Commuting in the forest!

A few days ago London treated commuters with an unforgettable trip to work (again). We had less than a finger of snow on the ground, but the most expensive transport network in the world (at least for its users) could not cope with it and collapsed. I vividly remember one of the messages by the tube's staff on my way to work in the morning. A surprisingly long message advising commuters on the problems in the network ... over a minute of problems ranging from severe delays to suspensions in every single tube line!

Far away from the daily commuting into and out of Kibale National Park (above). A bumpy ride along muddy roads on a pick-up track. What a pleasure compared to London!

Paradise comes at a price

This is Kibale, in Uganda ... just a couple of hours away from Fort Portal and the perfect camp site. Surrounded by kilometres of preserved rain forest and thousands of wild animals. Home of over 30 types of monkeys and ... of course ... chimps!

But paradise comes at a price ... and while the mist rolling into the valley at dusk, covering the tranquil lake, is an unforgettable show, facilities are far from those of a 5+ star hotel.

Although we were quite lucky, after all, and the boiler (to the right) was up and running from 5 o'clock in the morning. A pair of nice sandals, the head torch, soap and a clean set of clothing and you can enjoy the first warm shower since Kampala. That is paradise ... truly!

Fewer words and more pictures ...

Slight change of strategy: fewer words and more pictures ...

Still in Uganda ... along the many clay-red roads taking us to Kibale Park. So much rain has the surprising effect of bringing out huge trucks and road rollers to repair the muddy roads. It seems easier to work with the softer clay on a rainy day (despite how sticky they become) that having to break into the ground during the hot and dry season.

And Fort Portal is no exception. An old British fort built to defend one of the Kingdoms in the region from neighbouring tribes.

Why is Uganda an exciting destination?

In the last few days since I started to write about Uganda, I have noticed a drastic fall in the number visits to my blog. While I have not made my mind about the reason or reasons why, I have several theories:

• The www has collapsed (following the earthquake that left half of China Internet-blind) and I am the only person (together with a minority of smart individuals who remained loyal to my posts) in the entire world with access to the web
• The muses have left me, and my writing is even worse than I thought it was
• I have been thoughtless of my readers (as if I was a writer of renown fame!) and have not posted anything in the last few days
• Nobody is really interested in reading about Uganda (hence Venice was a better topic to talk about)

So here I am, at the lounge of one of the many indistinguishable airports in the world (which today happens to be in the Nordics), trying to make good the 3rd of the bullet points above: not having posted for a few days. And since I doubt the first reason above is true, and you can only hope for the muses to eventually return, I will do my best to 'hit two birds with one stone' by addressing the last of my points: why is Uganda an exciting destination?

I guess by now you will be already bored of the post, and perhaps thinking of clicking away, so I will be executive and brief in my reasons:

• How many Ugandan people do you know (compared to Italians)?
• How many times have you been to Uganda compared to Italy?
• How much do you know about Uganda anyway?

And I could continue for ever: wildlife, uncountable ethnic groups, tribal encounters, massive cultural differences, over 29 different languages, a challenging infrastructure ... in short, a fabulous destination.

I just hope that, those of you who keep on coming back to read about Uganda, enjoy the trip with me ... and now I need to go before a miss my flight!

See you ...

An architectural beauty ... despite the 'building materials'!

According to most guides and websites Kampala is a safe city ... compared to Nairobi, that is. And actually it felt (quite) safe to walk around, except if you did it at night. Then the streets are poorly lit and holes everywhere in the pavement become deadly traps. So much so that when a friend and I went out for dinner, we were forced to come back to the hotel in search of our torches!

However good fortune kept us away from danger during the few hours of the day we spent in the city. And at night, armed guards everywhere kept an eye on us (us=tourists) as long as you greet them warmly as it is customary in the country. And I mean 'everywhere' ... including most of the city's ATMs, where armed guards spend the night and protect your back while you get some cash out of the ATM (in exchange of a small tip!).


In any case, although a short visit, we had time to see a few of the city highlights including the buildings of the Buganda kingdom (in the pictures), one of the 4 kingdoms in Uganda until the unification of the country as a British protectorate.

Kampala

Our first impression of Uganda ... green and red. Green from the vegetation everywhere, and red the colour of the clay-like ground all around us. It is warm and humid (it has been raining heavily for the last few hours) and the truck taking us to Kampala has not got many mod-coms ... actually, it hasn't got any!

I love the small markets along the road. The smells of the fruits and vegetables, the colours of people's clothing, the sounds of people calling prices and trading goods ...


After just over an hour we arrive in Kampala, the capital city, where four-or-five-storey buildings replace the small mud-brick huts we were getting used to. Most of the roads are paved and jammed with traffic, so it takes us an extra hour to get to our hotel ... not without a few near-accidents with boda-bodas (motorbike taxis carrying up to 3 people and a baby!) and minibuses (covered with Japanese characters and crammed with people desperately holding to the sides the best they can).

Arriving in Uganda: if only we had wings ...

First day into the trip. We are flying from Nairobi (Kenya) to Entebbe, a few miles away from Kampala (the capital of Uganda). It is mid-October, the beginning of the second rainy season (the shortest one of the two) and all of us on board the small propellers-plane are hoping that the black clouds in the horizon are not an advance of the things to come.

It is a bumpy ride (actually, a very bumpy ride) and after just over an hour in the air the captain makes an announcement in one the many African languages spoken in the region (Swahili? Luganda? Ateso?). It is a long (and to me unintelligible) message and the news, judging by the rapidly-losing-colour faces of my fellow travellers, are probably not great.

I wait for the English translation for a few seconds (there must be one, surely) ... then a few minutes (perhaps not?) ... and after a while I smile to the lady at my side and ask: "Excuse me, do you speak English? Any idea of what was the message about?" Two deep dark eyes stare at me, intensely, purposely, as she answers: "Nothing serious really. We still have fuel to come back to Nairobi if we fail to land in Entebbe".

If we fail to land? Is that an option? Because in Europe we are used to planes that land successfully! But as I am articulating my thoughts the plane turns right and dives into the dark mass of clouds. The firmament disappears as the bumpy ride becomes the closest thing to a 'roller coaster' (a 'jet coaster' for my Japanese friends) that I have experienced recently!

And suddenly we can see the ground through the tiny windows in the fuselage, closer and closer ... until we touch down (a few times actually!) and start slowing down along the runway. I can understand now why humans, unlike birds, chose to evolve as earth-loving-creatures!

There I was, waiting for my luggage in Entebbe's airport. After days of preparation and several vaccinations. Armed with my malaria tablets (once more), my walking boots, and hungry for a new adventure ... welcome to Uganda!