Day 31 Rest Day in Entebbe

by Henry

Our first of two rest days in Entebbe. High temperature 26°C today. It rained in the morning, but cleared up by 10 AM.

Our upgrade at Jet Villas in Entebbe, 400 m down the street from Via Via Hotel. Exquisitely appointed boutique hotel with lovely rooms and an engaging proprietress, Sarah.


View from our small hotel room balcony.


At breakfast, I met and chatted with a solo Taiwanese traveler, Chan. He is a 39-year-old psychiatrist from Taipei. He first traveled abroad at age 20 to backpack in western Europe. This is his fifth trip to Africa, and he has now visited 80 countries. Joann in the middle is a half-Taiwanese TDA rider and physiatrist.  She has traveled to 50 countries. Her mother is Hakka, which comprises the second largest ethnic group in Taiwan, and her father is American.

Chan said that his visit to the Ugandan capital Kampala mirrored the worst of anything he has seen in India, taking into account traffic, people, garbage, pollution, and general chaos.


At least three of our riders got haircuts today, with a fourth one planning to do so tomorrow. It’s inevitable that I will need one or two trims in Africa also.


Philadelphian rider Geoff and I took a leisurely 3 km walk to this eatery for lunch. Rolex is a very popular Ugandan street food, basically a chapati layered with an omelette and vegetables, then rolled up. Adding meat is an option.


In our case, we each ordered a chicken curry Rolex. We asked that the vegetables be cooked into the omelette, to minimize potential G.I. complications (a number of riders have already been afflicted).  To the right is masala chips, basically fries coated with a spicy sauce made with cumin, ginger, chili powder – delicious.


Stoneys are popular in Africa, a ginger-based soda drink made by the Coca-Cola company. It’s more intense than USA ginger ale. 

We have seen a number of marabou storks on our ride. There was an especially concentrated number nesting in the trees along our walking path today. They aren’t particularly attractive scavengers, and they have a prehistoric appearance with a very wide wingspan. No one says vultures are pretty either.


The evening’s event was a celebration of South African rider Mia‘s birthday. In addition to free flowing beer, we were treated to a campfire with traditional s’mores.

We are going to bed tonight with the understanding that the Super Bowl is scheduled to begin at 2:30 AM local time.