Lake Bunyonyi (Uganda)

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After 10 days in Rwanda I made it back to Uganda! This time I headed to beautiful Lake Bunyonyi!

That morning I didn’t even know where I was heading so I took a bus from Musanze to Kigali and on the way there I changed my mind! There wasn’t really much I could do in Kigali so once I got to the bus station I went to look for a bus to Kabale, near Lake Bunyonyi.

To my surprise most of the big bus companies didn’t go to Kabale during the day so I decided to get on a shared car for 3,000Francs ($3.50) to Kabale.

Once I arrived in Kabale I needed to get a boda boda to Lake Bunyonyi, which I knew would cost me around 6,000Ush ($1.60) but the first guy to approach me was trying to charge me 15,000Ush so I asked him to go away. Many times I won’t even engage with those people who clearly are trying to take big advantage of tourists just because it isn’t nice. The next guy asked me for 7,000USh so I said the hostel told me it would be around 5,000Ush so we agreed on the 6,000Ush that I wanted to pay! Good deal!

The boda boda ride was about 25 min and very bumpy! On the way to my hostel the driver stopped by the boats and said “I thought you wanted to get a boat”; the boat guys came running to me, they said that I must take a boat since there was road damage and the road to Edirisa was blocked. Do I look like I am stupid?

I got mad and said “We never mentioned a boat, if you want to get paid you better take me to Edirisa” and just like that the bodaboda driver kept going and dropped me off at my hostel but I wonder how many travelers actually get off and take a boat! I ended up giving him 7,000USh because the road wasn’t the best (it was bumpy the whole way) and 1,000USh is not that much.

I arrived in Edirisa and asked if they had any dorms and thankfully they did. There was only one french girl staying in the whole place and sadly she left at 7am the next morning.

Edirisa was recommended by some of my (now) friends I met in Rwanda. At that point in my travels I just wanted to relax and Edirisa was really nice location wise but a latrine toilet and a shower shed with cold water was not exactly what I was hoping for.

The shower with view to the lake. The only problem was that in order to turn on the water one has to stand on a stool, and reach the tank on top. While you do that you bare chest gets exposed to the people below! haha I didn't take a shower!

"Use anal cleaning materials" haha Sign outside my hostel!

Edirisa's nice porch by the lake!

On my second day I went for a walk and to look for nicer accommodation. I stopped at the Bunyonyi View Gorilla Packers and bargained for a cheaper dorm (to match their booking.com price) and ended up paying $2 less per night than their advertised price but $5 more than Edirisa. But sometimes paying $5 more makes a huge difference!

Lake Bunyonyi town!

On one of my walks I stopped by the beautiful Bird's Nest Resort with a beautiful view of the Lake!

I spent my days walking around the lake but mostly sitting and writing while overlooking beautiful Lake Bunyonyi!

Sunsetting on a cloudy day!

One afternoon, Edgar (one of the guys at the lodge) had enough of me sitting down and writing and said he would take me on a walk. I said I wanted to go up the hill and showed him on the map but he said it was better if I went with him.

After it stopped raining (because it rained all day) I put on my shoes and went for a hike with him (hike for me, an easy walk for him!)

As we were walking up the hill he invited me to visit one of his “aunts” (I think all the ladies in the village are everybody’s aunts!) who makes baskets and souvenirs. I was able to see how the baskets and traditional Ugandan souvenirs are made and let me tell you… It’s hard work!

Edgar said to me: "After working on the field these ladies come back home and make baskets, it's their hobby, instead of going on Facebook, WhatsApp, instagram, twitter, they make baskets!"

The baskets, the bowls, the coasters, and everything are hand woven by the ladies using local grasses like millet straw and raffia! It's pretty impressive!

We then kept going up the hill and as we walked up another auntie came out when he heard us and said to stop by after the walk and look at her shop.

Edgar and Lake Bunyonyi!

As we kept walking up the hill Edgar shared a little bit about how life was growing up in a rural area in Uganda. He asked me: “Do you climb trees?” I laughed and said “No, you?” and he said “Of course” and as we walked by Eucalyptus trees he said that when he was young he would go out with siblings and other kids to gather wood. He would climb the tree and then shake it or cut the dead branches up on top, then he would throw them down and the other kids would grab them. In my head I was just thinking “Thank God I didn’t grow up in Uganda!”

Then I saw a little boy goatherd and I said: “He doesn’t go to school?” and Edgar responded: “After school you have to work” and I immediately responded: “But he is not wearing an uniform” and Edgar bursted out laughing! He added “You go home and change, you respect the uniform!” I shared that I only took off the uniform at night before going to bed! He told me that growing up he had like 30 chickens to take care of and after school he went home and change and then he needed to make sure that the chicken were fed, and to clean up after them. I shared that I never had to work, that after school I would come home, eat, do homework, watch tv, go to bed.

Traveling really opens your eyes to the different ways and conditions that people live in. I am blessed to be able to be in this journey, I was blessed to grow up in El Salvador with parents who could afford to give me a nice and easy life.

This journey really makes me look at my own privilege. I lived in the U.S for a long time and once I moved it felt like all my privileges disappeared. I moved and I was then a Latina, a person who was below the white men and women! But the truth is that everywhere in the world there are people with privilege, that not only white men are the privileged. And what is most important is that we look at our own privilege and try to do something for the less privileged or at the very least those who are lucky to be the privileged ones acknowledge their own privilege and are aware of it. Even though I grew up in a developing country in times of war I never had to worry about not having food, or paying bills, or washing my clothes, or making my bed, or even feeding my dog because everything, absolutely everything was taken care of for me.

The more I travel the more I open my eyes to the needs of the world but also the more of a hypocrite I feel! I know for a fact that most of the people in my country live in poverty, I know that probably many kids have to work after school, I know that they are kids that just like Edgar probably have to climb trees and get wood so they can light a fire at night, I know there is a huge need, and I know I am not doing anything to help. Does that make me a bad person? Does the fact that I have zero desire of going back to El Salvador makes me a bad El Salvadorian? But can anybody blame me? Who wants to live in a place that is not safe and where people live in fear? Not me, not now, not any time soon!

Anyway… going back to our hike… after an hour or so walking up hill we arrived at Acadia Cottages, a lodge with the most beautiful view of Lake Bunyonyi!

We didn't go through the lodge main door, instead we entered through the terrace and I could see that Edgar was a little nervous about wether or not somebody would say something to us. So I went straight to the lady working there, Sarah, and introduced ourselves and complimented the place. After some talking Sarah invited us to go by the cottages to get the best view!

Acacia Cottages

After taking in the view Edgar and I went down the hill and visited another lady and her family!

Making a basket!

My time in Lake Bunyonyi was very relaxing now ready for some adventure... Gorillas!

About Post Author

Andrea

Hi! It's me... Andrea! In 2016 I decided to drop everything and take a year to enrich my life and travel around the world. It turns out the world is just too big for 12 months! Still on the road and sharing my experience as a solo female traveler around the globe!