Sipi Falls – a break in the mountains

Komek is a local beer made up in the Sipi Falls region. Made from maize, the locals grind it down and mix it with water and yeast leaving it to ferment over periods of time. Once it’s ready it can be bought in bars. You purchase the mixture and add hot water yourself making the finished drink to your taste. Claire and I were on our way back from the Sunset Walk from Lacum Lodge, when our guide Julian took us to a local bar to have a taste. Two local girls, friends of Julian’s, were enjoying a teapot of the stuff and allowed Claire and I to have a couple of sips each. Strange in flavour and in texture, the concoction had a sweet and sharp taste and had the consistency of porridge oats in hot water. It was nice in a small amount, though I very much doubt we’d be able to polish off a whole teapot between the two of us. Apparently it’s also very strong so a couple of sips suited us just fine.

The Sunset Walk itself was a nice short introduction to the local area. We strolled through the village and up to a viewing point where we were able to see for miles. The mountain range in front of us slowly shrank and then the rest of the world seemed to be laid out, flat, in front of us. At the top of the viewing point there was a ruin of what looked like a small building. Apparently it was the remains of the old King’s seat. The king of the region – before Uganda came to be it was a large number of kingdoms – was now dead and his seat had fallen into disrepair. From the viewing point we were also able to see the lowest of the three waterfalls. The gentle rain that came just as we reached the top was refreshing and caused a pretty rainbow to appear below us in the base of the valley.

The view from the highest point

Waterfall!

Lacum Lodge was a picturesque and peaceful place to stay. Not the cheapest , though also not overpriced, we enjoyed a huge amount of food at breakfast, lunch and dinner. So much in fact, that we had to ask for a smaller portion one lunchtime, so as not to be bloated by the time dinner came around. One thing we’ve noticed is that when Ugandan’s eat, they eat! Portion sizes here dwarf what we’re used to at home…

Our first morning in Sipi Falls came around and after a nice lunch we were off on our Waterfall Walk, where we would get the chance to see all three of the falls in the area. Julian kitted Claire and I out with bamboo sticks – making us feel like proper adventurers – and we were on our way.

Julain took us through local farmland, past an array of fruit and vegetables growing in the morning sunshine. We saw bananas, coffee, cabbages, spinach, plantain, onions and Irish potatoes – the name given to our bog-standard potatoes back home. On top of all the luscious vegetation, we also saw cattle, goats, pigs and chickens along the way. The local farmers often stopped to give us a wave, and their children were keen to shout ‘Muzungu’ with a smile.

Our hike took us up into the mountains to the bottom of the highest of the three falls. Here the splash of the water was keeping a huge range of plantlife, ensuring that the whole area was bathed in greenery. Our next stop was at to the top of the second falls where locals were washing their clothes in the pool, whilst children played. On our way there our guide had a quick chat with a local farmer. We asked what he was saying to which Julian replied: “He thought you were from Israel, because of your beard.” I’ve been compared to a number of things back home due to my beard, ranging from ‘The Old King’ to a fisherman, but this was the first time someone had thought I was Israeli. After looking down the valley from the top of the second falls, we then made our way down a steep pathway leading to behind the waterfall. The cave at back of the fall was nice and cool and on the rock face you could see where locals had scratched markings looking like childish graffiti. We then made our way to the local school, which was currently closed due to holidays, to get a decent look of the humongous third fall, which we had seen the previous day.

The first falls

The pool at the top of the second falls

The second falls

After the falls, Claire and I strolled back to Lacum Lodge for a lazy afternoon of reading, sunbathing, listening to music, and games. Struggling to think of any card games we hadn’t already played we took it upon ourselves to play a modified version of the board game Guess Who. Seeing as we didn’t have the board game to hand, we thought it best to use our friends. Whilst the game began with questions like ‘does your person have blonde hair?’, it became more and more ridiculous – and therefore more fun – as the questions became more leftfield and bizarre. After the game I had discovered that Claire wouldn’t be able to beat Steve in a fight, and would consider going into business with Abi.

Claire reading with the falls in the background.

The first of many rounds of our home-made Guess Who.

After a manic but thoroughly enjoyable day travelling to Sipi Falls, followed by a couple of days of hiking and quiet relaxation, it was time for us to move on. Lacum was a beautiful place to stay, with nice food and very friendly staff. The views were exceptional and our little double room was quaint and comfortable.

Our next destination was Jinja, for one last night with Kendra and Gerald, followed by a night at Red Chilli in Kampala, before a 7am rise to head to Murchison Falls for a two day safari and Nile River cruise.
The plan to get back to Jinja was essentially to carry out the exact reverse of our journey to Sipi Falls, which in itself was not our initial intended choice of transport. And, just like last time, our plans were instantly changed based purely on the people around us.

The initial plan was to jump in a car – one of the ones offering shuttle runs up and down the mountain – before taking a matatu to Mbale, then jumping on another one to Jinja. However, Julian had other ideas. He was trying to flag down the ‘shuttle car’ to get us down the mountain and eventually gave up. “You’re going to get a bodah bodah down the mountain,” he told us. That was fine, we were used to the plans changing and had very little bags, so a quick trip on the back of a motorbike in the morning sunshine would have been fine. Julian flagged a couple down, negotiated a price, but couldn’t come to an agreement. Before we knew it, a third bodah rider had come over and proceeded, after a quick exchange of words with Julian, to get off his bike and hand it to our guide. Julian jumped on and told us “I will ride you down the mountain.”

Claire and I hopped on and we were off on our way. However (there always seems to be a ‘however’ when travelling in Uganda), half way down the mountain a car pulled up along side us and waved Julain over. We pulled up to the side of the road.

“Why didn’t you call me?” the driver said to Julian, who looked at us. One minute later we were stuffed into the back of a car on our way to Mbale. The driver was heading to the town and offered us a ride for 10,000 Ugandan Shillings each. The car was full to the brim. There was the driver, a woman in the front passenger seat with two children, Claire and me on the back seat with two other men and then a father and son in the boot. We were unfased by now.

Half way down the mountain we came across a crashed car that had veered off the road. A crowd of locals were gathered around. The driver pulled over, put on the creaking handbrake and got out to take a look. It turned out the car’s brakes had failed on the downward slope and the driver had no choice but to steer the car off the road to avoid shooting of a hair pin bend. A stark reminder of the everyday dangers of travelling using these means.

On route to Mbale we pulled into a petrol station and the two children who were sat on the lap of the woman in the front got out. It turns out the woman was in no way related to the children and they were travelling alone and were to be picked up from the petrol station by someone. The driver asked the car if anyone had any airtime on their phone, and when a passenger next to us said he did, he handed him a scrap of paper. “Can you call this number and tell him to pick his children up from here”. The man made the call, and we were off, leaving the two small children and their bags by the side of the dusty road looking slightly perplexed.

We arrived in Mbale safe and during the drive we got chatting to one of the passengers in the car. He was called Joseph and was a doctor in Kampala who was heading back to the capital after a couple of weeks off in the mountains. A lovely man, Dr Joseph told us that we should get the same bus he was taking to Kampala, which stopped off in Jinja, rather than get on board a matatu. He then took us to the bus park, spoke to the conductor and made sure we got on the right bus – which was more like a traditional British coach. He even had a go at the conductor when there was no room for Claire and me to sit. His moaning worked and we were seated right near the front. Dr Joseph had to sit further back, but before he took his seat we swapped numbers. “I have done a lot of travelling, so know what it feels like being new in a strange place,” he said. “If you are ever in Kampala and need a place to stay, or have any problems, give me a call.” As a side note, Dr Joseph was also travelling with what can only be described as a monumental sack of Irish potatoes. It was about four feet tall when stood upright and must have weighed a ton. He told us that they were cheaper in the mountains and he was going to hand them out to his friends.

The bus ride was pretty smooth and very fast. It seems that no matter what vehicle you’re driving, the rule is to go as fast as possible and slam the horn if people are in your way. Claire and I were sat right in front of a tv screen that played Ugandan pop tunes and their music videos all the way to Jinja. It was hilarious and Claire has promised to post the best ones on our website at some point soon.
Within a few hours we were back at Kendra’s and settling in for our last night in Jinja before the next stage of our trip. Before we went to bed we were touched to receive a text message from our new friend Dr Joseph, which read: “Pretty and lovely friends. I hope you enjoy Uganda.”