Kampala to Jinja - Day 300

Date: June 14th, 2010
Distance: 86km
Country: Uganda

I rode out of town today to Jinja. This is the "Source of the Nile". There are supposed to be a couple of hostels out there that offer white water rafting. The thing that really sealed the deal was the offer of mountain biking.

The road out was nice, but the drivers here are awful. I think they are they worst of any country I have been to. When a car decides to make a change, say overtake another car or make a turn, the driver seems to expect everyone else will get out of the way. Big trucks roaring by only inches away isn't fun. Even worse is when a car (most likely a mini-bus) hops into your lane and starts honking for you to get out of your lane. My middle finger was getting as much of a workout as my legs.

To get to Jinja you have to pass over the Owen Falls Dam on the Victoria Nile. I took a picture of me on the dam. It is quite pretty. When I got to the far side the army officer stationed there wanted me to delete the pictures. Apparently they were worried that insurgents (he claimed from Somalia) would use the pictures to attack the dam. I read too much Schneier to think that this is a worthwhile tactic. Plus, even if such an attack where somehow feasible (not an easy task) getting a picture wouldn't be the hard part. In fact not 500 meters from the dam is a billboard with a picture of the dam. Another instance of authority trumping logic.

It took me a bit to find the hostel. They didn't have beds left, but I could camp outside, which was fine by me. I ended up talking with their mountain biking guide Nawsh. I wasn't sure about going on the trip though. It sounded mostly over roads paved and unpaved. Frankly I can do that on my own. I was hoping for a little bit more wilderness/off-road action. Oh well.

They hostel had a pool table out back and for some reason I had a run of 7 or 8 games. I really didn't think I was even playing that well. Things just seemed to be working out well for me. Weird since I can't remember the last time I played. I also met and Aussie guy and his girlfriend while playing. I guess they have been traveling around east Africa for a couple of months. More good stories about travel from them.

-Dravis