Returned to the room to gather my possessions to load on the bus. Put my suitcase in the hall for someone to carry down to the bus. Was in the bathroom making a final pit stop when I thought I heard someone in the room. Called out several times with no response. Came out of the bathroom to find my backpack and purse gone -- and the door locked. It can only be unlocked with a key so fortunately the hotel staff person who had thought he was being helpful and removed my belongings as a part of the "service" was still nearby as I knocked and yelled to be let out. Just a little unnerving. I was the last onto the bus but with all possessions intact.
We started off at 7:10, already almost half an hour behind schedule. We picked up Sarah at the GUW office since she was riding with us to Mbale, her hometown, where she needed to get her kids ready for the new term at school. The road between Tororo and Mbale was largely dreadful so the going was very slow. Arrived in Mbale about 8:50. We did take an unnecessary, but fun, stop at a fabric store recommended by Sarah where several of us made purchases. We then dropped Sarah off at her home and met three of her four children. She is a widow with two sets of twins -- one identical, one fraternal. Wonder what the odds are on that. Here she is with the children who were home, obviously wonderful kids.
A little after 1 p.m. the bus arrived in Soroti which according to our guide Sam is the 2nd largest town in Uganda. (I'd been told on a previous trip that there is only one city, Kampala; every other urban entity no matter what its size is a town.) We had lunch at a nice restaurant at a sort of motel in town. Back on the road at 2:20. This was a really good road which actually continued much of the way to Murchison Falls National Park, our destination.
Unfortunately, the good road did not protect us against a flat tire about 4 p.m. Men came out of the woodwork (actually the nearby buildings) to provide assistance, and earn a little cash. One even had his own dirty orange jumpsuit which he pulled on as he crossed the road to offer assistance. They were extremely efficient and got the tire changed in only about 20 minutes. We later learned of Sam's suspicions that these "helpers" were in collusion with the police who had done a routine traffic stop less than a mile back. A nail was found in the tire, possibly purposely thrown down as we left that stopping point.
The travelers got off the bus and stood around, I'm sure being a source of amusement for the locals.
We had to make an unexpected, and rather long, stop in Lira to get the tire repaired. So our journey was further delayed.
We finally reached the gate of the park at 7:30 p.m. Sam had called ahead to let them know we were late, but when we reached the gate, we were refused admittance because it was after sunset and there is no travel in the park after dark. It took half an hour to get that resolved and gain admittance and then almost two hours more to drive from the gate to the lodge. The roads are bad, and the way is slow. . . .
So reached the lodge and our rooms a bit after 10 p.m. -- 15 hours on the road! We were exhausted. Thank goodness we've moved into luxury. The rooms and bathrooms (most significantly) are extremely nice.
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