I have two highlights to share from Uganda today — a glimpse at art and coffee shops in downtown Jinja and an introduction to my new favorite snack.

Below is the main road in Jinja. It may not look like much (it’s not even paved) but it’s the central area of this city.

I’ve come here with my overland tour mates Cheryl and Natalie (both from Australia) to check out souvenirs and artwork. Shops along this street are flush with both. Bargain away!

It’s a nice selection — my friends buy artwork, and I’m tempted to purchase something but I refrain.

Dozens and dozens of shops…

We spend a chunk of time at The Source, a popular coffee shop and cafe in town. (It’s named as such because Jinja is the source of the Nile River.)

I order an iced vanilla latte that’s more like a slushi — it hits the spot. As does this peanut butter cookie!

It addition to the coffee shop, this place has a lending library (the first in Uganda), an internet cafe, and a charming gift shop.

I get a kick out of this bulletin board covered in fliers, just like any typical western coffee shop:

I seek out the post office, which is only a few blocks away. But somehow I pass it and keep going… and going… until I’m at the edge of this part of town. I ask a few people and finally see it, only to realize it was close to where I started. D’oh. If you’re headed to Jinja, here’s what it looks like so you don’t miss it:

We go back to our campground at Nile River Explorers.

We’ve missed lunch, but luckily there are no fewer than three chapati stands just outside the campground gate. We patron this one — Bujagal Chapati Company — at the suggestion of our guides.

Chapati is unleavened bread, kind of like what we call a wrap in the States, or similar to roti in India. I frequently had it for breakfast in Nepal last year. There are chapati stands all over Uganda, and they’ll make it however you want — I go back and forth between the sweet kind (with banana, Nutella, chocolate) and the savory (with chicken, cabbage, and avocado).

These cost around $1 each and you can tailor them however you want; I don’t eat eggs so he kindly makes me one without them. One is big enough to be a light meal, two will leave you stuffed.

The guy running this stand has chapati dough rolled out and ready to go.

Normally it looks more like a pancake, with the egg holding the cabbage and tomato together. Mine is looser.

Avocado… the best part of any wrap / chapati / sandwich.

Hands down my favorite meal in Uganda. Fresh, delicious, and cheap!

So I’ve been holding out on you… talking about coffee shops and my favorite snack when the most popular thing to do in Jinja (by far) is white water rafting on the Nile river. Tomorrow I’ll have a rundown of this adrenaline-inducing activity.

Thanks to Acacia Africa for discounting the 18-day Mountain Gorillas to the Mara tour in exchange for blogging and photography. Opinions are my own.