Mbarara Road
September 3rd, 2007
Yesterday was quite an adventure, and not a fun one either. We sat through 4 hours of a bishops consecration service that lasted over 6! Along with 5000 other people. We couldn't take anymore and left. We chatted with some reporter from the Wall Street Journal who was covering the event. We then got some lunch and left Mbarara. (the food here is getting repetitive by the way. It’s the same thing for every meal! There is no going out for chinese or pizza)
Mbarara is a large town in the southwest of Uganda, that is just south of the equator. We knew that we had a 5 hour drive to Kampala. All was going well until 30 km from our destination. The SUV rattled under the hood and then stopped running. It was dark and we were just going into a small roadside village. Simon, the driver, was trying to figure out what was wrong under the hood with a tiny LED flashlight. Rev. Jacob was trying to flag down a taxi-bus, but they were flying by at full speed and most were full of passengers. My mom was calling for a taxi service to pick us up from Kampala. I was holding a tiny flashlight and writing down phone numbers as big trucks roared past us. We got some locals to help us push the car back, across the street into a closed service station parking lot, for a 1000 shillings each. It was scary, and we were in a vunerable spot, with lots of cash on us.
After an hour or so, the taxi arrived, we transferred luggage and headed to Kampala. The driver stayed at a local guesthouse for the night to stay with the car. It was beyond repair that could be done on the road, it had to be towed to a garage.
The next morning my mom got a friend who owns a taxi bus to pick us up, head to a tow truck and take it out to the small village. Mark and I then rode back to Hoima on the bus. The taxi buses are everywhere here. They are these vans that are retro-fitted with extra rows of seats and then more seating for the center front and the aisles. They get packed full of 14 to 16 people crammed in like sardines. We sat in front with the driver, which is the most comfortable by far.
Anyway, we made it back to Hoima safe and sound. My mom is staying another night in Kampala and maybe more to get the Mitsubishi fixed.
So, that's where we are now. Mark and I are both ready to be back in the USA. I'm so freakin spoiled. I long for smooth roads, hot showers, electricity, real coffee, air conditioning, and a variety of foods. And of course my family.
Yesterday was quite an adventure, and not a fun one either. We sat through 4 hours of a bishops consecration service that lasted over 6! Along with 5000 other people. We couldn't take anymore and left. We chatted with some reporter from the Wall Street Journal who was covering the event. We then got some lunch and left Mbarara. (the food here is getting repetitive by the way. It’s the same thing for every meal! There is no going out for chinese or pizza)
Mbarara is a large town in the southwest of Uganda, that is just south of the equator. We knew that we had a 5 hour drive to Kampala. All was going well until 30 km from our destination. The SUV rattled under the hood and then stopped running. It was dark and we were just going into a small roadside village. Simon, the driver, was trying to figure out what was wrong under the hood with a tiny LED flashlight. Rev. Jacob was trying to flag down a taxi-bus, but they were flying by at full speed and most were full of passengers. My mom was calling for a taxi service to pick us up from Kampala. I was holding a tiny flashlight and writing down phone numbers as big trucks roared past us. We got some locals to help us push the car back, across the street into a closed service station parking lot, for a 1000 shillings each. It was scary, and we were in a vunerable spot, with lots of cash on us.
After an hour or so, the taxi arrived, we transferred luggage and headed to Kampala. The driver stayed at a local guesthouse for the night to stay with the car. It was beyond repair that could be done on the road, it had to be towed to a garage.
The next morning my mom got a friend who owns a taxi bus to pick us up, head to a tow truck and take it out to the small village. Mark and I then rode back to Hoima on the bus. The taxi buses are everywhere here. They are these vans that are retro-fitted with extra rows of seats and then more seating for the center front and the aisles. They get packed full of 14 to 16 people crammed in like sardines. We sat in front with the driver, which is the most comfortable by far.
Anyway, we made it back to Hoima safe and sound. My mom is staying another night in Kampala and maybe more to get the Mitsubishi fixed.
So, that's where we are now. Mark and I are both ready to be back in the USA. I'm so freakin spoiled. I long for smooth roads, hot showers, electricity, real coffee, air conditioning, and a variety of foods. And of course my family.
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