On Tuesday we had a free day, so we took a day trip to Jinja so Tommy could see his first river- the Nile. Most people associate the Nile with Egypt, but it originates from Lake Victoria in Uganda.
Without traffic Jinja is a short drive from Kampala. It took us a little over two hours to get there. The road passes through the largest forest in Uganda (name is escaping me right now), and passed tea and sugar cane plantations. It is a very scenic drive, and we enjoyed seeing more of Uganda's diverse terrain.
There are two sides to Jinja. We first went to the source of the Nile. We took a short boat tour to the spot where Lake Victoria ends and the Nile begins. We got to dip our fingers in both bodies of water. The boat was an experience in itself, because it was the sort where you have to balance out where everyone is sitting in order to be safe and remain upright, and there weren't any flotation devices aboard!
After we finished the tour we told our driver it was time for lunch and he took us to Gately on the Nile. It was great to have some good "western" food, and we had an awesome dessert of deep fried mini-bananas with ice cream. So good. We also tried our first "Stoney" (ginger soda). Man, that is good stuff. It has quite a kick.
Then we went to Bujagali Falls, on the other side of Jinja. The falls are not tall, but they are very beautiful. We took lots of pictures. At first the falls were not crowded, but then a tour bus showed up with a crowd of people. Then some men began to ride over the falls using square plastic water jugs to stay afloat in exchange for money from the tourists, and there were some other strange "tourist attractions" that made us very uncomfortable, so we left.
If you are adopting from (or just visiting) Uganda absolutely make time for taking a trip to Jinja. It was a really nice break from court appointments and paperwork.
Without traffic Jinja is a short drive from Kampala. It took us a little over two hours to get there. The road passes through the largest forest in Uganda (name is escaping me right now), and passed tea and sugar cane plantations. It is a very scenic drive, and we enjoyed seeing more of Uganda's diverse terrain.
A tea plantation on the road to Jinja
There are two sides to Jinja. We first went to the source of the Nile. We took a short boat tour to the spot where Lake Victoria ends and the Nile begins. We got to dip our fingers in both bodies of water. The boat was an experience in itself, because it was the sort where you have to balance out where everyone is sitting in order to be safe and remain upright, and there weren't any flotation devices aboard!
It seemed safe enough at the time
The marker for the source
To my left, The Nile River. To my right, Lake Victoria
After we finished the tour we told our driver it was time for lunch and he took us to Gately on the Nile. It was great to have some good "western" food, and we had an awesome dessert of deep fried mini-bananas with ice cream. So good. We also tried our first "Stoney" (ginger soda). Man, that is good stuff. It has quite a kick.
Stoney Tangawizi
Then we went to Bujagali Falls, on the other side of Jinja. The falls are not tall, but they are very beautiful. We took lots of pictures. At first the falls were not crowded, but then a tour bus showed up with a crowd of people. Then some men began to ride over the falls using square plastic water jugs to stay afloat in exchange for money from the tourists, and there were some other strange "tourist attractions" that made us very uncomfortable, so we left.
Bujagali Falls
If you are adopting from (or just visiting) Uganda absolutely make time for taking a trip to Jinja. It was a really nice break from court appointments and paperwork.
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2 comments:
Sounds pretty. I hope to see those pictures someday!
It looks so beautiful- I'm sure Tommy will appreciate having these pictures some day too!:) How cool to see the source of the Nile.
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