From Kampala to Mbarara

Arriving at Mbarara

The Equator Line

Selling couches by the side of the road

The strident buzz of my alarm at 6.30am sounds like a nightmare. We are supposed to leave at 7 for Mbarara. As I try to come to life I hear music coming from outside. Gorgeous music, like a dance, with rhythm and great singing. I wonder where that comes from. A bird maybe inspired by the music gives me the good morning with a compassed melody (C - G - G - A♭). The breakfast, served in the patio, is impressive: eggs, sausage, beans, meat, potates, vegetables, toast.

It’s 8am and we’re still eating. We meet Irene, our host, at the reception. Time for some discussion about the project but everything is postponed to a conference being held tomorrow at 9. We are informed that we might have to come back to Kampala for a couple of days to meet URI’s board.

Moses is our driver today. The negotiations for the ride are tough. It’s a 4-hour ride to Mbarara and they charge $250. The problem is how much we should pay upfront. Irene says $50, they want $125. Then there’s a problem about the receipt. How will they write it? One here another in Mbarara? Everything now? We end up paying $250 upfront to speed things up and get into the van. It’s 9 and we’re finally leaving the Mosa Court Apartments. Moses stops for gas and we take a closer look around. The city is very polluted. According to Moses 16 million people live in Kampala. The many cars we see expel a dark smoke leaving a black trace behind them. Although roads are very dusty, people walk around dressing really neat, men with button-down shirts and slacks, some with tie, women with dresses, usually long dresses with shinning colors.

The ride to Mbarara is not different from my ride yesterday, maybe slightly more organized, as there are fewer cars on the road. Moses is a master in invading the right lane and turning left at the last moment when you think you’re crashing. Yes, I said the right lane because these guys drive on the wrong side of the road, damn British heritage. We stop in the Equator line for some pictures. I look around and everything is green. Messiah was right, the land looks fertile. I see a lot of fruit and vegetables stands along the road and the several kids I’ve seen until now look good.

We arrive at Mbarara at 1pm and go directly to the University Inn, the place where we’re going to stay for the next 3 weeks. The rooms are basic but look clean. It’s time to rest. Tomorrow we’ll start at 9 with a conference call.