SPEEDY IN KOTIDO

I recently got new neighbours. They are noisy workaholics on a mission to dominate at all costs. With no appreciation for serenity, they run a tight house construction operation 7 days a week. They are weaver birds!

In the event that your neighbourhood is anything like mine, a trip away from home is long overdue. I jumped aboard the Kotido express for some work, peace, quiet, and stunning scenery.

It was a two-day trip that combined work and leisure. The schedule was tight and executed in haste.

Day 1: it was all work, travel, and catching sunsets as we sped along the highways from Kampala to Kotido via Jinja, Iganga, Pallisa, Kumi and Soroti district.

Day 2: with work out of the way, we had room for an express tour drive to Kidepo Valley National Park in Kaabong district., but not without taking in the sights and sounds of Kotido town. Here is what I enjoyed;

The elegant morning light validates the newness of each morning. Enjoy it!

If you’re lucky you might catch the local residents

2. The flat topography magnifies the vastness of the land and sky. Journey the open road and take in the vast flat land expanses punctuated by rugged rocks, thorny shrubs, and manyattas.

3. The Big blue sky is hard to miss; chase it! The shifting clouds and constantly evolving light create shifting shadows and animated shapes that my younger self and I would have found amusing.

4. Follow myth busters and check out monuments created in their honour. Formal education in the Karamoja sub-region was initially rejected by community elders and their communities who went to great lengths of burying a book and pen with the belief that it would bring an end to the unwanted intervention. After continued community engagement and sensitisation, elders and locals finally embraced education and unearthed the pen, hence the monument to celebrate.

5. Check out the manyattas and their seemingly unbreachable stick barricades.

6. Enjoy views from across the border.

7. Wind down on the sliding rock that is a hit during the rainy season. It is a natural rock turned water slide during the brief and heavy rainy season.