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17 June 2001

The big event this weekend was the South African Women's Association Dance/Fund Raiser at the Sheraton Hotel on Saturday night. Imagine something between prom and a wedding reception, with music from the late 70's and early 80's, and you've got the picture. I was impressed by how elegantly the ladies were dressed. A few of the men wore tuxedo-style bow ties. Maybe we were a bit shabby by comparison, but I would have felt just plain silly in a satin evening gown and tux. Besides, I forgot to throw those items in my suitcase on my way to Uganda. The money went to a charitable cause, which is nice, but the evening was caught in a time warp c. 1979, right down the complimentary pack of cigarettes on the table. We escaped after dinner with Askan's francophone colleagues to the pub on the other side of the hotel. By the time we returned, the party had digressed into the usual bit of drunken antics.

On Sundays The New Vision has a section featuring local travel destinations and other, more far-flung attractions for tourism. This Sunday there was an article on Mpanga Forest , located about 30 km West of Kampala in the Mpigi District. The article described the forest as a nature preserve and conservation project funded by the European Union, with hiking trails along which you can observe the tropical flora and fauna. Sounded great, so off we drove, escaping Kampala's sprawl via the dusty and potholed, two-and-a-half laned main road. It's a nice drive, passing through roadside villages with their local products on display, plots of matoke (plantain), and papyrus laden swamps. It must have rained earlier, because the air had the earthy, organic smell of a hothouse botanical garden. Much nicer than the exhaust fumes of the city.

The entrance was easy to find. Carefully lettered signs proclaiming "Ecotourism" pointed the way. At the trailhead were several cars, and people sitting on grass-roof covered picnic tables eating lunch. We paid the sh3000 entrance per person and planned to take the 'Butterfly' to the 'Hornbill' trail, returning on the 'Baseline' trail. I asked the guide if they ever lose anyone in the forest. "Oh no," he answered, adding "and if they do, they usually find their way back." So with that bit of information we set off, camera and binoculars in hand.

The trails were actually well marked, although a bit overgrown in places. One area was blocked by huge tree trunks that we had to scramble over, and a small stream had to be crossed via a rolling log. We didn't see much fauna beyond the 8-legged variety on this trip, probably our fault for starting so late in the day. Along with the squawking of birds we could hear the sound of young boys joking - as they chopped down trees. Hope that's not a bad omen for the future of the "Ecotourism" in Uganda. At one spot Askan pointed out to me a mysterious foam stretching across the path. A couple of paces down the trail I remembered an acquantance had mentioned that snakes leave a tell-tale trail of foam where they've been. Ugh.

My camera's working again, advice from Canon did the trick. Thirty lashes to me for being so pessimistic last week about technical support.