There were no switch-backs on the trail – the trail just went straight up – so the climb was often exhausting and sometimes treacherous. Here are a few pictures.
The man with the gun was our trail guide, Moses. He was an interesting man to get to know, and his story is not uncommon in Uganda. He is a professing Catholic but wants to become a “born again” (they are seen as completely separate religions here). The one thing stopping Moses from becoming a “born again” is the fact that, although he has a wife and son, he and his wife were never officially married (in a church, with a ceremony, with a party, etc.). There are two sad realities about this predicament. The first is that many village churches would probably not accept him and his wife into their congregation because they'd not had a wedding. The second is that Moses and his wife did not have a wedding because they couldn't afford to have one in the way that is expected. It seems that religion can sometimes keep people from knowing God. We prayed for Moses and promised to write.
Many thanks to Em for holding down the fort while I was out, and to our new friends who came by to check on her and the kids.
