The breather continues...

So, where was I?...Right, Bushara Island. We left Friday morning around 8am, I drove back in to Kabale and then Pat got behind the wheel and drove to Masaka. We stopped for samosas and sodas and then I drove out of Masaka and took a smaller side road for a while that lead to a ferry we hoped to take over to the Sesse Islands in Lake Victoria.

• A ways down the dirt road we noticed several vehicles in the road, and as we approached we realized the road was completely blocked by a huge truck that jack-knifed or something of the sort and then all the matatus and cars that tried to pass on either side had become stuck in the mud creating quite a mess! Evidently the cars closest to the problem had been waiting 5-6 hours for the mess to be cleared…I had no hope; it was 3:45pm when we got an idea of what we were dealing with, and the last ferry was to leave at 5pm and we weren’t sure how much further we had yet to drive beyond the roadblock to get to the ferry. We had been on the road for 7-8 hours by this point and I was sure it was going to be totally in vain, that we were going to end up in some shady hotel in Masaka for the night – tired, grumpy, and disappointed…Pat, however, was full of hope. She used the opportunity to chat it up with all kinds of people milling around; she was sure the ferry was going to wait for us…I was not so sure. However, Pat’s hope won out and the accident was cleared and we were on our way within an hour of our arrival on the scene. A wrecker came and pulled the huge truck out of the middle of the road, and everyone drove on through...that is after the car in front of us stalled and wouldn’t start up again – no fear, TIA, 3 guys just rocked the car back and forth out of the way, no problem! We zoomed off and got to the ferry just at 5pm and there was space for one more vehicle, just our size! Whew! And the ferry was FREE! Free for us and for the vehicle. I asked someone a few days later how in the world they can operate such a thing without charging anyone to ride it, and evidently it’s a service provided by the government. It was an hour long ride to the largest of the 84 or so Sesse Islands…we took in the views from the roof of Pat’s vehicle, and arrived safely on the other side. Now, Karen Masso dubbed this ferry the “scary ferry” due to Pat’s description while she talked to Karen on the phone…it wasn’t really so much a passenger ferry, although there were lots of passengers…its more of a industrial/commercial vehicle ferry used mostly it seemed to transport vehicles supplying the islands with various kinds of equipment/food/livestock, etc. There were a dozen pigs in the truck next to us along with a lot of produce (tomatoes, matoke, etc)…the situation got a little worrisome when a big blue fishing boat full of people (think Haitian refugees or something of the sort) pulled up to the side of the ferry, the ferry slowed down, and a bunch of people climbed on, and we continued on our way thankfully without any further shenanegins.

• Upon our arrival on the Island we drove another hour to the other end where the hotels are located, and pulled into the first one we found that we recognized from my guide book…the Panorama Lodge…let’s just say I was a little disappointed…pink light bulbs in each room, no toilet seats, a “Panorama” view of only the Panorama itself, the booming music from the disco across the road…It was dark, about 7:30pm and we were all really tired, so we decided to stay. There were redeeming points including Arnold the very kind, very competent host who asked me at dinner if I could speak German because he took it in secondary school and likes to speak it when he can…I had to tell him I didn’t, that I just look like I should know how…the whole fish I had for dinner was very tasty and a great close to the day.

• Saturday morning Pat and I drove around and checked out our other accommodation options, hoping for something on the beach, and at our last stop we hit the jackpot. We went back, packed up our room, paid our bill, said thanks and goodbye to Arnold, and drove a little ways down the beach to another hotel where we were given a great deal, each got our own room with a beachfront view, where we spent the afternoon reading and playing volleyball on the beach with a group of American interns that were also staying there. Again, I enjoyed a gloriously long hot shower ☺

• Sunday morning we got up early and got a ride to the “ship” – a ferry on the hotels’ side of the island that is not free, but is more of a passenger/vehicle ferry, and takes the 3 hour trip to Entebbe. Now, there was much scuttle-butt and bickering about getting our vehicle onto the ferry since we evidently had not followed the appropriate procedures, but there was room and they agreed after much to-do. So, I got behind the wheel and began backing the vehicle up onto the ferry…imagine this, Heidi behind the wheel of a 4 wheel drive vehicle with about a half dozen African men (security guards and Dept of Transportation and Works employees) yelling instructions about how to back the car up, “no, this way, no, that way, slowly by slowly, stop, go, can’t you see that one? Just do what he tells you to do! Not that way, this way!” It was a bit frustrating to say the least. And then in true Ugandan fashion, one of them looked at me as I was closing the car up and said, with a smile, “Morning!” AAAAAHHHHH Don’t talk to me like I’m knee high to a grasshopper and then just smile and say good morning!?!?!?! But it did help me move on to a better attitude more quickly I guess. Anyways, I got the car onto the ferry in one piece and without breaking anything! I sat and listened to hymns and other Sunday morning appropriate music on my ipod (Thanks George and Amanda!) for most of the duration of the boat ride. There were snacks and drinks available right next to where we were sitting and the men around us started drinking at about 8:30am…evidently Uganda has something close to the highest alcohol consumption per capita in the world and I believe it! But I was content with my music and the little “worship service for 1” I had during the ride. We arrived safely in Entebbe and I was glad to hand the car keys to Pat and she drove off and on into Kampala where we’ve been for the last 6 days or so.

….another posting break in the story…will continue next time with the Kampala segment…