Saturday at Lake Bunyoni

Saturday was our only full day at Lake Bunyoni and we decided to make the most of it. The lake is a pretty quiet place. Although we heard one party at a nearby resort on Saturday evening, it's not a wild party place. It's more of a peaceful, relaxing place.

I suspect the economic downturn keeps things a bit quiet. There weren't a lot of Mzungus where we stayed at Crater Bay Cottages and Camp. There was an older Austrian couple with their daughter and the daughter's friend. The daughter and friend were working as interns in Kampala and the parents had come for a visit.

There were two Canadian guys, Hershel and Rocky (who also have a blog), from Vets without Borders who were in Uganda for a few months working to vaccinate goats and help orphans raise goats. They are both just out of vet school and decided to do some volunteer work, even with their student loans hanging over their heads. They were pretty entertaining. Rocky was down most of the time with a stomach virus--he probably ate something he shouldn't have.

Saturday morning we arranged for a guide and a dugout canoe to go for a spin in the lake. Hershel came with us since Rocky was down for the count. (Sorry for the pun.) I had thought about going out on our own, but dugouts didn't look quite like the canoes I know how to navigate. It turned out the paddles were about three times as heavy as the ones I know. I was impressed when we were handed life jackets and the guide put on one as well. Safety impresses me in a country where the boda-boda drivers generally don't wear helmets outside of Kampala.

We took a spin around the lake--a very slow, peaceful spin. We stopped at Bushara Island where the Church of Uganda (Anglicans) run a camp. I was impressed with their commitment to sustainable development--their tree planting projects, hiring local folks and support of local crafts. Bry'Chell and I each bought a hat. They may not be winter hats for Chicago, but they will help in the fall and spring.

We paddled past Punishment Island where unmarried pregnant women were sent to die. The guide book says that many women died trying to swim back to shore, however, Fr. Max told us that men would go at night to get the women from the island. A woman from Punishment Island was a free wife in the days of bride price and all that. A poor man could get a free wife. Probabaly better than dying.

I learned later that June, July, and August are the dry months in the area. The winds kick up on the lake which makes paddling a bit more difficult. I paddled in worse waves in the Boundary Waters, but I don't know the dugout canoes. The canoe we were in was very stable. We were safe.

We came back and had lunch. Our cabin was right on the lake. I wanted to hike up to the top of the hill so I could get some pictures of the whole lake. We started off following the road, but ran into the manager of Crater Bay Cottages. He pointed out a trail that went straight up the hill. It was a lot faster. Bry'Chell pooped out about halfway up. Well, she didn't really poop out, she can run me into the ground. It was more that she was concerned about getting down without breaking her neck--the trail was steep in places. I figured people climbed this everyday and I would be just fine.

As we were hiking up the hill we ran into three little girls. At first they ran away shouting "Mzungu", but curiosity brought them back. They were carrying dolls made out of grass. They were cute--the girls and the dolls. Their babies meant as much to them as American Girl dolls mean to their American counterparts. I took a couple of pictures.

Further up the hill, after I left Bry'Chell, I ran into another couple of kids--a boy about seven and a girl about three. The boy was a great guide. He kept pointing out and naming the islands. He told me there are 29 in all. I forget how many are inhabited, but additional ones are used for cultivation even if no one lives on them.

The view was breath taking. It was worth the climb.

I climbed back down, left my guide when his mother called him, and I found Bry'Chell. We walked down the rest of the trail. Near the bottom we met an older Ugandan woman wearing a South Dakota t-shirt. I see t-shirts from the strangest places. I was quite taken and told her that my dad was born in South Dakota. She responded, saying, "Well then it is a good place, no?" I told her it was, and refrained from saying it was a good place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.