Eid, Hairy Lemon, Jinja

When it rains it pours. After a 4 month dry spell it seemed Uganda was in need of not one public holiday three weeks ago but two. Luckily the Saudis saw the moon on Thursday night, marking the official end of Ramadan and success of the Muslim version of Groundhog Day as the whole country was on pins and needles until about 9 pm on Thursday when Friday was officially declared a holiday for Eid celebrations. It only seemed fitting to continue the tradition of celebrating public holidays at Steak Out (it was an off-week for quiz night), especially since Thursdays are rock night (think of any classic cheesy '90s song- Avril, Deep Blue Something, etc.) and I am dying to steal the DJ's playlist.

I yet again took advantage of my day off by getting out of Kampala. This time my destination was the Hairy Lemon, an island in the middle of the Nile about 30 minutes away from Jinja. Slightly more difficult to get to than Jinja but also more relaxing and secluded, the Lemon reminds me of a tropical retreat with its palm trees, kayaks and laidback atmosphere. I traveled with Sarah to meet our other housemate Bethany who has been spending a fair amount of time on the island, but was later met by 6 other friends. We spent the night being entertained by a group of rowdy Irishmen attending kayak school (the island is the base of the best kayak school in the area) but also preparing for the next night's festivities in Jinja.

Allow me to explain. Saturday marked the return of a "Jinja celebrity" who had been traveling around East Africa for the past month or so and was the excuse for an all-out blowout on Saturday night at the campsite I had visited a couple of weeks before. So, Saturday day was spent along the shores of the Nile with my book on the Hairy Lemon while Saturday night was spent celebrating said celebrity in Jinja. The party was all it was cracked up to be and more (with the added benefit of the England vs. France Rugby World Cup semifinal in the background) and it was great to catch up with some old Jinja friends as well as make some new ones.

Sunday was spent by the pool and then it was back to Kampala on Sunday night for Chinese food with Sarah and a good night's sleep before my return to real life (and the end to 3 day weeks...)