The Breasts of Nyinamwiru

There is a saying that 'true friendship is borne out of the nobility of the soul'. This is true in respect of our retreat to fort portal where we were housed by our very own Murungi Patrick. He himself being in charge of organising this memorable trip. As i lept into the car on our way back to Kampala, I could not stop wondering at the special treatment, and joyous experience that we have had in Fort portal. The enchanting beautiful sceneries of the craters, views from the mountain tops, tales of ancient mystery et al have all taken their place in the deep wells of our bossoms.

A top view from one of the hills

But none of them has been more fascinating than the hospitality of our hosts. Everything from food, drinks, thanks giving has been a grandiose affair. Before we came to fort portal, Patrick had dared us with an entire goat for roasting and we were quick to stand up to his challenge. As we climbed the hills, the man teased us that the goat had escaped (embuzi ya kuttudde). Some of us were quick to admit that the goat had been the game changer in enticing us to come to this retreat. Nevertheless, we trekked on using sugar canes that we were given by the nyakasula chaiplain, a very motherly woman that was happy to see us that morning. We absorbed the exhilarating view from the top, and became proud of having conquered the steep rocky hill. We ate our sugar cane and proceeded to the rock and caves of Nyinamwiru at around 2 pm. The folklore of Ndahura was one of the highlights of that visit. Hearing it from the tour guide was like having a first hand encounter of the story from the original narrator. The story of ndahura is a better fabbled myth than that of Achilles, or Thor God of thunder. You could feel a sense of ancient mystery in the rocky caves, and waterfalls. That place must have been a true habitat of the gods, not mount Olympus. As we came back from the mountains and caves of nyinamwiru, Nuwagira expressed his disappointment at not seeing the famous breasts of Nyinamwiru. The man expected to see the naked breasts of a woman but instead saw rocky surfaces shaped in the breasts of cow and dog udders. It was such a beautiful place full of mystery.

Inside the rocks.

We then came back to Patrick's home for lunch and found that Arinda had already joined us from her journey that morning. We did not know that the lunch, itself a sumptuous meal, was just a starter. By the time the goat came, we were scratching our stomachs in satisfaction. But the allure of a whole roasted goat posing on the table was irresistible. Yet again, we ate. I was the first to tap out. I don't know if others like Dragan, Nuwagira,Taremwa had two stomach chambers, those boys ate with courageous appetite. But in the end, we were all defeated. And darkness started crawling in slowly. The family of Patrick expressed their hearty gratitude for receiving us as their guests. We in turn expressed our Thanksgiving and appreciation for their hospitality, love, care, especially for the food. We were invited for breakfast the next morning.

The goat that almost killed us.

We were transported by our guests to our motel to nurse our bulged stomachs. The next morning we arrived for breakfast after which we would board taxis back to Kampala. We ate katoogo, bread and tea as we drowned in laughter at each others wicked sense of humour. The day before we had created such a din in the house, I thought they would chase us. Yet again, our hosts expressed gratitude for hosting us and wished us safe journey back to Kampala. We boarded taxis and left this land of enchantment that is Fort Portal. Her nature's own hand painted face imprinted in our hearts and minds. Thank you Fort Portal. Thank you my friend Patrick!