By LEAH NABUKEERA
Travelling to an island is one of the best experiences anyone would have and trust me I have been to most of them. Recently I sailed to Bugala Island to visit Bugoma sand Beach in the western province with a group of friends, in what you would call a familiarization trip.
Who knew that an abrupt travel plan on a random Tuesday morning would turn out to be such a memorable adventure?
I packed my bag for a day’s getaway, only to pitch camp at the beautiful island for 3 blissful days. Who wouldn’t want to extend their stay away from Kampala chaos?
Our pick-up point was at Shell Petrol Station Busega on Masaka road. We had the time to stretch our bodies, re-fuel the car and also restock on snacks for the journey. Two hours in, Lukaya ushered us to her grand assortment barbeque products; goat, beef, liver, chicken and the other roast grill suspects – maize and plantain.
Lukaya, for those not familiar, is a roadside market along Masaka road, famous for its delectable quick pick barbeque and roasted snacks. We indulged in picture taking and videos for memories before rushing off to be in time for the ferry at the Bukakata-Bugoma terminal.
It is about a 30-minute drive from Lukaya to the ferry site. Once at Bukakata, registration followed, check in and boarding. The ferry carries up to 10 vehicles per return shift, our van came with us to the Island.
We boarded at 5pm and arrived on the other side of the island after just 30 minutes. I was excited to make it in time for the drive to Bugoma sand beach and take pictures of the sunset kissing the waves of Lake Victoria.
We were welcomed by the managers Martin and Allan who showed us to our cottages. The beauty of the resort beach is they named the cottages after Buganda Kingdom’s counties.
I slept in Ssese cottage, my travel buddies took on Buddu, Bulemezi, Busiro, Ssingo and Kyaggwe. The rooms were furnished to suit our needs. We refreshed after that long journey and geaded to dinner where we were served rice, cabbage and a local sauce with eggplants and liver.
Dinner was a relaxing moment as we listened to music, shared stories and laughed. Later on, we were moved to the fire place to enjoy the beach ambiance along with coffee and spring rolls.
One thing about time is you can’t stretch it, no matter how much you want a good moment to last. Soon enough, we headed to our cottages to rest and recharge for a new day of beach sunrise watching, games and adventure.
We started off with a tour around the rooms as we continued to give ideas to the manager on what to improve or remove for the benefit of the resort. The tour went on for 2hours as we all took pictures to make it memorable. The resort has activities like kayaking, swimming, quad biking, beach volley ball, beach football, pool table, ludo, biking and so many more. We got to experience all this and now live to tell the stories.
Part of the team moved to the Bugala trading center to buy fish and also explore the island further.
At 6pm we ended the day’s activities with a dance fiesta; everyone exhibiting their moves – dance like no one is watching, they say.
We freshened up for the evening, had dinner served with juice. After the dinner we moved on to the fire place for relaxation. One of our travel buddies Vince gave us a karaoke moment and was so amazing.
We were served coffee and a meal that I got to learn about called “kibelo” – a mixture of fish, matooke and greens. I had never tasted it before. I honestly enjoyed the meal, a lot. I headed off to sleep so as to prepare for the morning ride home.
We were up by 8am, got breakfast and check out. However, before leaving the resort, we had a pool table match between Dolly, Sukie and Elly. It steamed up our adrenaline as the players put their skill to test. Sukie emerged the winner as per my recollection.
It is hard to say good bye especially when you have made lasting memories at a destination. Bidding the staff farewell and getting into the vehicle was emotional. First of all, the feeling of Leaving the place that brought you a peace of mind and the travel buddies you made memories with is never easy.
We got onto the 10am ferry with our spirits low, the fact that this much fun had come to an end, slowly sinking in.
“Voyager c’est voir et appendre.”