After our amazing time in nothern Uganda, it was time for some admin, editing and meetings. We wanted to meet up with Tim, owner of the Zebra Safari Lodge in Kidepo, who allowed us to photograph and videograph his lodge. We were eager to show him the videos we had made and to have a nice chat in general. Another contact we wanted to meet, was Barbra from Lifetime Experience Safaris She had been arranging some of our highlight trips in Uganda for us.
The road to Kampala was not too long, but we have definitely had seen some better roads. Especially for a capital, we expected some better roads. It was fun though, bumping our way through the potholes in the middle of Uganda's capital. We did not expect to find dirt roads there, but the only way to our accommodation was through a super crowded dirt road. Despite the crowd and the bumpy road, the trip was relatively easy and we arrived with little to no delay.
The accommodation was at a small chocolate factory with bed and breakfast called 'Moonbean chocolate', directly next to restaurant 'Dancing Cup'. It is not very well-known, but that is mostly a shame for those who don't yet know it. We had a nice room, but the great thing for us was the restaurant next door and the 'chocolate' part of Moonbean. We spent the day of our arrival doing admin stuff and editing our photos and videos in the restaurant, to make sure they were finished for Tim's visit.
Our first meeting however, was with Barbra the next day. It was great to see the face of the person who had to endure all our questions and uncertainties leading up to our trip through Uganda. After we had booked a few trips with Lifetime Experience Safaris, we learned of a massive fraud case at the Uganda Wildlife Authority, regarding permits that were illegally given, we were worried about the permits we had bought. Barbra convinced us they were legal, but as an accountant, Jeroen would not rest until the proof was in his hands. Barbra was not offended and happily provided all the proof she could get and was able to bring us copies of the permits at Moonbean.
Some time later, Tim also arrived. We had a great chat about our trip, our stay at Zebra Safari Lodge and about how he came to get the lodge. We showed him the video and it was great to see and hear his response. All he kept saying was 'Wow' (in a good way). It was amazing to see him this happy with the photos and the videos. After he left, we had lunch and went on with our activity here, the chocolate experience.
The chocolate experience was quite similar to the coffee experience we had in Sipi. We got a tour around the few cocoa trees around the factory. However, most of the cocoa beans are bought locally from other farmers, but it is a great way to show visitors the process from bean to bar. After learning about the plant and the beans, we went inside to see the rest of the process, including the roasting, grinding etc.
We really enjoyed the chocolate experience. We learned a lot about the process and then we went on to make our own chocolates. We got to taste 100% pure chocolate (not recommended) and were shocked with how much sugar goes into other chocolate types. The experience was very well thought out and we highly recommend doing it to anyone who likes chocolate. After this experience, it was time to move to our next stop. We were hoping to spend an extra night here, but unfortunately the BnB was already booked and we had to leave. Fortunately, with Emma being quite the sociable person, we had a great friend who live close by and who allowed us to spend a couple of nights.
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