Buhoma to Kisoro - Day 311

Date: June 25th, 2010
Distance: 64km
Country: Uganda
Song of the Day: Chills - Ben Lee

I met up with Evelyn in the morning and we went to the UWA office. I guess she works with many of the people there, so she knew who to talk to. At first everyone was a bit dubious about my traveling through the park on a bike. They were worried that some of the sections might be too steep. I wasn't that worried. I figured if the worst came to it I could just take the bike and bags up in stages. It would take a while, but I would get there. Finally they said I could do it but I needed an escort. I didn't really want an escort as he wouldn't have a bike. They insisted though. I also had to pay almost $50 for it. Yesh. It was the route I wanted to take though. Plus, I hate going back over routes I have already passed. So I decided to go for it.

I said goodbye to Evelyn and set off with my escort. The first 9km weren't all that bad. I wasn't going very fast. I did ride for most of it. In the easy sections I would get ahead of the escort, but he would catch up in the hard parts. It would have been much faster without the panniers. They kept catching on rocks and branches. It didn't help much that I couldn't really lift with my left wrist. It was feeling better, but not that good.

We passed a rickety bridge over a river and from there on out things got much worse. The next 4km was hell on earth. It wasn't the steep terrain that was so bad, it was the narrow trail. I couldn't push the bike with all the bags on it because they kept getting stuck on everything. Often the trail was so deeply rutted it was like a sharp grove in the ground. I spent a while pushing just the bike. Then bringing the panniers. Then getting the bike again. Eventually my escort and two locals who were passing took pity on me and carried the panniers while I pushed the bike. It wasn't easy, but I did it. I made it through Bwindi Impenetrable Park (mostly) on a bicycle.

That wasn't the end of it though. I had assumed the town on the other side of the park, Nkuringo, would have been right there. Not so, it was 10km further down the dirt road. A steep rocky road. I think I pushed the bike at least 8km of that. Some parts were so steep and the road was so gravelly that I was having a hard time just pushing the bike up it. Not much fun at all.

Finally I got to Nkuringo an took a break for lunch. I had the worst posho and sauce to date. They didn't even have a Coke. I had to settle for a Mirinda "Fruity", which tastes like grape and vomit. Needless to say I was kind of happy to be leaving Nkuringo.

Outside of town, things didn't actually get any better. There was still one more big hill to go. Once I finally pushed my bike to the top I was rewarded with one of the best views of the trip. I could see down of the mountains I had been climbing into the valleys below. More fields terraced onto any conceivable surface. I could see both Congo (DRC) and Rwanda from that vantage. In the background, hardly discernible against the sky loomed three giant mountains. Their shape belied their nature as volcanoes. I am not sure if that made all the work worth it, but it was quite a view.

The road down wasn't that much more pleasant. Yes, I was going downhill which is easier. Over the rocky roads I couldn't really build up any speed. I really didn't want to crash again. Plus the children here are worse than the ones going into the park. Their vocabulary is apparently better. They were now chasing me and yelling such gems as the confusing "Give me my pen" or the far to personal "Do you have a penis?" Ah, youth.

It did get dark before I got to Kisoro. Again, I don't like riding at night, but you do what you have to. When I got there I found some food and a place to stay. I also saw a internet cafe and I wanted to check e-mail real quick. They didn't know how to get my laptop onto their network. I had to work out how their network was setup myself. I guess this impressed them because after I was finished checking e-mail they asked me to show them how to configure networks. It was kinda fun to help use my IT skills again. I also ended up showing them how to create a blog (for free!) which they were amazed with.

-Dravis