Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda


It's not easy gettin' to the Boonya Amagara Lodge. From Kabale it's another hair raising boda boda ride. Then, once at the lake, I had to take a dug out canoe out to the island resort. Nice peaceful smooth ride...

Beauty, eh. This is on the way to the hut I rented out for 12000 Ugandan shillings per night...that's $6.34 USD. What was I thinkin'? I'm not exactly Mr. Money Bags you know...
My geo-hut. Home away from home. For $6.34, you'd expect a door, eh. Kidding aside I didn't need one despite a pretty good rainstorm that night.

Ahhh...nice view out the front.

A torturous, twisted, undulating road from Kisoro to Kabale (made worse by the insane bus driver). The scenery was breathtaking though. I didn't think this part of Uganda was so mountainous. Hardly wilderness area, the cultivated terraces raced from valley bottoms to mountain tops. My advice to people with tender bottoms or who are time challenged, is to head back to Kigali from Ruhengeri. The roads in Rwanda are smooth as a baby's bottom. Plus the cost of being stuck in Kisoro is exacting.

I'm here at the Boonya Amagara Lodge (1°18'4.58"S 29°56'20.25"E), on the shores of the beautiful Lake Bonyonyi. I picked up a brochure way back in Kigali advertising this place. Owned by Jeremy, an ex-pat American, the Lodge is touted as a backpacker's paradise with an environmentally friendly design (solar powered, compost toilets, etc). This area is supposed to be jam packed with recreational and cultural (volunteering) opportunities that Jeremy runs out of the lodge. I'm just looking to chill out after the hell I went through the last while. I took a quickie tour of the "lodge" and found a well stocked library. It's like I died and gone to heaven (this place is close enough) unless they have overdue fines.

I splurged and booked myself into a "geo-dome". The view out the front deck is quite stunning. There's two beds. I thought I had the whole place to myself but found out that a roomie was moving in for the night. Pretty expensive dorm, eh. No worries because I learned that I'm being kick out tomorrow... Such is life in Africa...just be glad you have a roof over your head.

2 comments:

soapyDave said...

who needs a door when you've got mosquito netting

bubba said...

keep snakes out?