From Fort Portal to Kampala, Uganda
July 24, 2024
In the gray gloom of early morning there was plenty of activity at the bus station. These seen-better-days buses carry not only passengers but goods, parcels, documents and everything else imaginable. Like elsewhere, the station has a security guard who opens and shuts the gate officiously.
There is a reward for coming here early and waiting more than a couple of hours for the bus to come in from Kasese. The employee I had been chatting with, leapt onto the bus when it arrived and my bottle of water planted in the first seat ensured it was mine before I could battle my way in. I have a seat with a view! We left only a little late and rolled through the villages and towns.
The road is surprisingly good, barring a few bad stretches. At first there are slopes of tea bushes and then I see farms and small fields of sugarcane and bananas. There are banana trees by the roadside when we pass through Kibale National Park. I have no idea if these were wild or cultivated. I’d hoped to see some chimpanzees that this park is famous for but see none. They’re probably snoozing, smart creatures.
Some long open-sided sheds are markets with clearly marked kiosks. A sign for Hass Avocado farms flashes past. Oh, so this is where they are picked and shipped! It is a name I know well; a lot of the avocados in the supermarkets in the US are Hass.
At some of the larger towns there is a row of eateries. Vendors rush up to the windows offering barbecued chicken; it seems every conceivable part of the chicken is grilled on skewers. The liver and gizzards seem the most popular. There are also chapatis, sodas and packets of biscuits on offer in the few minutes that we stop. But I see no roasted corn, I have a weakness for those and can never pass one up.
ITCHY FEET TRAVELS 