Back to Africa: Road trip from the airport to Kitgum

I was extremely excited to be going to Uganda as it would be my first time in East Africa. It also marked my return to Africa after roughly three months away and overall it would be my third stint in the continent. After a few leisure months in Spain and a trip back to America to see my family and attend my oldest sister’s wedding, I was ready to get back to work!

The international airport in Uganda is located in Entebbe, some kilometers south of the capital Kampala. We were scheduled to be picked up by representatives from the hospital but there was seemingly no one looking for us when we arrived. I was initially shocked by the ‘lack of hustle’ from the taxi drivers. I think one guy asked if I needed a taxi and when I politely declined that was the end of it. Compared to the rabid pursuit of tourists in Jamaica and Nigeria, this was a welcome change. It was 7:30 AM when I arrived and the cool morning air had yet to give way to the heat from the sun so the temperature was perfect and just about the opposite of the winter I had been experiencing. Our driver and another administrator from the hospital showed up a half hour late and explained they had gotten a flat tire in the morning and apologized profusely. We then managed to get disoriented in the tiny parking lot, making me wary of the 8 hour journey ahead. If the guys we were relying on to navigate us across the country couldn’t make it out of the parking lot, the journey might be more than 8 hours. It made me smile though as the all too familiar feeling of chaos, uncertainty and reliance on local people washed over me. This feeling was further heightened when our driver attempted to put his parking validation ticket in the machine the wrong way, accused it of being broken and yelled for an attendant. When an attendant came over we soon realized that the woman was not an attendant, rather she was simply loitering by the machines and was excited when we called to her, resulting in a confusing, though humorous moment, for all parties.  In the end I suggested that the driver follow the photo shown on the machine, which indicated which direction to put the ticket in. After that, we were on our way to Kampala.

In Kampala we were met with the early morning traffic jams and I couldn’t help but smile to be back in the thick of things. Bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks and buses weaved in and out of traffic. Touts and hawkers attempted to sell waters, snacks and newspapers as we made our way to the center of town. There we exchanged money, bought SIM cards and repaired the punctured tire. After about two hours, we were on our way.

The journey to Kitgum was long with the road deteriorating along the way. For the first few hours it was a very nice two lane highway and then slowly the road thinned due to erosion on both sides. It was common for us to have one tire on the dirt shoulder and another on the road, waiting for a time when the road’s drop off was not so steep to go back on the road. I could see why it was important for us to repair the punctured tire! The road eventually became strewn with potholes and then finally, turned to dirt. We had to come to a screeching halt when a cow suddenly crossed the road. And again when a herd of goats passed. And chickens. And pigs. And turkeys. And baboons. Did I mention I was on a road trip in Africa?!

Around lunch time we stopped at the Ugandan version of a trucker’s stop. As soon as we stopped, at least a dozen people with food balanced on their heads came over with hopes of making a sale. Plantain, banana, kebabs of beef, omlette like egg concoctions, and beverages were pushed through the window and into my face.  My traveling companions asked what I would like to eat and I told them whatever they would recommend. We ended up getting pineapple, roasted ripe banana, a few kebabs of beef and some roasted cassava. I was absolutely delighted to get a taste of the “real” Ugandan food and I was happy they didn’t treat us like Westerners that needed food to be presented in an extremely sanitized environment. The meat tasted like REAL meat (not this watered down factory farmed bologna), the pineapple was sliced to perfection (and sweet), the price was affordable and most importantly, my counterparts were proud to present their local cuisine and I was happy to consume. Although the meat was prepared in a way that would make a Western food inspector have a heart attack, my counterparts made sure we bought them straight off the fire as opposed to the ones being carried by touts. 

 One of the highlights of the trip (aside from the baboons) was crossing over the Nile. My counterparts were making a big deal about it and woke me up from my slumber before we reached. I wasn’t prepared to be impressed and I figured since it was the dry season the water level would be low. But much to my surprise, I was a bit in awe when we crossed over the river. I couldn’t help but let my imagination run wild and imagined the river full of crocodiles and hippos, probably present in huge numbers just out of my sight. My imagination was aided by the fact that several troops of monkeys were present on the side of the road after we passed over the river. If a simple road trip was turning out to be a poor man’s safari, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to actually go on a real one.

We reached Gulu, one of the largest cities in the north and our turn off point for Kitgum. My driver informed me that it would be at least 2-3 more hours and the road would be unpaved the rest of the way. We bought some whole sale rice, loaded up and were on our way. The road was actually not that bad though I’m sure its a disaster in the wet season. It was relatively level and lacked the potholes that I am accustomed to on unpaved roads. The road was quite busy with people both walking and riding bicycles. Occasionally a motorcycle would pass and once and a while, a car. When a car passed we would frantically roll up our windows to avoid the dust. I felt bad for all the people that were left in the wake of our own dust trail; they seemingly disappeared behind us. Most people looked to be coming back from farm, many women had stacks of firewood on their heads or jerry cans filled with water.

My counterparts began to casually tell stories of the road; memories of war time and unrest. They noted that it was once extremely dangerous to travel on the road at night and they would frequently find dead bodies of both adults and children when the sun rose. We drove by a massive complex that was for rehabilitation and education of child soldiers. We passed a primary school and one of my counterparts said “This is where I went to school. The rebels killed my teacher, chopped him up, cooked him and fed him to the children”. Whoa. How do you even respond to something like that? As we traveled the road and more stories were told, I began to really feel the magnitude of the conflict that once existed here and the scars that still remain. I felt awkward asking my counterparts about their family after one of them answered that a few of his brothers were killed and the other stating that some had “disappeared”. I literally was speechless and try as I might, imagining what these people have been through was simply impossible.

We reached the hospital, located 3km outside of the center of Kitgum. I was exhausted, covered in dust, and ready to sleep. It had been a long day both physically and emotionally and I had a lot to think about as I drifted off to sleep, serenaded by the cacophony of insects and frogs.