From Kampala to Jinja and beyond, a worthwhile adventure

We set off at 9 am through Namugongo - Ssonde road and joined the Kampala-Jinja highway for the journey ahead. But as it turns out, the trip was a personal lesson in letting go of control, which I know I'll never be able to do.

Bus Pulse

Accustomed to my boda rides that never go beyond Kampala, and no matter how fast they go I still feel in control and at one with the motorcycle and rider, this was a different experience. Over 18 years, I have not sat in a bus for any journey.

Jinja Java House Pulse

No matter where I sit, the upper or lower deck of the cabin, there was a feeling of flying into any incoming traffic at any moment. Memories of all the road accident news from the past few months ran inside my head, keeping me horrible company.

Jinja bridge Pulse

Each time the bus hit a bump or pothole or made those corner drifts, I adjusted my body to will the bus back into a steady drive (I actually believed that it worked that way).

Quad biking Pulse

The Jinja bridge came into view like a scene from a movie, La Bamba played from the speaker and my neighbour had a scarf tied around her head under her chin. The panic receded, replaced with the excitement of riding quad bikes.

Quad biking Pulse

The test run for the ride was easy and when we hit the village circuit, control was handed back to me. It was a dusty ride, bumpy and everything was so beautifully green. We reached the banks of River Nile and took a break, and everything was so green I would have thought my eyes had turned green...if it was not for the blue sky and colorful helmets.

Quad biking Pulse

After the quad biking, I was in a daze of adrenaline as we headed back to the bus to set off for a luncheon at a Haven that sits near mild rapids. The lunch cottages supplemented the meal with a view of the rapids in front of the table.

I wanted it to feel otherworldly, I wanted to feel ecstatic in this moment, but it did not and I did not. It was painfully normal, underwhelming and lonely.

I could not wait to leave.

Lessons on the Nile river

There was a dull sense of going through the motions that numbed the panic of the bus ride around Jinja, the sun set taking us farther East to the Source of the Nile speedboat ride. The Nile apparently springs from down below the earth, like many tomorrows to come. I felt a little bit special for witnessing this.

Haven Pulse

Being the closest I have ever been to such a large water body did something to my thoughts, I was unbalanced and when we got off the speedboat to get on the boat cruise, my arm hurt from how hard I was gripping the rail.

It was nightfall by the time we started to break for the horizon decorated by numerous lights as darkness set in. When headed into the unknown, at which point do we become the unknown too? When do we become an unrecognisable light from the distance?

Source of the Nile Pulse

There were lovers in the trees, and I saw a shape of a man kissing a woman in the tree branches and leaves. On the opposite side, a sign of a church cross got clearer when we started to make a turn. I was submerged in my fears out here, the music doing little to entice me, the food was eaten mostly unconsciously.

Jinja Pulse

What is the worst that could happen if I fell in? I got the feeling that I would absolutely learn to swim in an instant, I would let go and drift. I'm sure I wouldn't panic. I would recall those lovers from the trees and they would comfort me. I would comb through my memories to when I had a prayer that was answered and it would save me.

We started to head back, I stood in the back looking at the boat engines. The boat's path covered up as the water healed itself where we cruised through it, and I knew then that whatever we do or accomplish, time would cover it and heal itself of our influence.

Jinja Pulse

It is a cliché but it is true: it is the meeting of people that makes everything worthwhile. Yelling at a friend who was trying to overtake me during the quad bike ride, or trash-talking someone I passed, being comforted when the bus panic seized me, the weird conversations that floated in my ears...it was all worthwhile.