Quite an Adventure Today!

We had some more errands to do, so Debby and I headed back out to Kampala today. I also hoped to maybe get some better pictures because I was unhappy with the final showing from yesterday. 

I didn't feel like the pictures I'd taken were at all indicative of Kampala. Also, an antiquities shop in town had new primate prints in it, and Debby and I were eager to go peep at them. 

So, among other things, another trip to Kampala was in order. 

We headed off later today, because it was Saturday and it's only right to loll around during the morning on Saturday. 

We took the landcruiser this time, seeing as one of our tasks was to pick up a new freezer for all of our various freezables and it was large and needed the big back. Previously, we'd had 3 mini fridges, but considering that we buy dogfood frozen, and have lots of medical supplies (drugs, etc) that need to be frozen as well, it was really appropriate to have a dedicated freezer because those mini fridge freezers are teeny tiny.

We'd had no room to put our own freezables!


Anyway, so the landcruiser was having issues with changing gears, and we'd driven about 25 miles (we were about 10 miles from Kampala) when smoke started emitting from the front hood. The temperature gauge hadn't actually raised, but it did indeed seem to have overheated. So, the car stopped working on the MAIN road into Kampala. Cars were honking at us, and whizzing by at breakneck speed.

I finally found an opening to get the door ajar, and asked some guys to help us push the car to the side of the road. Debby was convinced that they'd ask for money or something, but you know me -- I can sell snow to eskimos :P

So, the car was by the side of the road! Little children of course thought it was very funny to see two wuzungu stranded like that... of course they stood around, giggling and pointing.

We called Richard and asked him to come and bring some jerry cans full of water to cool down the car, but Debby thought that maybe the engine was seized or somehow damaged from overheating. 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Richard came and we exchanged cars. He stayed with the Land Cruiser, and we headed off.

So many errands! So little time! Always behind!

We managed to get most everything done, except popping in to see the Primate Prints. Cry, cry.


Richard had called a tow truck at noon to bring the car back to Entebbe, and had taken a matatu back.

By the time we'd gotten everything done, we'd been out for hours.

Imagine our surprise, when, on the road back to Entebbe, but closer to Kampala than we'd broken down, we drive past our CAR. Being towed, and in the entirely wrong area that it shouldbe.

Well, actually, by this point, it should be at home. 

I think it's quite funny, but Debby is finding it quite suspect. That the car was towed into Kampala...i.e. in the opposite direction of Entebbe, before they started bringing it home. She figured they probably stripped parts from it or something. She pulled over and waited for the tow truck to pass us, but after 20 minutes, it still hadn't.

Concerned, we turned around to look for it. Finally, we saw them pulling it, slowly, along the highway.

We turned around again, and drove to catch up to them (they were driving pretty slowly). But by the time we reached them, they were pulled over to the side of the road.

Totally suspicious by this point, we pulled over. It looked like they were unhitching the car from the tow truck. As the tow truck pulled off, Debby got out and tried to figure out what the heck was going on!

It seemed that they were going to Entebbe, but "running other errands" first. If one of them included siphoning off our newly full tank of gas, I guess I won't know. But whatever it was, it was sketch.

We, however, continued on our way. Finally getting home, and bringing Annie the donuts and pizza that she so desperately needed to finish analyzing the sample slides for her thesis-y type paper, I realized what an exhausting day it had been!

Between driving everywhere to finish our errands, getting in and out of the car, sitting and waiting in the hot hot sun... 

BLAH!

Tonight we'd been thinking of heading into Kampala - Gerald, the Assistant Sanctuary Manager, Isaac, the Education Director, Terry, Ben (the guy who was here last week) and um, Joanna, our longstay visitor. We were gonna start at the Lake Vic, which I'll probably still do, but woooo, I dunno about partying in Kampala.

Maybe if I take a NAP first! 

Speaking of which, I'm gonna go do that!

If people would be so kind to go and look at the new pictures I uploaded :P (heh) ... I'm hoping they'll give people a better sense of Kampala, and, maybe, Africa! Again, I've written lots of comments too! Enjoy!