Day Four: A good road with bad users
With tired legs and blisters we were nursing from Day Three, it was a slow start to the day. For the first time, all of us were not present at the agreed meeting time for breakfast and take-off at 6.30am. We eventually assembled, ate and were ready to take off 45 minutes late. By this time, we had covered almost half the distance of the whole journey.
We rolled out of Iganga town and onto the highway going eastwards. 5km in, we branched off onto the Tirinyi highway heading towards Mbale. It’s a newly completed road, the driving surface is smooth and unlike many other roads we had walked on the previous days, the markings are clear. This was exciting as we felt users would respect the road and we would have a better walking experience contrary to what we experienced before where it has been a battle for space between man and car. A few minutes into the journey, the reality that this is a road with scary speeds started sinking in. Many drivers were overtaking even when the markings said otherwise. In some cases, cars overtaking would get onto the pedestrian walkways almost sweeping people away.
As we moved ahead, we saw that there seemed to be very few signs on the road, an observation which was repeated by most of the roadside communities. We then started to realise that the road signs have been vandalised, something that the area residents confirmed. When we got to Namalemba, we met school children going back home. They told us their woes, of speeding reckless drivers who have knocked down some of their friends and boda riders, making it a nightmare to walk on the road. It was sad to hear.
One of the things I am really grateful for is that the weather has been amazing. All the forecasts before we started predicted harsh weather conditions, but since we got on the road, it has either rained where we walked, or in areas close to the roads which has seen us enjoying a cool breeze, or a cloud covering our heads. While having lunch at Busembatia, our minds went to what the weather would be after our meal. The forecast predicted hot conditions and it was indeed hot. Less than 30 minutes later though, God did it again. A rain cloud came over our heads and we could see rain at a distance. We were ready for another shower on the road. But it never rained. Instead we had a cool cover up to Namutamba where we are resting for the night as we prepare for Day Five.
