This was a trip we had booked in 2019, to run in the 2020 Uganda Marathon. We were supposed to fly out in May, but in March, were obviously told it was postponed due to Covid.
Two years later than planned, here we go! We had quite a few hoops to jump through before leaving. Yellow Fever vaccine for all, rabies, typhoid, anything that can kill you really! We had to get PCR done for the kids. Vaccinated travellers were fine, but our flight was going via Kigali, Rwanda, and they wanted us to have a Lat Flow! Me and Char had one done. Also had to get anti malarials. They’re quite expensive, but better than getting the malaria!
Flew with Brussels Airline. Meh. Only good thing (for us) was that the plane broke about two hours from Rwanda, and they said we had to go straight to Entebbe, Uganda! Result!
Entebbe
We had booked a place called Gorilla Africa Guesthouse, as recommended by the company we are doing the marathon with. Very basic room, but friendly and accommodating staff. Kids loved it there, especially Stan, who made friends with everyone, guests, and workers, and left them with a smile on their faces.
Over the three days here, we did a couple of days out. First one was to Nakiwogo Ferry crossing port. Not to see that really, more to see Lake Victoria, but also to see the sights on the way. It was awesome. Totally different way of life. Chickens and goats roaming around, motorbikes carrying three people at a time, shops selling shoes and bananas, or chickens and bread. Everyone waved and said hello, no one was harassing us to buy from them, it was a lovely experience.
And then it rained. And rained. It is coming to the end of the rainy season, where it heavily rains for a bit, and then gets sunny again. But not today. We found an empty shop to hide in, under the corrugated roof. Half hour later, the guy in the shop next door saw us and invited us in. His shop sold drinks and potatoes. We bought a drink.
After this, we continued, as the rain had slowed. Finding somewhere to eat was difficult as it wasn’t always obvious if they sold food or were just having their packed lunch! We looked at a couple but didn’t know what they sold. It was like rows and rows of dilapidated beach huts, where they had things out the front, and inside was a table or two.
We ended up joining a family for lunch and ordered some rice and beef stew. Me and Stan had the beef and rice, Char and Amelia stuck with plain rice. Stan loved it! Ripping meat off a bone. Then the lady picked his meat out of the bowl, and pulled off some fatty bit, and then gave him back the beef. Imagine that in Pizza Express or summat!
Entebbe Zoo
The next day, we went to the Zoo. Or the Ugandan Wildlife and Education Centre. We wanted to do a ‘behind the scenes’ experience, but when we got there, the Visa machine was broken, and didn’t have enough schillings to pay. So, I asked the bloke if someone could take me to the ATM, and a dude turned up on a motorbike to take me. No helmets or anything, and off we went.
The zoo was ace. We had a guide called Geofrey, who took us round all the animals, into the animal enclosures, feeding them and that. The lions were ace. I felt his breath on my arm through the fence. Fed a rhino, giraffe, chimps, monkeys, and the highlight for ne was to stroke a shoebill stork! Man, they are ace!!
Then popped to the beach there, on Lake Victoria. We have seagulls who are shits and steal chips and that, but they have Maribou Storks! They are massive and well ugly. Funny though.
Masaka
Next day, we took a three-hour minibus ride to Masaka. The ‘marathon experience’ was now beginning. All organised and planned by them, so it was nice to be told where to be and when, even if it was on Ugandan time, meaning 12ish, instead of 12 on the dot.
Stopped at the equator for a bit, had some nice pics, and did some haggling in the shops. Dude wanted 30,000 schillings for a football top, we said 25,000, he said no, we said ok bye, he said ok 25,000. Weird that we were arguing over £1.20 or whatever!
Arrived at the hotel, which was luxury compared the lodge we had been staying in! Met a load of other people on the same adventure as us. Norwegian, German, USA, Spain, Hungarian, and a load of Brits. Everyone seemed nice, apart from a few who were a bit grumpy and not in the same spirit as everyone else! Weird.
Stan loved being around all these new people. He would just run off and chat to whoever, and they all loved him! Amelia was a bit shyer, but still enjoyed getting involved in things. All our meals were there, like a hot plate situation and you would go up and get what you need. Every day, there was always matoke. Matoke for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Matoke is banana, but a cooking type. Imagine a cooking apple, that you’d never eat off the tree – it was like that but didn’t taste of apple. Or banana really. It was more like a mash potato that was just a bit blander. They absolutely love it out there though! A staple food, national dish type stuff.
Over the next few days, we went out on various trips in smaller groups. We had picked who we wanted to assist and went to different places around Entebbe. The first we went to was a school/orphanage. It was a lovely day for us, but it seemed like a massive day for them! We were greeted by about fifty kids, and they put on a show, and did some singing, and spent time eating with them, and so so much playing. We then obviously waited for the hottest part of the day to start digging holes and moving earth, to get a slide and a roundabout put into holes, and then made-up cement to set it in. Lots of breaks to play throughout though. Stan and Amelia played along, and Amelia got to hold the babies that were there. Really lovely day.
Another visit was to one of the main sites that the charity has assisted – plastic recycling warehouse. This was a newish site, where they were still building parts of it. We did a round robin to help do different things, but my favourite bit was digging out a garden, and making a sustainable place to grow crops. It was bloody knackering, breaking rocks in the hot sun. I found a goat, which I picked up and had a pic with. He was cool.
The next day, we did an amazing parade through Masaka. It was part promotion for the marathon, and part litter pick through the roads. There was a vehicle with music and a microphone, which Stan kept jumping in and chatting to people on! It was a lovely atmosphere, with plenty of smiles. We did a few early morning runs around the area too, so was nice to be able to slow down and see things, rather than just panting through.
We visited the main recycling centre for plastics – Ecobrix. This place was amazing. It employed people, it took plastic off the street and from Lake Victoria, processed them, and made things using little pellets which were then moulded into things. Everything from plant pots, to earrings, to paving stones and even park benches! We helped make a path using the bricks, and also made some benches, which were like level 10 Ikea flat pack stuff! Amazing though, seeing ‘single-use plastic’ being turned into something that can be used again and again.
The marathon itself was horrendous! So hot, so tiring. The worst bit was it was two loops of 13.1 miles. The first half marathon I did a decent time, of 2 hours, which wasn’t bad! The second half took me 4 hours though, which is fairly long! The hills were horrid, with one being called ‘the beast’. The pictures do not do it justice. There were loads of locals doing it too, including a Prince of some sort. I think he beat me by a fair bit. There were people running in jeans, flip flops, and one guy in football boots! The ground was solid, so God knows how he got around. A lot of them did the 10km, which was wise. Charlotte and the kids did the 10km, which is bloody ace.
It was such a great day, and such a good end to 10 days of loveliness. The people we met along the way, the volunteers, the people who took care of everything, were all such great people. The kids saw a part of the world that not many kids would see, saw cultures and ways of life that would not be seen, and immersed themselves in it. They tried foods that you can’t get from KFC or McDonalds, played with kids from a deaf school, danced with people shaking their booties, and ran away from cows walking down the road.
It’s a lovely country, but one that has a different mindset to the LGBTQ+ community, that does not align with my views. A year after coming back, they passed a law that made it illegal, and persecuted many who can not now be themselves. I am grateful for the time I spent there with my family, but we will not be returning anytime soon. The work the charity does is amazing, and they have helped so many people in poverty, who have very little, and have improved the local area, and I’m happy that we left a tiny mark on that little part of a lovely country.
