On the Road to Lira

 So, if you haven't noticed, I am almost a full week behind 😂. We've been moving around a lot and haven't had consistent wifi very often, so now I'm trying to catch up. We got up early Monday morning and were able to see RG in the daylight. It's breathtaking. Our guest apartments overlooked the Nile River, and we could hear the rushing water from the porch. Breakfast was brought up to us, which consisted of fruit and mandazi. Mandazi is basically fried bread, almost like a donut. Gift said that mandazi is the plural form and lindazi is the singular. We went outside and met the german shepherd, Stoney 😊. He was SO cute. Tim McCall (founder, director, and former doctor at RG) came out to meet us and told us not to be afraid of Stoney. He said, "Stoney might growl at you a little, but don't worry. He won't bite. And, even if he does give you a little nibble, it won't hurt. He doesn't have any teeth. He likes rocks too much"😂😂. And sure enough, Stoney has no sharp teeth. His full name is Stoney tangawizi, which is a type of pop here that tastes basically like ginger beer. It's delicious!

RG is right next to Karuma, and to get to the main road, we had to drive down the path with tall grass that we took the night before. But, this time we got to drive it in the daylight! Kids were walking to school in their uniforms, women were carrying baskets and water containers on their heads, and most everyone we passed smiled or waved. The women here carry everything on their heads. It doesn't matter if their load is super heavy or way bigger than their heads, that is just how they carry things. Often times, the women or older girls will also be carrying a baby on their back. They strap the babies around themselves with a scarf or cloth and tie one knot above their chest and one below. Also! We'd see a ton of kids just walking by themselves, which is so strange to me! Gift spotted a man carrying a torch and said that he had probably been walking since it was dark. 

As we passed through Karuma, we saw lots of shops starting to open and people getting ready for the day. These shops are not like shops in America. They are made of sticks and sometimes brick or metal. They rarely have all four sides. They are big enough for 2-5 people to fit in. And, many people sell the same items as the shops adjacent to them. 

We kept driving to Lira, where we would eventually reach Otino-waa. On the roads in between Karuma and Lira, we saw that people were mostly walking, riding bicycles, or riding boda bodas. Not many people drive cars. Even though they do not have vehicles big enough to haul heavy loads, it doesn't stop them from piling their cargo onto their small two-wheelers. 

We made it to Lira around mid morning and met some incredible people before heading to see two orphanages, which I will show pictures from in the next post!