained quite a bit since I’ve been here, but it’s raining almost every day now. And when it rains it’s a real deluge. With thunder and lightening! And I bless those rains down here in Africa too, Toto. The green beans I saw planted along the road the first couple days of being here are looking pretty ripe already. I’d sure like to be able to throw a couple seeds in the ground every now and then to keep a constant rotation of fresh veggies coming in. Uganda is rich in land, that ‘s for sure. It’s a mixture of sensation because while it is raining or getting ready to rain the feeling is much like October at home. But we still get some sunshine almost everyday and when the sun comes out it is like July.

On Tuesday we traveled to the village of Nyanga on the shore of Lake Kichira. The size of the lake felt roughly the same size and shape of Lake Washington in Seattle. It was very far from the highway and the road is not heavily traveled. I figure this is due to the fact that most people seemed to be doing fine living mainly off the land. Most homes had large pieces of land, several cattle, goats, chickens, sheep, and their own matoke plantations. It felt a little like Ireland at times what with all the lush greenness. Part of the drive took us into Lake Mburo National Park. Cruising through low lying grasslands full of wild animals like zebra, impala, bushbuck, warthog, and red-crested crane (the national bird). It was also very swampy and people had taken to driving wherever it was dry so they wouldn’t get stuck. This made it very difficult to know if we were heading in the right direction and if we were going to be able to find our way back. Luckily a young man on a boda was going our direction and he signaled for us to follow him. He became our guide and scout for the dry path. People here keep surprising me with their courtesy and helpfulness. They’re really pleasant, especially when you get out into the countryside. We ran into the village chairman on our way out to the village. He was on his way to a funeral but told us we could see the village secretary in his absence to get the information we need. He said the secretary is at home now and actually has all the information Amber is looking for. The secretary’s home is situated at the top of a boulder encrusted hill, overlooking the lake. It’s a gorgeous piece of land that he tells me is going to be for sale soon. I didn’t ask why. From the top of a smooth piece of granite I can see the neighbors with their cattle grazing, a group of monkeys eating in the trees behind me, two fisher eagles in a dead tree on the lakeshore, and a lone fisherman out on the lake in a dugout canoe. Yeah, I could live here.

Luckily, since we lost our guide, we were able to follow our tracks back through the field. I should’ve brought a compass, however, Amber did one better and brought a GPS unit. We will be back to this village many times so plotting our route will make the drive much easier next time. The rainy season should be over in a few weeks too and that will also help.

As you can see, and much to my excitement, there are photos for all to see and enjoy! I've added a few more below to an older post. Our internet connection has greatly improved. Hopefully it stays that way.