The power went out three times in Kabale, Uganda, while I was trying to write and post this. Thus, I finished it tonight.
Our time in Rwanda was short, but sweet: one week. Probably should have headed south, but for a variety of reasons (mostly time and money - not in that order), we did not. Rwanda is expensive: two backpacking muzungus + expensive = not a positive equation. Regardless, it is very beautiful - a small emerald gem. It has been two months since we've seen greenery of any kind; it was a nice change. No dust. Remarkable. :) The country is lush (rainy season) and the geography is spectacular. It is very mountainous (milles collines) - which makes it so different from what we've seen of Tanzania and eastern Kenya.
We liked Kigali much more than any of the other big cities we've seen. It is set among several steep hills. The porches of our guesthouse had a beautiful view of a couple of suburbs on the three mountains to the north. We were fairly centrally located. That is, the main shopping center and the town center was a 10-minute uphill walk up a red-dirt road near the Ste. Famille Church. The staff at the guesthouse were fabulous - really kind, friendly, curious and helpful. At night, we heard ad-hoc choirs of young Catholic men singing under the street lights along our street. The population is very musical and also, very religious. Great food and coffee (arguably, Rwanda has some of the best coffee in the world), and it's quiet.
Today begins the memorial week commemorating the 1994 genocide. The genocide was not something we discussed with locals, unless they broached the subject. Certainly, it would be inappropriate to ask most questions; thus, we left it to them to mention what they wanted without prodding. Usually, people urged us to visit the memorial museum or certain important sites; apart from that, there was no further discussion. I was accosted by five exuberant teenagers, wishing to sell me a purple band inscribed with "Walk to Remember" (which we missed by four days). They were too young to have lived through it; but no doubt, their older siblings, parents and grandparents certainly lived through the horror. In 2001, according to a study, 99% of the population had either witnessed violence, been a victim of violence or had family, friends of neighbours who were either killed or took part in the genocide. We spent four hours at Kigali's Genocide Memorial center. It is a deeply moving museum, built on the site where 250 000 bodies are buried. I have not yet seen a museum of this calibre in East Africa. We also traveled south of Kigali to a town called Nyamata. Here we visited a memorial at the Catholic church (link). Thousands of people were killed within its walls, a place they had come to find protection. It is one of the saddest places I have ever visited. I'll leave it to you to search the inter-web to read more about it, or read Romeo Dallaire's book, Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda.
From Kigali, we moved north to Gisenyi, a picturesque resort town that offers little in the form of entertainment and activity (it's all about people watching). This is true of most east African towns, villages, and cities. The drive to Gisenyi was comfortable (good roads! wow!) and the views stunning. Farms clinging to mountain sides and road-side markets thick with cabbage and beautiful carrots. The buses in Rwanda are ridiculously efficient (not so in the ROA). They leave on time; they don't sell one extra ticket; they drive reasonably; they get there on time. Sadly, because it is the rainy season, we suffered through our first rains in Giseny. It rained for most of the two days, and the temps were rather cool (20-22 degrees... 10-15 degrees cooler than what we're used to). Yes, boohoo, again.
We toyed with the idea of crossing the border into Goma, just to say that we'd been to the eastern Congo. Goma looks like it was a happening town; in fact, it seemed to have had more going for it than Gisenyi. But that was then. We realised that we probably shouldn't chance it; after all, who's more frightening: armed Congolese or Rwandan immigration-border officials? Exactly. We stayed put in Gisenyi.
One last thing about our sleep in Gisenyi. Saturday night, the church singing and music went on till about 11:45 pm. Super! It was spiritual and uplifting... who can't sleep through that? That's right. Had there been more to do in Gisenyi on a Saturday night, sleep would not have been an issue. The following morning, around 6:30, the drum practice started. Two hours of deep, bellowing drums. That was it for sleep. The choir singing chimed in at 8:30. Quite nice really. It all came to a roaring finale at 13:30. Seriously. This is what happens when you pay 17$ to sleep at the presbyterian church's dorms. May that be a lesson to you.
And lest you be curious, no, we did not shell out 500$ each to track gorillas and hope to watch them for an hour.
How much do you love these ladies?
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