Tranquility in the waters of Lake Victoria

Last weekend I went together with Isaac, Elin (a girl who normally studies at Abo Akademi) and Astrid & Olav (a Norwegian couple) to Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria. Apparently it was once a place where many white tourists used to go, but not anymore because of the bilharzia (little things living in the water that penetrates your skin and can make you very sick). We left on Saturday (the day of lilla jul! = “little Christmas”) in the afternoon with the only ferry going there from Entebbe. It was a nice little boat ride that lasted for three hours and took us through waters with many islands that are surprisingly hilly (for some reason I always picture islands to be flat). We reached the quiet Bugala Island in the early evening and by the time we’ve found a place to stay it was already dark. The island was very beautiful with its palm trees and white sandy beaches and the water looked very tempting to jump into. It would have been nice to go for a swim, but knowing about the “lovely” little creatures that live in it we all preferred to stay on land instead. There were not many things to do in the evening and to find a place where they had food was a challenge. Bugala Island have many resorts to stay at but very few guests and I suppose that’s the reason why they don’t have anything left for those people who haven’t ordered food in advance. Eventually we found a place to eat and our exclusive lilla jul-dinner consisted of french fries and omelet and beer of odd brands that I’ve never knew about until then. After our dinner we moved down to the beach and played pool and looked at the few people who had a little party around the bonfire while we had a few more beers before it was bedtime.

The next morning we woke up to the sound of rain and that rain never wanted to stop. Despite the rain we decided to go for a walk around the place. We through “sandwiches” (you know, when you have a flat rock and throw it so it jumps a couple of times on the water surface) at the beach and were followed by ten children who all wanted to hold our hands. After the walk, we decided to leave the place since there was really nothing to do there and the weather was still not nice. Bugala Island was beautiful but so empty on people that it almost felt a bit spooky.

We got a car that took us across the whole island on a bumpy road, passing the tiny Kalangala “town” and green fields where people ran around catching grasshoppers for eating. At the other end of Bugala we caught a small ferry taking us to Masaka in western Uganda. Our plan was to take a bus from there and go straight to Kampala, but as we reached land we realised that we were very close to Lake Nabugabo, a small bilharzia free lake where you can actually swim! So, instead of going straight home we decided to go to this lake for one night. We got a taxi (a normal 5 seated car) that would take us there and as we entered the car we found out that there are also other people going with the same car. We squeezed together and managed to fit in four people in the back seat, four people in the front (including the driver who was more or less hanging out of the window while driving) and the boot of the car loaded with fresh fish.

Lake Nabugabo was also a very quiet and peaceful place but less spooky. We were the only once staying in our guest house on the lake shore and food was again not very easy to get. But we had a nice little time playing cards and UNO in the evening.

The next day we went for a walk along the lake and found a place where we could rent little local canoes. We jumped into the little boats that weren’t very stabile and paddled back to the place where we stayed. That was nice! During our boat ride we met two guys who sat on a surfing board and paddled by using two plastic plates. When we reached back to our place, we swam and had lunch by the water before we returned to Kampala.

The day after we got back home it was time for me to move out of Akamwesi hostel. It feels a bit strange to no longer live in Wandegeya, which is OH so close to town and everything else compared to where I stay now. But I like the new place and it actually feels like I come home to a real home now in the evenings and not only to a room in a house full of other people. And the best part is the cows, pigs and the donkey that I now have as my neighbours :o)