Time Away

So many thoughts and impressions as we travelled! Here is our shared writing expressing some of it! Hope you enjoy.

Abundant Poverty

Simplicity abounds amongst abundant poverty,

Where fairness is elusive between the termite mounds.

Brother competes with brother in a forlorn attempt

To break the habit of idleness.

A fast world dips into this slow existence,

Takes rather than gives and leaves its trace in envy.

Like trees around an unfulfilled honeypot,

Strangers come to play “Muzungo” money will

Pave the way to the promised land

But dirt tracks lead to the other side of life,

A flawed beauty hung in the water’s stillness,

Grasping smiles and beseeching eyes call you back,

Ancient stories etched in the volcanic rock.

Hard unyielding tracts calling on softened hearts,

Helpless in the maelstrom,

Oblivion the only release

As you

Sail

Away.

The words give part of the story, the other side is we relaxed on the shores of the beautiful Lake Bunyonyi, ate delicious food (crepes filled with pineapple, passion fruit and bananas) even a glass of red wine! When sober we looked as though we were drunk as we tried to steer a dugout canoe, much to the amusement of the locals.

From the lake we went back to Kabale, stayed a couple of days at the backpackers. It is very much a tourist town, everything with chips for the travellers. After a six hour bus journey that started an hour late because of a row over seats we arrived back in Masaka. The journey was enlivened as we watched police bribery,  stops at numerous small roadside markets where passengers were besieged and beseeched to buy roast goat on a stick etc.