Continued....

The rooms were spread out half in the surrounding jungle then opening out to a big clearing which was filled with monkeys at all times of day, who were more than happy to entertain the guests. As we settled into the sofas over looking the Nile we decided we could be quite happy here for a week or two... That is until we started talking to other travellers who told us tales of the beautiful Sesse Islands in Lake Victoria.
Over 70,000sq km Lake Victoria is big, very big, and in the middle of it all there are a group of islands known as the Sesse Islands. The travellers we were talking to had just got back from one of the biggest islands and had stayed in the port of Kalangala. A cute little village with lots of hotels and restaurants on the beach. A few minutes after they started telling us about this place we were sold, it was simply a matter of figuring out how to get there.
We had one day until we were scheduled to go white water rafting on the Nile, realizing we might need a bit more time we decided to push back rafting a day (more about this later) and head off to the islands for the night. Having just endured a very long bus journey the boys we were travelling with had decided to stay in Jinga and 'pass on this adventure' claiming they thought we were crazy to travel 5 or so hours to get somewhere only to leave the next day. Well as far as i am concerned the journey is half the fun! So myself and fours other girls set out the next morning at 6am.
We took a motor bike to the bus station, a Dalla Dalla to the city then another bus to Entebbe, missed our stop, so a taxi back to where we needed to be to catch our next bus, then motorbikes again down to the port where the boats left from. 3 hours in and it was just a case of catching a boat to the islands (which we were told was a 3 hour sail) and we were feeling pretty pleased with our progress so far.
The word 'port' is used very loosely in Africa. We were at the end of a dirt road and where it met the lakes edge there were about 15 wooden Dhow style boats with engines attached to them. Bobbing up and down in the filthy water as they were loading them with everything you can imagine, people, livestock, beer, bananas, televisions, you name it. Now it was just a case of hiring a boat to take the 5 of us to Kalangala, easier said then done. It turned out no-one was willing to hire their boat out to us as they could make a lot more money filling the boat to the point of sinking and going to other closer islands. However they assured us we were in luck as there was a boat going to Kalangala, but not for another three hours!. After the three hour sail this would leave us arriving at night time (a big no anywhere in Africa) and only having the following morning before having to head back. Not good. We asked if there were any other options and they said there was another island called Banda and if we went there we could get a boat from there to Kalangala. The boat to Banda left in 20 mins and it meant that we would get to kalangala before dark. We had a group meeting (away from the touts) and tried to figure out what to do. Having had experience in the past with being given the wrong information i was worried that we wouldn't be able to get from banda to Kalangala. It is very hard out here as most people are genuinely trying to help you ( while making some money for their friend who owns the boat) but they are so keen to tell you what you want to hear sometimes that you get the wrong information. We were half and half on what to do, cut our loses and go to Kalangala late or risk that there would be a way to the island from Banda. I went to ask one of the guys a question about the boats and he heard the word Kalangala and the next thing i know i have been picked up thrown over his shoulder and he is wading out into the water with me, naturally i tried to get down claiming i can walk by myself thankyou ,but he muttered something about how i will get diseases if i go in the water (bilharzia is very common here)and i gave up my fight. 'what about you' i ask him 'it's ok, i am paid to carry people to the boats' before i have time to digest the fact that people (like me) pay him to put his body in disease filled water so they don't have to i was thrown into a boat and he collected his 15 cents for the trouble!
I turned around expecting the girls to be thrown in behind me, then realized i was alone. I could see them on the beach arguing with the men as to why someone had just kidnapped me. Afraid to go back in the water for the diseases and not wanting to be alone i yelled at them to come join me in the boat.
20 minutes later we were on our way, but to where...... I motioned to the captain while pointing at the boat 'kalangala?' he simply nodded his head, not quite satisfied i asked the two guys sitting next to me if this boat went to kalangala, simultaneously one said yes the other said no. Hummmmm, don't panic we still had 3 hours to go, so i put my worries to the back of my mind and decided to enjoy the lake (it was beautiful) and the boat ride.
The islands finally came into view and the boats engine slowed. I thought i should try this again 'Kalangala?' i said this time actually having an island to point to as opposed to the boat itself. Apparently i had said something funny as everyone in the boat started to laugh, not a good sign.
The girls and i exchanged worried looks as the boat slowed right down and started to head directly to one of the islands. We could see there wasn't much on the island it just looked like jungle with a few mud huts poking out the top and defiantly no other boats. Many things crossed my mind at this point, maybe we are just dropping someone off? maybe we are just getting more fuel? Maybe this is all a bad dream.
The boat ran itself up onto the beach, the girls and i sat there waiting for someone to get off, no one moved, then the captain told us to 'hurry up', realizing we were blocking the way and that no one else could get off until we moved we clamoured our way to the front and jumped onto the sand (trying to avoid the water at all costs). At this point a small group of people had come from the village to see what was going on, not a friendly bunch and my attempts at Swahili were returned with glares. Turning back to the boat i tried once again 'what island is this' i heard someone mutter Banda. Oh well, i thought at least we can go back with the boat tomorrow. Then it dawned on me that we were the only ones who had gotten out of the boat and they had started the engine back up. Panic started to set in and the girls and i started yelling at the boat all at once 'where are you going' 'why is no one else getting off' 'where are we?' 'can we come with you?' 'when will there be another boat to take us back?'. As it pulled away someone on the boat said 'there is a muzungu (white person) on this island ask for Dominic'. And just like that it was gone.
While staring at the empty spot that until 30 seconds ago was occupied by what seemed to be the only means of transport on or off this island i did a mental assessment of our situation.
We were in the middle of one of the biggest lakes in the world, on the wrong island so no one knew where we were, there were no boats on or off this island, the inhabitants were down right scary, we had no food water or shelter and it was getting dark. Hummmmm, not good, however always the optimist, i reminded myself and the girls that apparently there was a white man on this island, maybe he could tell us how we could get back to civilization, all we had to do was find him.
The humor of our situation was not entirely lost on us and after some comments about the pickle we had gotten ourselves into we set off into the village. The island wasn't very big about 1/2km across and 2km long. The locals that had met us off the boat had obviously informed the whole island of our arrival. As we were walking through the village everyone had come outside to watch what must have been a very strange site. 5 white girls walking in a line being followed by a trail of all the village children and dogs.. If i wasn't fearing for our lives at that point i would have liked to have taken a picture. To say we had a frosty reception was an understatement, through clenched teeth i told the girls to just keep smiling and walking. Every few minutes i would ask 'Dominic?' and they would just point down to the far end of the village. I considered it a very good sign that they seemed to know who i was talking about. My hopes were dashed as soon as we got to the end of the village and were met by a thick wall of jungle. Thinking we must have missed him we went back and asked somebody again, they just pointed in the jungle. Seeing our confused faces two local guys, one of whom spoke a little English said he could show us the way. We couldn't thank him enough as he led us into the jungle. It wasn't long before my relief turned to worry, what if him and his friend were psycho's just trying to lead us away from the village? I got my Swiss army knife out of my bag and decided that the 5 of us could handle the 2 of them and that we were better off away from the village. Now when i say jungle, i mean jungle. It was soo thick and overgrown you couldn't see what was behind the next leaf until you moved it and the ground was covered with logs and rocks that we were stumbling our way through. Those of you that know me well can imagine the first thing that came into my head when we went into the jungle, snakes. I asked our new friend if there were any snakes and he replied 'no, we don't have any snakes' Thank god i thought to myself, maybe things are looking up! However there were many insects that were making our trek that bit harder, we discovered that the jungle had meat eating ants, every few minutes you would feel one take a bite out of you and you would have to pull it's head out of your legs, also the air was teaming with flying insects and more then one went in my mouth and up my nose. The jungle seemed like it was never ending and we kept asking how much further, to the reply of not long now. We had been in the jungle for over half an hour when our two guides informed us that they had to turn back as it was getting dark now and it isn't safe to be in the jungle at night!!!! Now they tell us! They pointed us in the general direction that we were to head in and told us we should carry on for another 10 minutes then we should hit a beach.
And just like that they were gone. We kept walking while discussing our options. At least we knew there was a beach that we could spend the night on away from the village, we just had to get there before it was too dark otherwise we would be spending the night in the jungle, then in the morning maybe we could flag down a fishing boat or something and pay them to take us back. I'm not saying it was a good plan but it was all we could think of at that point!
It was at about this point that we spotted an old shack in the jungle, it was bizarre, so out of place and all overgrown. I didn't know if this was a good thing or not, so we just kept on walking wondering what the hell we had gotten ourselves into. After a few more minutes the jungle started to thin out and we came across a cobblestone house. So relieved to see signs of civilization we started yelling out hello, hello. Then this guy came out of the jungle "yes how may i help you?". "well i was wondering if you had any rooms available for this evening?" i said realizing how utterly ridiculous i sounded considering the circumstances. "Yes we have dormitory's, with full board for 30, 000 shillings"( very reasonable). It was like we were in the twilight zone ,a very normal conversation in the furthest from normal circumstances i can imagine. He lead us into the building and on closer inspection we could see that it completely run down but at this point we felt so lucky to have a roof over our heads that no one said a word. After a few high fives at making it through the last few hours we took ourselves down to the beach and finally met our muzungu Dominic.
I don't know what i was expecting but it wasn't the drunk old man that greeted us with a "where the hell did you girls just come from". After explaining the whole story he looked at us in awe and declared that he had "mad respect" for anyone who made it not only past the hostile locals but then through the deadly jungle. 'Excuse me but what do you mean by deadly?' i asked. He then proceeded to list off all the deadly snakes and creatures that lived in the jungle, black mambas, cobras, just to name a few!!!!!!!! Oh my god i was torn between tears and relief, if i had any idea of what was in there i still would have been hanging out in the village wondering how the girls were getting on. Ignorance truly is bliss. After breaking the ice with some moonshine that Dominic was kindly sharing, i asked the question that i knew all of us were trying to avoid. "so how do we get off the island", he answered with no hint of sarcasm that quite simply we don't. "But you will love it here in July" he told us!!!!. He then told us " The first few weeks are the hardest but after that you really get used to the island". Hummmm, not for the first time that day i was a bit lost for words.
Eventually we did get off the island. A supply boat came by (it comes every few months) and we managed to make it back to Jinja in time for white water rafting. The things that i saw and experience on that island would take me hours to write and i have already gone on far too long, but needless to say it was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. To give you some idea, The next day Dominic showed us a castle that he was building, complete with tower and secret rooms, walking through the jungle to the beach i came into a clearing and there was a giant ship in the jungle!!! the thing was huge, it could have held hundreds of people. He told us he built it in Tanzania and sailed it here many years ago and that a tornado had put it in the jungle. He showed us his old house (where he lived before the castle) that was now occupied by a 24 ft python, he walked in one day saw it and never went back in, instead deciding just to build a new house. Believe me when i say that that was just a few of the things we saw on that island, let alone the stories that he would tell us from a lifetime in Africa. I left the Sesse islands feeling very previlaged to have see them and in such a unique way, but next time i think we will try and be a bit more organized with our travel plans.

Uganda

It's quite strange to be in Africa as a tourist now as opposed to a volunteer. I really really miss the kids. There are a few in particular that i find myself thinking about everyday. I wish there was some way that i could check up on them from time to time to see how they are doing, but all i have is a name. I only have one week left, i can't believe how quickly it has flown by. In the last few weeks i have done so many things and been to so many places, where to begin...
After Zanzibar, which was amazing, i got on a 36 hour bus ride to Uganda. Even saying it "36 hours" sounds wrong. It is unnatural to be in a bus that long, oh and did i mention that it had no toilet or air-con! One time i was so desperate for the toilet i had to ask the driver to stop, he obliged and pulled the bus to the side of the road. Not wanting to put on a show for the other passengers i tried to walk a few minutes into this field for some privacy. However the mud was so thick and goopy that after a few steps i was stuck, i had lost one flip flop, broken the other and was knee deep in what turned out to be fresh manure. People were trying to help by yelling help full suggestions such as "just try to walk" well i did and that resulted in me falling into the mud/manure and becoming stuck. Great entertainment that this was one lovely man came to my aid, he even found my other flip flop! He took my into his garden and cleaned me up, fixed and washed my shoes and sent me on my way. Thank god for people like him otherwise i would have spent the next 25 hours caked in poo sitting on a bus. When we finally arrived in Uganda it was such a breath of fresh air, literally. It was so clean compared to Kenya, the people were so nice we didn't get called "muzungu" every few seconds and no-one was trying to rip us off. It was quite a shock actually. I don't know what i was expecting but i wasn't the green lush oasis that we stumbled upon. The town Jinja was gorgeous, after a short boda boda (motorbike taxi) ride we were dropped off at our hostel which was in the jungle perched over the nile!!! the views were stunning it really was one of the nicest places i've ever been, oh my time is going to run out again, i will update this asap,