Karamoja

Yesterday we took a day trip with some friends to Karamoja. We have a friend named Bob who lives there. He did the well drilling for LIU recently. He has lived in Karamoja for 15 years. I have to say that traveling to Karamoja is like traveling to another world. It was a 3 hour drive on the worst roads I have ever seen. And dry season is the best time of year to go, I can't imagine the shape of those roads in rainy season! 

The kids did really well. Graham got car sick on the way over, and Molly cried some on the way back. But for the most part, they were troopers.

We were on the lookout for animals the whole way, but the only animal of interest that we saw was a crested crane.

We felt like we had traveled back in time. The Karamajong for the most part live in mud huts and dress more traditionally.

There were beautiful hills and mountains, and the weather was much cooler.

This is Bob's house. He built it himself. There was a loft in his courtyard that Graham really enjoyed playing on. The kids and I stayed here while the others ate lunch with Bob and his workers. Molly needed to take a nap.

The kids both had fun walking around Bob's property and checking out his equipment.

Pictures really can't do these roads justice. But here you can see our car sitting in a pothole so big that you can no longer see our wheels. We had to crawl over these roads for a good chunk of the drive. We really enjoyed seeing Karamoja, but I don't know that we would ever take the kids on this trip again. It was a long trip for one day!

But I have to say we have so much respect for our friend Bob. He has been working and doing ministry in Uganda for a long, long time. What a valuable source of wisdom for us. And he was so kind to show us hospitality even though his wife and 5 children weren't home.