On 29.12. we said goodbye to our children and grandchildren in Kampala and blessed them for their trip to the USA.
On the morning of New Year’s Eve we start towards Northern Uganda. It is a long and exhausting journey and we are not yet acclimatized again. So we decide to spend the night in Karuma. We know the house and the good food and look forward to our New Year’s Eve 2022.
We take our time and reach our quarters in the late afternoon. Quickly the things are in the room and we sit down for a game in the restaurant. Then it rises pungent in our noses, the smell of burnt plastic. Petra reacts allergically very quickly. Our room is also hard to enter. We quickly load our car and leave the village.
And now?
There are not many good guesthouses with secure parking on the way. Gulu, the next big city is still far away and we can hardly reach it before dark. It is not a good idea for whites to travel in the dark in northern Uganda. In addition, there are the road conditions with deep holes, no street lighting or guide posts, many unlit vehicles, animals on the road…
We start towards Gulu and keep our eyes open, but we find no other quarters on the way. It dawns and I turn on the headlights. Almost every vehicle approaching me flashes, because here you only switch on the light when it’s dark. I want to be seen and continue driving with light. When we reach Gulu, it is dark. The stress level increases. Complete attention is required In a roundabout I am overtaken on the right by a boda (motorcycle). The traffic is rolling well.
The driver suddenly crosses my lane and stops because he can’t get any further.
At the last moment, I hit the brakes.
In the back of the boda sits a young mother with a baby, felt like she was sitting on our hood at this moment. That was close. Thank God!
I probably look horrified into the eyes of the young woman. She laughs! Then the boda continues.
Now continue through the bustle of the unlit main street of Gulu. At the same time the eyes open for a hotel… There! Too late, we’re over. We turn around and reach around 19:00 a simple but clean hotel. Slowly, the stress level decreases.
We ask for dinner. The cook is sick and the kitchen is closed. “What would they have wanted?” We quickly answer that and French fries would be enough. A young woman takes pity. The manager gives her money and she goes into town to buy potatoes. Finally, we enjoy our New Year’s Eve dinner at 21:30 in our small room.
Was für ein spannender letzter Tag im Jahr 2022. Wir erinnern uns. 2014 saßen wir Silvester im Flugzeug auf dem Rückflug von unserer ersten Uganda-Reise.
Am Neujahrstag kaufen wir in Gulu alle frischen Sachen auf dem Markt, die wir für die erste Woche in Otacpab brauchen. Um 15:00Uhr erreichen wir unsere Hütte in Otacpab.
