The Hairy Lemon

February 11-13, 2018

By Hector Gonzalez

February 13^th, 2018

The Hairy Lemon is the name of an island in the Nile about an hour north of Jinja. I don't know why it's called that. I'd recommend a name change if was asked. It seems to attract a lot of Europeans with dreadlocks who like to kayak. We, of course, are none of those things, but we went anyway. The only way to get to the island is by canoe, though it does only take about a minute.

The landing area is quite nice—the boat drops you off at the bar.

There were various accommodation options, but we chose the one called "glamping," which is like camping but someone else sets up the tent and stuff.

The island, which is about the size of a small city park, was lovely. There were a fair amount of sports-y activities to do, but we, of course, weren't too terribly interested in any of that.

What we wanted to do was swim. The landing area was in a natural pool that was almost perfect for swimming.

There were monkeys.

And some beautiful birds.

Asa demonstrated his prowess as a chess master.

The kids were most enchanted by the boat which they were allowed to play in. As for the random girl in these pictures, there is a story there. A bit of a long one, that involves the rapids in the background (just beyond the bridge), a disobedient child (who was not Asa for once), a heroic rescue attempt, some near-death experiences, and a lot of cuts and bruises. But it's a story for another day, I guess.