Day 1 – Saturday – 2/19
We arrived in Entebbe at about 4:45 pm after a 5 hour and 40 min flight. We were surprised to see a woman with a “Fatcheric” sign when we entered the terminal, before any immigration or passport checks. She shepherded us through the entry process, starting with the Covid and yellow fever documentation check. I worried a little about our Covid testing as if you simply look at the times on the Covid test, our test was like 74 hours old, but if you consider the 8-hour time difference, it was actually only 66 hours old (within the 72-hour limit). But the young lady doing the checking did not even blink and we walked through to passport control. We had applied and received our East African Visa, so we were able to go to a short eVisa line and only waited a few minutes to get our passports stamped. Then to baggage claim where our escort got us a luggage trolley and our bags came out in just a few minutes. The lady then led us to outside the terminal where we found John, our driver, with a “Jerome” sign. He then took the luggage trolley and led us some distance to where his car was parked. John got luggage loaded, we got in, and he drove to where he had to pay for parking. After that we departed from the airport through an armed security gate and took the short ride to the hotel. The route to the hotel went along the edge of Lake Victoria.
Boma Hotel
The hotel had a security gate, so we had to wait momentarily as someone from inside opened the gate. Then into a small circular car park. The driver helped us with the luggage into the reception area. We had a voucher for the hotel but were not asked for it. I just filled out a simple form with passport number and address and we were shown out the back of the reception area to our room (#9).
The Boma was a converted home/estate with multiple buildings connected by gardens and brick pathways. I think that there were only 11 rooms in total. It was a bit dated, with its main attractions being closeness to the airport (10-15 min) and the swimming pool. Our room had a nice double bed with mosquito netting, a TV (with BBC), AC, and a bathroom with double sink and shower. Just outside the door of the room was an outdoor patio with table and chairs. Go here for pics of Boma Hotel.
We were in our room by 6 pm but didn’t really unpack as we were leaving in just 12 hours. But, given our 40-hour marathon travel from our home in Goshen to this point, we both opted for showers and a change of clothes. Refreshed, we left to find the pool and adjoining dining area and bar. We got wine and sat down by the pool to lounge. Margi called her sister to check on our dogs. After a while, we went up to a patio above the pool to the al fresco dining area for dinner. There were two women (mother/daughter) who we think were South African, but they weren’t too friendly. By the time we left, the dining area was almost full. There was a varied menu, but the food was ok at best. We charged the dinner to the room.
We went back to the room and prepared our bags etc for departure at 6 am tomorrow. I set the alarm for a little before 5 am and we were in bed before 10 pm.
Day 2 – Sunday – 2/20
We both had trouble sleeping. Up with alarm and I dressed and closed my suitcase. Margi did the same. At about 5:15 am, I took our bags down to the reception area and I paid with a credit card for our dinner and wine. I told Margi to go to breakfast at 5:30 and I would meet her there. I went back to the room and found that Margi seems to be gone, so I proceeded onto the dining area, but I did not see her at any of the tables. So, I went back to the room and entered to find it empty. Figuring that she must be in the dining room somewhere, I left the room.
At 5:30 am, the sun was not up, and the interior paths were dark and poorly lit. I walked down a few steps outside our room to the brick pathway to the pool and I thought that there were only 2 steps, when there were really 3. The result was that I fell flat on my face and landed mostly on my left knee and my forehead and hands luckily landed on the grass on the other side of the walk. I knew immediately that I had messed up badly. I collected myself, rolled over, and was able get up. I went back into the room and had this strange feeling that this wasn’t really our room (shaken by the fall?). I went into the bathroom and washed off my forehead and hands and cleaned off some dirt on my jeans.
I went back to the dining area and found Margi at a table, eating, as she had opted for the buffet, which was in the interior and was probably why I did not see her on my first visit. I told her of my fall and at this point, I had started to limp. The fall had not impacted my appetite, so I order scrambled eggs and bacon. We struck up a conversation with the only other people there, a young-ish Indian couple from Toronto who were in Uganda for a week and would be going to Bwindi toward the end of their trip. He was a recruiter for a Toronto university business school, and she was a financial adviser. They experienced the same 17-hour layover in Doha as we did but they opted to bring their laptops and try to work during the layover. They were going locally to see chimpanzees today.
At about 5:50 am, we headed to the reception area to wait for our driver, John, who arrived just before 6. He took the bags, loaded them in his van, and we left for the short ride to the airport. The entrance to the airport was guarded by armed military and seemed serious based on the automatic weapons. But we got through without issues. Then John parked, got a luggage trolley, and pushed our luggage up to the front gate area where he left us and we proceeded into the terminal. We went through security which seemed a bit more relaxed than in the US. We checked-in at the Aerolink counter, then through another security check (this time including shoes) to get to our departure gate where we waited for our flight. There were duty free shops, but most were just opening
The boarding process was casual, with a couple of guys walking around with fluorescent vests on. A few more people came into the waiting area and spoke with the guys in vests. One of them came up to us and we told him we were going to Kihihi airstrip (Bwindi). he told us to board the bus out on the tarmac. I noticed that our luggage was already loaded onto the bus. An Aerolink person on the bus explained that we will stop at Kisomo airstrip to drop off one passenger and then go onto Kihihi.
The plane was a Cessna something with one engine, two pilots, and room for 11 passengers (but we have only 7). We boarded through the rear of the plane as they loaded the luggage. All carry-on had to be placed in a storage area at the back. The only amenity was a cooler with bottled water. There was one black lady who got off at Kisomo, a group of 4 from CA (mother, father, adult daughter, and son-in-law), and us.
Flight to Kisomo was about 1:20 and smooth. Visibility was limited as it was overcast. The airstrip was a little eye opening as it was just a single dirt runway and then a lone small building that acted as the terminal. I saw only a windsock and there appeared to be no runway lights or radar. A new couple boarded the plane in Kisomo. We were on the ground for about 20 minutes and then the flight to Kihihi was another 20 minutes.
Hit back button and select Bwindi.