Monday, July 15, 2013

The Equator!

I was, sadly, sick on my birthday and had to cancel a weekend getaway to Jinja.  (All of the other planned travelers were also sick or just recovering, so it worked out.)  After a restful Friday afternoon, I felt well enough to go for what I thought would be a half-day trip.  My friend and I borrowed another friend's driver and took off in search of the equator! 

The closest equator crossing in Uganda is about 75 km southwest of Kampala.  I figured this would be about an hour and a half or maybe a two hour drive.  We pulled in more than three hours after setting off.  (The drive back took only two and a half hours.)

The equator crossing consists of two circle-like structures on either side of the road with a line connecting them, two small cafes, and several touristy craft shops.  We browsed the shops, decided everything was over-priced and available elsewhere, had a quick lunch (filling though unremarkable), and then headed back.

The Baganda royal drum-makers have their workshops on the same road, but there was construction on the entire stretch and nowhere safe to pull off and take a look.  It won't be my last chance - this is the road to many of the country's attractions!

My parents pointed out that there was some cosmic balance to celebrating my birthday by straddling the northern and southern hemispheres since I was born on the night of the 20th century's largest lunar eclipse.  Kind of a neat way to think about it!

Here are the only two photos I took that day - kind of anticlimactic, I know.



1 comment:

Nomads By Nature said...

Anti climatic, but still cool!
Happy Birthday!