A very long journey today to Chawolo village, isolated but not as poor as some areas because they grow rice as a cash crop. The road we travelled was surrounded by parched crops, evidence of the drought being suffered in eastern Uganda and western Kenya. The other areas we have travelled in have had a lot more rain due to the influence of Lake Victoria and Mt Elgon. Here they have built us a very effective shelter out of banana trees and tarpaulins, and greet us with a breakfast of tea and peanuts to give us energy for the day ahead.
Once again we keep the numbers limited but have to work hard as we want to leave on time. We are well fed with posho (local staple: thick maize porridge), rice and beans for lunch and are lucky the rain holds off as the shelter would not be waterproof (even in drought conditions the area still gets some rain, but not enough for the crops). We get away as planned and make it home in good time to get to The Rock Hotel for a relaxing evening meal.
