Bus Rides & Gulu

Bus rides in East Africa are always interesting. Between the sellers who come up to the bus practically pushing things into your hand and the interesting sites - you know you're in Africa. On one trip - my first bus ride - we passed a horrific three bus accident that left many people stranded. On another, a seller talked for 30 minutes straight about the merits of his herbal toothpaste, soap, and other items - in Swahili. From what I gathered with my limited Swahili, a lot of things had vitamins in them.

All of this pales in comparison to the epic bus ride to Gulu. Northern Uganda is recovering from significant civil unrest that orphaned many children and displaced many more. The place is rebuilding, though, and an economic boom may be in Gulu's future.

This story is fraught with drama and intrigue - why did the bus stop? (Clutch broke. No big deal.) What is in the sac next to the g-nuts (peanuts)? (That would be ants. Mmm... tasty. Apparently not great raw but yummy in stews.) Oh my... what was that sound? (Two live chickens. Yes, on the bus. Apparently being upside down keeps them reasonably calm.)

It has all the makings of an epic tale: Comedy - dozing off leads to jumping out of your skin when you hear SQUAWK and oh look, the mzungu is making faces at the baby.
Beautiful scenery - quaint huts line the road with neatly thatched roofs (although no signature thatch animals like in the UK's little Harry Potter town).

We finally arrived in Gulu and saw the JYRO wheelchair workshop. They are the only major wheelchair manufacturer in Northern Uganda and seem to have a good workshop. They are able to make pieces ahead of time which means that in five days, they can make 1, 2, or 20 wheelchairs. Not half bad.

Here are a few pictures from their production line.



And here is Zulfa (Fatuma's daughter) in our hotel room in Gulu. Pretty sweet, right?