trek to the source of the nile

We began in jinja. Who wants to go to town for a little bit? Oo, oo, me. So jp, Bryce, and I all jumped in the car with very little (wallets and cameras) and no sun screen. Solomon, our host in this city, dropped us off at a little deli, suggested we go the hotel overlooking the source of the nile, gave us general directions, and said he would pick us up after his meeting. This sounds good. Oh, and the hotel should have a shaded pool and golf. Sweet. We drink some pop, I grab a water and we wander around town looking for swim suits to go swimming in. no luck.

So we strike off in the direction of the hotel. I catch up to our stalwart leader Bryce and ask if he knows how to get where we are going. Of course I do, silly question. Now, anyone who has been on such an expedition knows that is not a stupid question at all. So I keep prodding till I get the exact directions – go to the end of the road and turn left. …oh, not very exact. So we walk, go left, keep walking. Past the herd of cows. Past the kids yelling ‘muzungu’. Usually they just say it under their breath, so if they are yelling it, you are off the beaten path. At the sight of the road ending, jp asks directions. Go back the way we came and turn left at that road, then keep going up and over the hill. …okay. About this time the guys take off their shirts and I roll up my sleeves and pant legs. Did I mention no sunscreen? The random passing boda bodas always ask if we want a ride. Nope. Everyone we pass stares at us. Keep walking, take a picture of a tree, keep walking, take a picture of the cute kid, keep walking.

Several miles down the road we find a golf course. We enter the building of the jinja club gratefully. We mention golf and instantly 9 caddies? and 3 bags of golfclubs appear. We just sat at the bar and drink beer and water till we cool. After a few minutes the caddies get bored and go back outside. Finally we start golfing at about noon. Remember the no sun screen? I admitted to the others that I don’t know how to play golf. It wasn’t a bad game actually. I didn’t hit into the trees or the sand or anything like that. I had to go to Africa to learn how to play golf. Lets just say the ground was rough; I never played and I knew it should be smoother than that. Granted, this is Africa, meaning the standards for manicuring the course are not the same as American standards. Not to mention the random termite holes. at hole 2 or 3, the caddie points out the source of the nile down in the valley. Sweet, finally found it. At 5 out of 9 holes, I start to actually see my burn so I stay in after our drink break. We spend another 3 hours there waiting for someone to pick us up since solomon’s meeting is going all day instead of the 1 hour we all figured on. We return to his house and start caring for our bright red burns. TIA, just TIA. (This Is Africa).