Kabarole [Fort Portal]

 

               

 

Fort Portal was quite an eventful trip. There are tales of children drinking coloured beverages in wine glasses; motor cycle accidents and concussions; a beautiful wedding and family gallivanting in forests that were planted by Queen Elizabeth of England!

This is also a tale of extended unrelated family. We grew up with the Agabas in Makerere University and they introduced us to Aunt Betty [the late Aunt Gertrude Agaba’s sister] and her flock. So, when we heard Billy was off to marry, we grabbed onto the idea of a trip to Fort Portal. Ivan, even went as far as to pull out his fancy BMW motorbike in its first cross country journey. Sadly, about 2 hours into the trip, we got a call saying he, Ivan, had collided with a mindless boda boda rider who drove into the road, panicked and froze on hearing the loud roar of the BMW. The other rider survived, barely. We heard about concussions and a completely written off motorbike. However, we were mostly glad to see that Ivan walked, or rather limped away from the incident – and insisted on going on to the wedding. Mityana folks were quite understanding and, for a small fee, kept the BMW while we continued on our way [it was still intact when we returned later!].

        

The rest of the drive, thankfully, was less dramatic. Our camping ground for the duration of the trip was a lovely cluster of cottages called Koi Koi, about 2 km from the centre of town. The place belongs to Mum’s Gayaza class mate. She was keen to support the sisterhood. We were happy to be in a beautiful location. If I had a chance to do things all over again, I would have chosen this place for a destination wedding. It’s got the loveliest littlest chapel, perfect lawn for reception, excellent customer service and it’s far from Kampala. I like the idea of being away from the noise and chaos.

Speaking of the lack of noise and chaos, how wonderful it is to have the children pass out at the end of the day while listening to the sound of the nearby forest creatures. Meanwhile, white might just be my new favourite colour for walls and linen.

So back to the wedding. Billy had found his beloved. They were united in marriage in a beautiful ceremony. I like exposed brick buildings. I confess, I spent more time admiring the architecture of the church than listening to the sermon [though these tend to be the same no matter how many weddings you attend! Love your wife, honour your husband. Have lots of children. Do not divorce]!

The littlings were thrilled by the green at the Mountains of the Moon hotel. Ayiko was more comfortable with the open space outside than the loud speakers of the reception hall. As soon as he could, he run off with his father and was found climbing trees and wolfing down guavas. Aleru was just glad to crawl and roll around in the grass.


Since it was New Year’s Eve, we all had a little down time to spend and added a day to our visit. In pursuit of green spaces, we sought out the Tooro Botanical Gardens. It’s 100 acres of garden space in the heart of the city. A. M. A. Z. I. N. G!

Ayiko in a sea of lavender

They have an amazing collection of trees, shrubs and herbs. The best part is that they also sell seedlings of some of the plants they showcase, and at very reasonable prices. It seems to be the place to do your plant shopping in Fort Portal. So, we got oranges, basil, Artemisia [which, apparently, is the mother plant of COARTEM] and lemon verdana.

The guide said something about a plant that can be used for make-up and Ivan decided it was Wakanda time. Even the little princess was dragged into the drama of it.          

Did I mention it’s 100 acres large? There were several trees to climb, a small lake and an island.

 

The wedding party was still going on at the Agaba’s home – the perfect place to spend the rest of New Year’s Eve. It was great to catch up with the family after ages. [In a totally related matter, I need to follow through with my promise to order cake from Anita Agaba.] While at the party, Aleru and Ayiko were fascinated by the contents of other people’s wine glasses and kept trying to experiment with their taste buds. We went to sleep early that night [except for Ivan who was out trying to evade crime preventers and LDUs]. Fort Portal is a great place to be.

 

                   

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