Culture shock

We leave the Gorilla Mist Camp and set off for Arcadia Lodge at Lake Bunyoni. We have time, so we watch monkeys along the way. We see the tea farmers standing on the extremely steep slopes and plucking tea leaves by hand. Others are tending their fields, which now reach all the way up to the mountaintop. They only have heavy hoes, like the ones you see in movies. The women among them all have their babies strapped to their backs. 'Sometimes they fall off the mountain while doing that,' says Sam. We see many churches, the only buildings that look new and well-maintained. Next to them, children in school uniforms sit under a tree. There are so many children that they don't fit in the school. When it rains, school is canceled for the children. The question of why the neighboring church doesn't open its doors so that the future of the country can learn remains unanswered. Sometimes people die here because there are no doctors or hospitals without medicine. We leave the tea region behind and enter the area of stone breakers. Small piles of stones are stacked by the roadside. The people here go to the stone quarry right by the road. Most of them are barefoot. What dynamite or heavy machinery would do at home is done here by hand. They use a hoe to break off large pieces of stone. Then they sit on the ground and break the large pieces into smaller ones with a hammer. Most of them no longer have fingernails because they fall off after being hit a few times. I also see women doing this work. It's hard for me to look at. The huts are poor and the things are torn.

At the end of the road, we reach Arcadia Lodge. In front of the lodge is a BMW X6. The lively manager greets us with a warm and loud 'Good day'. A generously sized entrance hall, almost pompously so, opens up before us. There is a huge flatscreen hanging at the bar. We step onto the terrace and are astounded. There are windows here. The last time we saw windows was on the day of arrival, after that there were only mosquito nets. An accurately manicured lawn with flower islands winds its way down the hill on which this property is built. At the bottom is Lake Bunyoni with many different-sized islands, one of which is floating. In the background is the panorama of the mountains towards the Congo. 'Sam, is this place the Mafia?' we ask. I can't believe it and look down at my hiking shoes, covered in the entire caked-on dirt from the gorilla trek. I feel out of place. 'May I have your shoes cleaned?' I am kindly addressed from the side. 'Do you have wifi here?' I ask hopefully and am delighted by the response. Finally, I can continue writing and leave a sign of life at home.

We are taken to our cottage. The door opens to a bungalow of about 40 square meters. There is an open-plan living-bedroom. Everything is new and furnished with high-quality furniture. A king-size bed with real soft bedding stands raised in the room. Glass windows overlooking the lake are everywhere. A radiator for heating. Provides bright light. The bathroom is tiled like a good European hotel, with a proper shower and 24-hour hot water without having to pre-arrange it! I have to sit down.

I can only advise anyone reading this and wanting to travel to Uganda to stay at Arcadia Lodge. I will never forget the feeling of standing under a hot shower after days and seeing my own face in the mirror because there is proper light.