Hey Muzungu!

While working on this update, I am once again reminded of how grateful I am to have the opportunity to take such trips.

But let's start from day 1:

The flight to Addis Ababa already brought a joyful surprise. Less than 1/3 of the airplane was filled, so I could spread out over the entire row for the 7-hour flight.

The flight time passed like sleeping, even the transfer and the onward flight to Uganda went quickly.

In Uganda, however, rain was waiting for me, so the roads were illuminated in a muddy red color due to the washed up soil.

Arriving at the guesthouse, I got to know Thijs and the story of the guesthouse. More or less by chance, Thijs met the previous owner of the hostel, who was looking to sell it. Without much ado, Thijs and Anne decided to leave the Netherlands behind and emigrate to Uganda with all their belongings.

After a quick refreshment, I explored the area around the guesthouse. For the first time, all alone, through the wet and muddy streets of Africa. The guesthouse is located just outside Kampala, but the traffic on the main road is enormous. The streets are dominated by Boda Bodas and Matatus, constantly honking their horns in search of new customers. Boda Bodas are taxi motorcycles, thousands of which are on the road. Matatus are small white minibusses that can be recognized by the driver's calls for their next destination. The smog and the smell of different fuels are enormous and sometimes really borderline, especially when walking along the road for a while.

All the dust and smog settle on the skin and lips, which can literally be tasted. It doesn't surprise me that no one smokes in Uganda, because it is also forbidden.

In the evening, I ended the day with a few beers with Charlie and Roel, the only other guests. Roel is doing a semester abroad in Uganda, Charlie is in search of true love. And the search is not figuratively meant. Charlie met a Ugandan woman on the internet some time ago and has now come to Africa to meet her. However, after giving her money for the dentist, she no longer contacts him. Strange. I'll spare you the long version of the story, it's enough to watch an episode of 'Mitten im Leben'.

In the morning, I leave Kampala to get to my next destination, Fort Portal. I will return to the guesthouse in Kampala at the end of my trip.
The city of Fort Portal and its surroundings are known for the 'Crater Lakes', small lakes that are up to 150 meters deep.

Emma is my driver and quickly exclaims while driving onto the road, 'Those Matatus drive careless,' while he himself just ran a red light. Funny Africa.

Arriving in Fort Portal, I rented a Boda Boda to ride over the red tracks of the country to the Crater Lakes. The view at the spots where we stopped was incredible.
The hilly surroundings are soaked in a lush and fruity green. Tea and banana plantations alternate with rainforest and large meadows.
We drove around for almost 4 hours and finished this trip with a view over the entire Fort Portal. 'Top of the World' is the viewpoint on the mountain about 1500 meters high, from which you can admire some of the Crater Lakes and the rest of the scenery.
We sat there for half an hour, chatting and simply enjoying the moment.

During this drive, I was constantly looked at by big children's eyes, waved at, and asked 'Hey Muzungu! How are you?' The broad children's smile you receive when you wave back and respond is priceless. In fact, several children even felt my skin at one of the stops to see if it feels different from theirs.

Muzungu means 'traveler', which children in the village mainly use for white people.

There is great hustle and bustle on the streets. Everyone has something to do, is working, selling goods, driving, or pushing their overloaded bicycles or motorcycles with far too many bananas around.

Back at the camp, I had some rice with vegetables for dinner. There I got to know two couples who are traveling through Africa for 1 year and Uganda for 4 weeks respectively.

It is the end of the low season or the beginning of the high season, so there are only a few tourists besides me.

In addition to the two couples, there were a large number of monkeys living in this camp, who happily ran around among us and jumped through the trees.

Tomorrow, I will continue to Queen Elizabeth National Park, where I hope to see some of the Big Five.

That's it so far.