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9/19/09: Uganda

You really have no idea how bad the roads are here. I’ve said it many times before, but it bears repeating. Today our minibus drove up and down bumpy mountainsides with reckless abandon, literally a foot away from sending us tumbling to ours deaths hundreds of feet below.

About three hours into our perilous ride – after passing herds of cattle in the roadway, children waving and some yelling at us to give them money, workers hand building a small stretch of paved roadway, semis filling our bus with dust – we came upon a gathering of happy people in colorful clothing. In the middle of the gathering was a woman in white. A veil covered her somewhat uncomfortable expression as our bus of tourists drove through her day.

There we were: in the middle of the Ugandan jungle, high above the low hanging clouds, miles from a town of any size; and a small village was celebrating a marriage with many of the same traditions that we have back in America. It’s amazing how different things are here, yet how similar they are at the same time.

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Picture of the Day: These kids, like many others, were so excited to get their picture taken. I didn’t find out until right afterwards that it was only because they wanted money from me. I didn’t give them any.