The Church Next Door

For the days when driving around town is not feasible [we own a 1996 Toyota Mark II, so the mechanic is our friend], we’ve discovered a great space just 15 minutes away, as Ayiko walks. Once upon a time, before the children came along, we visited Watoto Church in Ntinda and noticed that it has a large lawn and football field below the church buildings. I’d forgotten all about it until lockdown happened. Ayiko and I started a habit of walking around our village for at least an hour every day. Eventually, we brought Leritu along and strapped her onto my back as we wandered about and stared at our neighbours.

During one of these walks, Ayiko was intrigued by a flock of ducks [or were they geese] in a nearby stream. We followed the stream and found ourselves at the bottom of the Watoto Church lawn. Ayiko was hesitant to venture off our usual path. [He strongly distrusts anything new and unusual.] However, once he saw the space, climbed the little hills and run around the football field, he was converted.

Now, it’s his favourite non-car related adventure venue. There is the added advantage that every time we go there, I end up buying a soda and those little cheap plastic toy cars from a nearby duuka [see the kaveera he’s carrying]. So, what’s not to love?

I’m surprised there aren’t more people roaming around this space. Surely the football should entice the village to congregate [if not the church]. Nonetheless, it’s scarcely used by the community. Sometimes we’ll find the odd Christian sitting and praying under a tree. But it’s not thing like any other public spaces in the city. If you’re the kind that’s into bird watching, it could be an easy and quick excursion. There’s a little stream at the bottom of the valley which attracts some interesting creatures.

We shall definitely keep this one on our short list.

Forest Park Buloba

Forest Park is in Buloba on the Kampala – Mityana highway. The cousins and cousinettes had invited us to a day out. Given the recent lockdown and the stale taste of home in my mouth, the opportunity to breath real air was too good to pass by. 

True to its name there’s a little forest next to the entrance which opens into luscious green swatches and a private lake. The word that comes to mind is luxury – that’s the feeling one has as one drives through the expansive park. Further in is a splendid swimming pool with not one but two paddling pools for the littlings. There’s a promise of cottages under construction amongst the trees – which I am sure will be grand. All the more reason to return in a few years. Further down field is a gym, sauna [frequented by the famous Maama Fina] and [under construction] a rally driving route [car or motorbike, je ne sais pas]. Did I mention that they have a zip line and paintball? Talk about adrenaline overload!

We started the day with the usual fuss of breakfast and daily laundry run, and failed to meet our 10am target. We were responsible for picking up the cake [the cousin-in-law’s birthday] and after navigating that task, we were off onto the northern bypass. Thankfully, there wasn’t too much traffic. After only two panicky calls from the cousin, we showed up at 12:30pm, only an hour and a half late.

I had been to Forest Park 5 years earlier and was glad to see that the vision had grown from just a lake, restaurant and gardens to an entire adventurous extravaganza. The cousins were at the pool and, after the arrival of [uncle] Ivan, we were fully enthralled in a water polo cum soccer battle of girls versus boys. I eventually got a chance to do a few laps- the first time in 3 years. Yoh! I’m blaming it on the pregnancies. The burning chest, lack of breath, aching limbs – this is not the person I know/knew. Ivan joked about how I used to easily do 40 laps in a pool that size without a thought. Now I am crippled by one.

Meanwhile, Yiyi was whisked away by his cousin and they splashed around in the baby pool. I tried the same and he clung to me for dear life. [Perhaps he is braver when I am absent?] Leritu, as always delights in her brother. She watched him for a bit and then dozed off. 

Lunch happened. The restaurant is decent enough, though I should warn you to stick to fish and chips. It was the fastest dish to show up plus the fish is fresh from the lake, so, why not?

The climax of the day was the day was the zip line. So when a guy tells you that the longer line is designed for people about 70 kg to wind up in the lake, why oh why do people do it? I am a coward. I stuck to the short line. Getting up to the departure platform is a quest of its own, with either a swinging rope ladder or a mini rock climbing feat. It’s almost like they are testing your resolve even before you jump off into the air. Most amusingly, the cousin-in-law [whose birthday we were celebrating] took a long pause at the bottom of the rope ladder. As the rest of us ascended, he watched it swaying under our weight, as if considering how his life had reached this point. Unfortunately, for him, after his littlest daughter whizzed across [albeit with closed eyes and a lot of coaxing], he could not, as a man, back away in fear. Yiyi waved goodbye to me, a little too eagerly, when my turn came. He happily stood by uncle Ivan’s side while I vanished into the distance. The longer line – which I knew was a bad idea- resulted in a very wet uncle Ivan, the cousin and cousinettes, much to the amusement of the other guests.

We crowned the day with a leisurely boat ride on the lake and cake [a party without cake is just a meeting, n’est-ce pas?]. Getting Leritu onto the boat required some negotiation. However, she seemed to enjoy it. While Yiyi was so petrified his mind and body shut down for the entire ride. 

No worries though, he fully recovered immediately after exiting the boat and was further revived by cake and drinks!

Off we go

 

In between the longer trips upcountry, I am searching for green spaces where Ayiko [and I] can roam. As a result of the exposure to the rolling hills of the countryside, our little home with its tiny swatch of grass feels restrictive. Quite often when Ayiko feels like he's reached his threshold of patience, he'll grab our shoes, my bag, my sun hat and the baby's carrier. Then, he'll lead me to the door, as if to say, 'we gotta get outta here!' We need a regular diet of green spaces.

So, now, I'm looking for safe places that are close enough for a day trip. For those times when I cant invest in an entire weekend of travel and exploration, these are the discoveries we've made.