In Mbale

well lucky me my cellphone is connecting to the internet without charging me so I am hopefully going to be able to update all weekend while hiking. So I left nkokonjeru at around 9:30 but we have to wait until the taxi is too full to actually comfortably fit people in it. Leaving at 10:30 I was crushed in the back of the taxi with my 20 pound hiking pack sitting on my legs completely blocking my face--the locals were lauging. after about thirty painful minutes driving the taxi just died and broke down. So I needed to be in Mbale before 5 or earlier so I got nervous. After 20 minutes of waiting I was almost ready to call off my trip that it was just going to be too much. Luckily another taxi came and I got to put my bag in the trunk and we headed off to mukono. while riding I made a decision that riding taxis the entire way-i would need to switch to another in jinja on the way- so I decided to go to the bank and get some money and hire a private car. it cost me around 90 dollars instead of 30 but it was going to be the only way to make it the weekend work so I bit the bullet. but I soon realized it was worth the cost, the ride was going to be around 2-3 and I got a nice big back seat and a trunk for my bag.

After two and a half hours we got to mbale and went to the park office. talking to the ranger I realized the lodge I was going to stay at was another hour away and it was a lot farther from the peak than leaving from here. coupled with the fact that I would need more money and mbale was the only place to get money I asked the ranger to get me a hotel in mbale so I can hike from here plus I didn't want to pay the driver to drive anymore. so we headed out to the hotel and stopped at the supermarket to get food supplies for camping. so my hotel is nothing like the lodge I was going to go to--the other was set right next to a 200 meter waterfall. but it has tv,electricity, and my own bathroom with hot water so almost as good. so now just hanging out tonight at the hotel and will leave early in morning.