Day 3 - Jinja via Kampala

This is our last morning in Entebbe.  We have another breakfast of fried eggs, white bread, pineapple, and instant Star coffee. This would be a theme throughout our trip.

We pack up and meet William, who would be our beloved driver for the next 3 weeks.  We pile into our new "home" (the van) and head to the capital, Kampala.

The short drive provides us with our first few glimpses of Uganda.

We make a brief stop at a plant and pottery vendor on the side of the road.

Above: Giant jack fruit!

First official stop: Nakasero Market

This is a large market in downtown Kampala that sells everything from food to clothing to used electronics.  We spend a majority of the time perusing the many aisles of spices, meats, and produce.

They also had buckets full of fried grasshoppers...

...so I decided to try a sample...

Mmmm, not bad actually.  Jessica and I enjoyed them so much that we purchased a small bag of this salty treat.  They went bad before we could eat them, unfortunately.

After the market we made a brief stop at the grocery store in the mall.  There were some interesting finds here:

The first was this hilarious branding

The others:  Milk in a bag!  Yogurt in a bag! All novelties to us.

We stocked up on a few essentials, mainly water and dinner/snack ingredients and hit the road again.  Next destination: Jinja. Here we make our first academic stop - Kireka Home for Children with Special Needs.

Kireka is the only school in Uganda that provides for children with special needs.  This was a difficult stop as they are in severe need of funds & simple resources.  Despite everything they may lack, they are still providing a wonderful service to these children.  The staff is phenomenal and very dedicated to their work.  They have a tough job and deserve much recognition.

Despite their surroundings and increasing needs, the children were healthy and happy.

We headed to the Bridgeview Guesthouse after we finished touring the school.  We would stay here for two nights in total.  Pictured below is the adorable guesthouse kitten named Garfield.

After a dinner of peanut butter and banana sandwiches with a side of fresh mango, Ashley and I head to our rooms to begin our many pages of required reading for the next day and then slowly drift into slumber.