Christmas in Kampala didn’t feel like
Christmas until Christmas Eve. I am not sure whether it was the warm
temperature, being away from friends and family, and/or not doing any shopping
for presents. It wasn’t until Christmas Eve when I went to a Christmas Eve service
that it felt like Christmas. It got me thinking about what Christmas is
supposed to feel like. Christmas is about Jesus and Jesus is the same to
everyone everywhere. It does not matter where you are or who you are with; it
is about being thankful that God came to earth to forgive my sins and bring me
back into relationship with him.
After Christmas I made the long trek to the
Kenyan coast. I took the bus there and if you think roller coasters are scary guess
again. The first lag of the trip took me from Kampala to Nairobi (655 km). It
took 13hrs to complete and we passed three buses from the same company that
were broken down. The scenery was very nice we even got to do a 30km detour
along a narrow gravel road that wound through a hilly region with many tea
plantations. Our bus arrived two hours late at 9:45pm but the connecting bus
was supposed to leave at 9:00pm so I was expecting to sleep in the bus company’s
lounge but they actually waited for us. There were a number of us transferring
so they just kept the bus there for an extra hour. Well right off one bus and
back on another was not the best but it looked like a nice bus until I saw the
shattered windshield. Being a night bus I took comfort in being able to sleep
but at one point in the night I woke up as the bus was pulling a uturn. It then
went back off the main road to some small town. The bus driver pulls a tread
from a large tire, lying in the aisle, out the door and sells it to some guy. I
don’t remember the bus stopping to pick up a tire tread I really don’t know
where it came from I think it actually maybe from one of bus’ tires. Well the
next morning I wake up to a great sunrise and now the cracked glass in the
window is falling out. After another 650 km and 13hrs on the road we arrived in Mombasa with a
basketball size hole in the windshield.
Mombasa is a shipping port and where almost
all overseas goods go through to get to Uganda. It is on the Indian Ocean home
of white sand beaches, palm trees, warm water, and resorts. I do not know why I
decided on Mombasa but I was there and was not sure what to do. I had booked a
hostel and that is all I planned so I started walking it was weird to walk
around probably the biggest tourist area of Kenya and not see another white
person. After a few hours of walking I start to head to the hostel I had a
vague idea where it was but after another hour or so and being tired I picked a
boda to the hostel. Apparently it was actually quite far from town but I got in
a great walk. The hostel was nice after lunch and a quick jump in the pool and
fell asleep on the hammock.
Over the next few days there I met lots of
very interesting people with great stories. People I met included a man who
fled from Poland on foot finally making it to the US and now he is a CNC
programmer for machining of parts for the space shuttle thrusters. Another one
was an Iraqi man who owns a Safari company in Nairobi. There was a guy who
imports cars to South Sudan and a South African tourism professor that was on a
trip from Alexandria to Cape Town done on public transportation. I also met two
women had just taken a Permaculture (designing food systems not crops) course
in Nairobi. They were meeting with a local farmer one day and I tagged along it
was quite interesting what they said and I got to add my two bits about the proximity
of the well to the septic tank and a few other water issues. The same women were
going to a “resort” down the coast an hour and I joined them. It was amazing
right on the beach and quite rustic which was perfect for me. I spent three
days there just hanging out, snorkeling, and reading. New Year’s was spent on
the beach around a bonfire talking about how to save Africa.
The next day I was back on the move. I got to town earlier than expected so I walked around and bought a Tottenham Jersey (Everyone has to have an English Premier team here), had a soda a little stand on the side of the road and walked to the train station. The train takes longer to get back to Nairobi but I have been told that it is well worth it. It was worth it, the train is old and sways side to side a lot. The train is much more comfortable we had dinner and breakfast and I even got my own cabin. It was a night train so much of the journey was a night but allowed me to watch the stars as the train chugged through the darkness. The sun rose as we were seated for breakfast. I have never travelled by train but I loved it I got to see so much from many villages to animals like zebras and antelope. There was a couple hour delay as our locomotive went to move a broken down train. The train goes right through a huge slum before arriving in Nairobi which is always sad. To me there is a big difference between poverty in villages and cities. I see much more hope in villages maybe it is because people often go to the city in hope of a prosperous life and it is not that way for many people. From Nairobi I caught an uneventful night bus with a different bus company back to Kampala. Back in Kampala I am glad I did the trip but it would be better to share the long journey with close friends.
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| Entering Nairobi |
That is it for now, sorry for it being long winded. Next time I plan to write about a day in my Ugandan life.
Blessings,
Aaron
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