Lake Bunyonyi — Day 2

---

After arriving back to my lodge yesterday from my tour of the lake, the heavy rains started again, and didn't stop for about 24 hours. Around the same time as yesterday, the rains came to a stop, so I decided to do another tour of the lake, this time to visit a Twa community; the Twa are better known as pygmies. Heavily discriminated against, and violence directed at them by other local tribes, the Twa tend to isolate themselves to isolated areas, where they farm and hunt to sustain themselves. They've also opened up their villages to tourists, where they show you their huts, the school, perform a song and dance routine, show you how skilled they are with a bow and arrow, then try to get you to buy their crafts, or at least give them a small donation for your visit. Pygmies have always been characterized in the press as being shorter than the rest of the population. However, when I encountered them as they greeted my boat, I didn't find them to be any different in size than the others in the region.



The visit to their community lasts 2 -- 3 hours, depending on how long it takes you to walk from the dock to the area where they farm, then up the steep hill to their village; the lake crossing takes about one hour each way. Toward the end of the visit, we had to rush back to the boats, as the sky darkened, and it started to sprinkle. Luckily for me, the rain didn't start back up until I was back at my lodge. Then it just poured again for the rest of the day and all night, clearing up about mid-morning the next day. All this rain was not good for me and my plans for the coming days.

---

Photos

My guide
He was my guide for the two days I toured Lake Bunyonyi, hired him at the dock. He was really good.

Lake Bunyonyi
Too bad the land wasn't as fertile in Latin America, Africa, and Asia as are their men.

Lake Bunyonyi
On our way to the path to take us up the top of the hill

Lake Bunyonyi
My handler, wouldn't let go of my hand once she grabbed it.

Lake Bunyonyi
I would have had better shots of the people dancing, but an English girl and a German girl decided to join them. I'm like, "Could you not dance among them? There's plenty of space for you to dance on the other side of the benches." Needless to say, they though their bad dancing was better than my taking pictures.

Lake Bunyonyi
It doesn't matter how dirty they are, how snot faced they are, or how ragged they are, they always still elicit the "awww" factor.

Lake Bunyonyi
These two little ones had the time of their lives splashing about in the puddles of water. The laughs this activity elicited from both of them from such a simple action was very touching. Enjoy your childhoods little ones for as long as you can. It's sad to know their childhoods will come to an end in the not too distant future.

Lake Bunyonyi
One of two classrooms at the little school. The chalkboards were in such disrepair.