Jinja is Uganda’s third largest city, but after Kampala, felt really small. Which was kind of nice, particularly for running errands. In Kampala, we had struggled to do errands (other than the great thrift shopping), but here we easily found the post office (which had power enabling the electronic scales to weigh Embla’s package she wanted to send home), a couple of blocks down the street I found the Airtel service centre to re-register my sim card, and in the market I found a tailor who patched up and took in my pants for $1. Easy.

The first afternoon of our arrival in Jina I was ready to see Lake Victoria and the Nile, so we wandered down to the river. Only to be stopped and informed (by a very official looking sign) that we needed to pay 30 000 shillings to see the “source of the Nile”. That’s equivalent to over $10 cad, which is ridiculous. We soon bargained with the guard down to 10 000 shillings and made our way through the tourist hawkers to take the requisite photos. It was beautiful, although definitely not worth anymore than we had paid.

The next day I woke up early again, back to camping time. I love the mornings in Africa- particularly when coffee is unlimited, breakfast is free, and I have a good book on the go. Since my e-reader devastatingly died in Tanzania, my book consumption has been greatly reduced, as I search in hostels for paper books in English. That, and since my e-reader died, I have been traveling with people the whole time, so less solitary time to while away the day in a book. Plus internet is widely available in cheap 4g and free wifi. 

With rain holding off for the moment, Embla and I walked to a bike rental place and rented city bikes for $10 for the day. We probably should have gotten mountain bikes in hindsight, but they were $30. It was the first time I had been on a bike since Spain I think. I was pretty excited. We rode all over town, then about 6km outside the city to a hostel I wanted to check out, right on the Nile. Despite my chain falling off and Embla ripping her pants, we managed to make it just in time for a 2 hour downpour, so settled in with our books and lunch. Unsurprisingly, this made the ride home a lot harder with the dirt roads, but we managed. And eventually, the sun came back out.

Embla was leaving the next day, continuing into Kenya and Tanzania, and I was moving to the hostel with great views to relax for a bit, so we splurged on a bottle of South African red and had a farewell dinner. Embla, see you back in Iceland or Vancouver or somewhere in between!

I set up my tent on a lovely grassy, if rather sloped, field at Nile River Camp, only to realize I had forgot my backup charger, charger and adapter. I decided to walk into town to get some exercise and save the moto fare, only to be thwarted by downpours. Twice. I huddled under the roof of an unfinished house and then a church with some locals and it brought me back to Asia. Eventually I made it though, collected my chargers, and warmed up with African milk tea and lunch before wisely getting a moto back. 

The next few days I spent reading and planning my onward journey. Walks along the main road to a chorus of children chanting the ubiquitious “mzungu mzungu” (white person) to get my attention and wave with huge grins on their faces. It gets tiring but then I realize I can make their day with a wave and I get over it, get over myself.