The River Nile

Yesterday I went to Jinga as part of the research project I've been working on with some students. On our way there we crossed the Nile River.

Jinga bills itself as the source of the Nile. I'm told a few other places do as well. Whatever. The river is big and really quite beautiful. It's much prettier than the Mississippi River, which as the Great Muddy is, well, muddy. The Nile is a beautiful blue with what looked like a significant current.

Given that the Nile is a river of literally bibical proportions, it was cool to see it.

The other landscape feature we navigate yesterday was part of the Trans-African Highway. It is one of the better roads I have been on since arriving in Uganda. It is the first divided highway I have seen in the country. The Trans-African Highway is actually a system of highways linking the continent. However, I'm told that parts of it are still dirt roads. That doesn't surprise me too much. Dirt roads are still the most common type of road in Uganda, and much of Africa from what my sources tell me. Paved or tarmac roads are something of a luxury. Even the road that connects UMU to the main highway is a dirt road--a bumpy, rutted dirt road. Main roads and most artial roads in cities and towns are paved. Other roads are generally dirt roads.

Jinga is a nice town. I'd like to spend more time there, but I was there for business and had to return right away. Oh well, maybe in a couple of weeks.