We left Jinja and headed straight for Sipi Falls with a brief stop over in Mbale. Sipi might be the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life. We stayed at a place called Twilight where we pitched our tent on a terrace over looking a valley and across from the largest water fall i've ever seen in person.
we hired a local guide to take us on a hike down to the bottom and then up through the three levels of falls. the hike took the better part of the day and at points was a little tough. a 14 year old kid named Roberts joined us for the hike and taking pity on me kept lending me a hand up and a steady hand to hold onto on the slippery parts. at the top of the falls we were able to dip our feet into the water where it was coming down from the slopes of Mt. Elgon. It was really such a breathtaking spot -- I wish we had given ourselves more time there.
The next morning (friday) the car that we had arranged to take us back to Mbale was a no show so we had to take public transport (read: the back of a pickup truch carrying a load of potatoes) back into town. From there we did a little shopping and then called the Chairman of the Abayudaya for directions to Nabugoye one of the four villages.
For those who don't know - the Abayudaya (Luganda for Tribe of Judah) are a goup of several hundred Jews who life in western uganda. I'm still piecing the history together - but apparently they converted to Judaism in the beginning of the 20th cen. Currently, their Rabbi - Rabbi Gershom - is studying at the University of Judaism in LA and will be ordained at the end of the coming school year. He will be the first formally trained rabbi that the community has had.
I could write (and probably will) pages and pages about what it's like there. But for now, and because I'm short on time - I'll write a little about shabbat. We arrived on a very busy week. Besides a group of about AJWS volunteers visiting there were also representatives from an organization in San Francisco as well as from the JDC. It was also the celebration of the Rabbi's son Yigal's Bar Mitzvah. The whole of shabbat was really out of another world. The best way I can describe it is 1 part summer camp, 1 part shtetl & 1 part africa.
I promise to write more later.
