Written by United Planet volunteer Megan Renfro.
Last weekend, for my first holiday since I arrived here, I went to Jinja with my friends Sidsel, Judith, and Henna. It was absolutely fantastic and much needed as Henna had diagnosed me with “bush fever,” meaning the kind of restlessness acquired after being in the villages for an extended period of time. Jinja is the source of the Victoria Nile, so it’s all very green and ridiculously beautiful (like belongs on a postcard beautiful).
This was the view from our hostel porch.
We left Makondo early Friday morning (5am early), arrived in Kampala late morning, spent a few hours there running errands and grabbed lunch before catching the Matatu to Jinja. We got to our hostel around 6:30pm and promptly went for a swim in the Nile River at sunset. Afterwards, we got dinner and crashed early. Saturday morning Sidsel and I went bungee jumping above the Nile! (Hence the “sorry Mom” and Grandma too!) We were both a little nervous but had so much fun.
Bungee jumping above the Nile!
Afterwards the four of us (Henna and Judith had watched us jump) went into town to walk around and check out some of the craft shops. Then we headed back to our hostel and spent the rest of the evening, as well as Sunday morning, just relaxing, swimming, hanging out, and eating. We headed back home (way too soon) on Sunday early afternoon, changing taxis in Kampala and Masaka, before ending up back in Makondo late in the evening. Overall, it was a wonderful trip and we’re planning to go back again soon!
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United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual exchange in more than 40 countries.
