Is it Port Fortal or Fort Portal?? Uganda

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I know that you've read a few things about our trials and tribulations with local minibus taxis, but the matatu (as they are called here) drivers and conductors really are an ignorant and greedy bunch, pulling out all the stops to take extra money from you.  We experienced this first hand over the next few days, and tried to figure out how to handle our upcoming travel around the country.  They were

Kingfisher Lodge above the Rift Valley

so bad, that we had a couple of screaming matches with them upon arrival in town, after we had decided on a price and they wanted to increase it for some reason, or charge us more than other passengers!  It was not a pleasant way to arrive in new towns.  We found out that they not only cheat mzungu's but also local people.  This really put a damper on our few days, and possibly on our entire time in Uganda, which is a shame.  I could go on, but will spare you the details.

Heading North in the general direction of Fort Portal, we crossed the Great Rift Valley again, which runs from Ethiopia, right down through Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi and into Mozambique.  Queen Elizabeth National Park sits in the valley, and there was an impressive view over the valley from the spectacularly perched Kingfisher Camp on the escarpment.  It felt like the

Martin at O degrees Latitude

infinity pool actually flowed over into the Rift Valley.  Too bad we couldn't afford to stay here, but instead camped at Simba, just minutes in latitude, North of the Equator.

I think for both of us, this was the first time actually crossing the Equator by land.  It was relatively exciting, but the monument itself marking the crossing was in rough shape.  You could read 'Equator', but Uganda was missing a few letters and read 'UG N A'!!  And, we were disappointed because nobody was there trying to demonstrate the Coriolis forces with a sham demonstration of water spinning down the drain in opposite directions in the North and South!!!  Oh well!  Did the obligatory photos of one leg in each of the Northern and Southern hemisphere though, while the locals looked at us strangely!!

Another disastrous couple of matatu rides in which we actually got 'sold' from one bus to another, landed us in the town of Fort Portal.  We lucked out and found a great little guesthouse called Golf

With Paul from Golf Course View GH

Course View, run by a very intelligent and well spoken man named Paul.  He really had his head screwed on right, and was doing all the right things to be successful in his business, and help out the local orphanage.  That, and he was exceptionally nice, and we enjoyed chatting with him.  He let us camp under a nice banda in the back yard for only 10000 Shillings, which was super cheap and nice since it poured with rain that night..... and we stayed dry!!

Around Fort Portal are a number of scenic locations and parks.  We avoided the expensive Kibale National Park, and instead visited the community run Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary.  Much cheaper and we were walked with our guide Ivan for more than three hours spotting some colourful birds like the Blue Turaco, but more importantly for us, we spotted 5 of the 8 types of primates in the area.  New for us were the black and white colobus monkeys, red tail monkeys, red colobus monkeys, and grey-cheeked mangabeys.  We love watching the primates, so this was a highlight for us.   The walk was relaxing and enjoyable, skirting the swamp on one side, and the local cultivated fields on the other!

Michelle in Chimp's Nest Rainforest

We stayed at a place called the Chimp's Nest, a highly recommended place in our Lonely Planet.  Unfortunately, we didn't know that they were going through major renovations (and only after being open 5 years???), so most of the cool places to hang out were under construction.  They had a private rainforest that bordered the Kibale Park, and some nice boardwalk paths through that led to a couple of very cool tree house accommodation high up in the canopy - if only we had more money sometimes.....   We did head out on a guided night walk, seeing some interesting animals like a African Palm Civet cat, and a fruit bat hanging over the path, eating some round fruit.   We moved on the next day though, because of the construction issues and nowhere to relax.   *Stub

A Blue Turaco at Bigodi Swamp

Crayfish Avocado at Byoona Amagara, Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda

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Getting to Byoona Amagara by dugout canoe

We really enjoyed Rwanda in spite of the Genocide Remembrance preoccupying the nation.  Although we'd have liked to stay and discover more of its countryside, we felt it was time to move on and to catch up on some R & R! When we had been in Musanze in the north of Rwanda, we fleetingly met another travelling couple (The Lukes from Canada) who gave us some quick tips for our next country - Uganda, and we were eager to explore their recommendations. Martin had been looking forward to Uganda, as we had heard many great things.

It was a soggy day for crossing the border, but a very happy official greeting us on the other side made for an anxiety-free experience. Another bus and a moto taxi and we were at beautiful Lake Bunyonyi. But not yet done, the final leg was a relaxing one-hour paddle in a dugout canoe to one of the 28 islands on the lake. Arriving just before

Restaurant View

sunset the water was glassy and flat, and the surrounding hills rose up from the water in a patchwork pattern of cultivated and terraced fields - brown and greens abound! It was a beautiful and peaceful  paddle - a great way to unwind from the travel day.

And what a place we arrived at!  Byoona Amagara Lodge, on Itambira Island, is a community-run place, with all proceeds going to benefit the locals in the area.  We can easily support that initiative, but even easier once we tasted some of the delicious food, and looked at the amazing accommodation - all reasonably priced!

We camped for the first four nights and then decided to treat ourselves to a Geodome. The geodome

Terraced Fields Lining Lake Bunyonyi

was a round hut constructed with local building materials of bamboo and palm grasses, but with a twist. With a  fly net over the bed to keep yukky bugs out, the front of the hut was wide open to the elements.  Very cool.  The wide deck was perfect for just sitting and looking at the beautiful scenery and bird watching: iridescent ibis, flitting weavers and dive-bombing kingfishers amongst  the lakeshore reeds.  All of the Geodomes had amazing lake views, and plenty of privacy to relax.  We even spotted three of the local lake otters from our deck.

When it rained the main restaurant area was perfect for reading or playing Carcassonne.  And eating! The food was delish. The crayfish avocado was so yummy we had it about six times each that week.

Delicious Crayfish Avocado

It was half an avocado, filled with local crayfish (like tiny lobsters) tails in a tasty tomato mayonnaise sauce.  The huge fish burritos filled with local tilapia fish, beans, onions and lots of cheese, were tasty and exceptionally filling.  There was also a steady stream of visitors staying, so we had some good social evenings chatting with other travellers or volunteers.  The staff main staff were very friendly and knowledgable.  Both Clinton and Friday, who take turns running the place, were very active in the community and had a couple of projects running to supply the villages with goats and potatoes (seeds).

Thankfully the weather was mostly dry and after a few days of absolute relaxing, we rented a canoe and visited close-by islands. We found other 'resorts' that weren't as nice and rustic, or imaginative, or

John and his Crayfish catch

even as cheap as ours! We'd walk our island and meet all sorts of characters. One, Gerard, had an irritating knack of always finding you and wanting to be your 'guide'. Another, John, a crayfish fisherman, was gentle and sweet; he was saving up to buy a cow and a goat so that he could marry his girlfriend. He showed us his crayfish traps, and his catch of the day.  We bought things from his shop and asked him to guide our canoe paddle back to the mainland when we moved on. Anything to help him. We were also sad that we would not be staying for the weekend, as one of the local babies named Kevin was being christened and they were having a party for the community.
Eventually we had to face the fact that we had to leave and we were sad to leave this perfect spot. *Mush

Our GeoDome accommodation

Interior of Geodome

Gaseous Lake Kivu, Rwanda

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After our fabulous experience with the gorillas, we couldn't really afford to explore more of the Parc Nationale des Volcans, as it is particularly expensive to do any hiking in the park.  Picturesque Lake

Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Kivu was next on our list, so we boarded what looked like a brand new internal city bus, for the trip down, down, down to the lake.  The views of the volcanoes were amazing, but unfortunately, we were seeing them at warp speed.  The only good thing here was that the bus seemed new, and in good shape, but why must he throw us around all the corners.  Michelle actually went up to him and told him to slow down, and that he would kill someone soon.  He said he was going the speed limit, which he might be, but he was also going the same speed around the corners.  Not 5 minutes after one of the locals on the bus told Michelle 'this is normal in Africa', and she replied 'he is going to kill somebody, and she didn't want it to be us', a small boy happened to be in the middle of the road as we sped around a corner in town.  It was very lucky that he managed to get out of the way, but we looked at the locals who had laughed at us, and we hoped that maybe they could see our argument now, and that is is so unnecessary.  5 minutes later to arrive is not worth somebody's life.  I really don't think they get it though - so typical of all of Africa!!!!

Almost as soon as we found a place to stay, Michelle started feeling ill.  We've both been quite lucky on the sickness end of things and very seldom need a day in bed, but that was what she required.  I managed to walk around town, down to the shores of Lake Kivu.  Apparently, this lake being a volcanic lake, has a large storage of methane gases deep under the water.  They are actually trying to harness some of this methane gas by some type of pump or drill rig out in the lake.  They do say at times the methane gas can raise to the surface and there have been cases of swimmers asphyxiating on the toxic gases, and dying.  You have to be careful where you swim, so as I saw no locals out in the water, I decided it was not a time to cool off in the waters.

It was not the most scenic beach, but along the shoreline, I had a close up view of Goma, the town in Congo attached to Gisenyi that we were in.  Yes, we were actually that close, and looked into the possibility of traveling into the DRC to visit the volcano Nyiragongo, that has been erupting for a number of years.  Alas, the visa at the border was going to cost $285 each, unless we had a week or so to wait.  Then it would be only $50 to head in and do a hike up to see the spraying lava.  Not enough time for us, so we settled for close-ish views of the volcano with smoke and ash pouring out the top.  When Michelle was feeling better the next day, we did take a walk to the Congo border post.  About as close as I think we will ever be, but it was cool to say we have been to within a stone's throw of the DRC.

Enjoying a Coke at Palm Gardens in Gisenyi

Day two in Gisenyi, and Michelle was back on her feet, so we did our usual walking tour of town.  Unfortunately, the rains hit when we attempted to catch a minibus around the bay, so we had almost given up hope but as luck would have it, a nice man named Vestade stopped and gave us a ride.  Turned out he was the owner of one of the hotel/restaurants we were going to see about 5km south of Gisenyi.  So, we got a personal tour of lovely Palm Gardens, and wished we had the money to stay in his little paradise.  He was also keen on mountain biking, so would have been fun to put two wheels under my feet.  But we weren't staying, and just touring for a couple of hours.  Palm Gardens had views out over Lake Kivu, and some of the scenic little islands in the bay.  Also, located at the end of this bay was the all important Primus brewery, that distributes the tasty amber nectar all over the country!

On returning back to Gisenyi, we proceeded to do something that neither of us had really planned for yet, but felt we were both ready.  We booked a flight back to England!!!  We will be continuing our journey from Rwanda, through Uganda and Kenya, but flying out of Mombasa on May 28th.  However, we were able to do a 2 week stopover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, so our final arrival date back on English soil will be June 11th.  This signifies the end of the Africa portion of our trip, and I think we are both tired, and ready!

Michelle at Home St. Jean in Kibuye

So, with this big bombshell in the books, we all of a sudden thought we were running out of time to do all we wanted to.  Because of this, we almost skipped a trip to Kibuye, a town about midway up
Lake Kivu.  That would have been a big mistake.  Once again, the scenery in the land of a thousand hills did not disappoint, and driving down towards Kibuye were scenes of cultivated and terraced hillsides disappearing into the waters of Lake Kivu.  Rwanda is truly a beautiful country.

Our good decisions didn't stop there, as we chose to stay at Home St. Jean, a Christian owned guesthouse that was the cheapest around.  But the cheap price didn't account for the views because the house was located high up on a hill at the end of a point, with views over the little bays and inlets of the lake.  Stunning, and all for only $12 - great price for Africa!  Then we met our neighbours, Caroline and Aurele.  A Swiss couple who had been

With Caroline and Aurele at Home St. Jean

also traveling for more than a year, and were glad to finally meet some other long term travellers so they didn't feel guilty that they were not volunteering or working for an NGO like most of the other people you meet.  We really enjoyed their company, and traded traveling stories back and forth for the next 2 days.  It's nice to talk to people who really "get" what you are doing!  We were sad to see them go. although they disappeared early one morning after placing a goodbye note under our door!!

Michelle and I did manage to explore the area, by doing a 5 hour walk around the promontory we were on.  Just walking wherever the trail took us, through small villages and eventually ending up in some dense bush.  We were not lost though, but it was tough to follow any type of trail.  We also each managed to rent a moto-taxi for an hour, and got

A view from above Kibuye

our drivers to take us high up in the hills above town.  This was a fantastic choice because it was nice to be able to stop and look at the scenery instead of whizzing past the views.  All the green hills jutting out into the lake, made for quite the scene.  The moto-drivers were nice, and I think they made a decent days wage with us, so it was a win-win for all. 

Then, it was a quick stop back through Kigali, and we stayed at a little school where our friend from the gorillas, Sarah, was working.  For a small donation, we had a nice room, good company, and even some Tangueray gin for Michelle.  Thanks Sarah!  Next up, Uganda!!!   *Stub

The Most Expensive Day of our Trip, Gorillas at Parc Nationale Des Volcans, Rwanda

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Native Dance Show in the Morning of our Walk

We arrived in Africa with certain activities that we wanted to do.  Safaris of course, Victoria Falls, Kilimanjaro to name a few, but one that always stuck in our mind was visiting the endangered mountain gorillas that roam the parks on the border of Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.  The parks are all joined and of course, the gorillas don't need a passport to cross from one to another.  The gorilla tracking stood in our mind for another reason…… the cost.  We had known for months that the price of one single hour (and of course the time to hike to find them) with the gorillas was $500 per person.  It always was a worry - would we actually FIND them, and not waste the $500??  And find them we did indeed - making it sooooooo worth it. 

The Parc Nationale des Volcans is a small park in the North West of Rwanda.  We chose to track in Rwanda as we heard that it is more organized, therefore giving us a better chance of finding them.  And the park area was beautiful, surrounding the small town of Musanze (formerly Ruhengeri) with a string of pointy volcanoes, all visible from town.  Taking out the difficulty of finding accommodation, we met two girls on the bus who were headed up to Musanze for a day with the kids at the St. Vincent

The St. Vincent Orphans

orphanage.  They said that there was accommodation there, cheapest in town, and of course the money would go to supporting the orphans - always a good cause.

I was not ready for the greeting we got though.  It was an orphanage for disabled children, and some were in a very bad way, quite sad.  But the smiles and hugs we got on arrival was unlike any greeting we had had in a long time!!  They were just soooo happy to see us!  We spent a little time with the kids, and I even got a special, secret handshake with one of the little boys, who had braces on his legs and a huge smile!

We were both excitedly nervous on the evening before the hike - we didn't really sleep too well.  We had arranged the 4x4 transport to the park with some others, and were all unloaded at the park entrance where we met a large crowd.  It was quite the variety of people there planning on finding the

Our First Close Up Encounter

gorillas.  Some fresh in new safari gear, other teenagers in jeans and light sneakers looking totally unprepared to hike in the dense jungle, and some like ourselves, hardened travellers in worn out clothes!!  Whatever the means, they were all there for one reason, to be another of the approximately 19,000 people that try to spot the gorillas yearly in Rwanda.  We were greeted by local dancers, who put on a quick, early morning show in front of the volcanoes!

They sort you into groups of maximum 8, and with these 8 you will be guided to one single family of gorillas, whether they are 26 strong, or only a small family.  Not sure how they decide this, but we were off to see the Umubano family, with Charles the Silverback and leader of the family.  We were surprised to hear that there was now 20 families, whereas in our guide book of five years ago, they only had about 10 families.  The increase is from gorilla families making the trek from Uganda, and also, some of the families have actually split as a new Silverback comes of age and takes some females with him.  We were also very happy to hear that in 1981, there were around 250 mountain gorillas in total, and now, there are about 800.  So the dollars are working to keep this amazing species alive - at least some consolation that the money is going to the right place!

A bumpy ride to the trailhead, and a walk through local fields with our guides Fidel and Bernice, we finally crossed the buffalo wall into the park.  We then met our guard complete with rifle to protect us, and Joseph who was our machete man for cutting through the jungle.  We playfully took to calling

The Thinker??

Charles, the Silverback

him Joseph and his Amazing Teknicolor Machete!!  The jungle was dense, with plenty of vines grabbing you, and loads of painful stinging nettles.  At some time we were also in thick bamboo growths.  And after an hour and a half of slogging, we met up with two trackers, who stay with the gorillas for days on end.   That means we were very close, and the adrenaline started really flowing.  They were only about 100m away, and we WERE going to see them….WOW!

Our first glimpses were of a couple of them balanced on branches in the trees, about 30m away.  But, out of the blue, one suddenly crossed our path, not 2m away, and then sat beside us, chewing away on some foliage.  Not raising an ounce of concern that we were there. Then we found Charles…. 200kg of silverback gorilla in his home territory.  His face had wonderful features and expressions with a

This is how CLOSE we were!!!

tuft of brownish-red hair on his forehead, and once again, not a shred of concern about us.  In fact, he walked past us in touching distance, showing of the silver hairs on his back.  I really can't explain the feelings of seeing such a majestic creature at such close range, and in the wild.  The hairs rise on your back, and your stomach get's butterflies. It's truly tremendous, and the feelings almost repeat while I write this!!

Then, if I can say it, but the real stars of the show - the young and babies.  The mothers didn't mind us there, and the young ones were just playing about on the vines, almost putting on a show for us.  Often flipping upside-down, and sometimes falling from the vines into the foliage.  They were having fun, just like human kids would.  And the curious, possibly smiling faces that we were so close to…  Orangy-red striking eyes, with black nostrils flaring with each breath.  It was surreal.  We were supposed to stay about 7m from the gorillas, but the guides took us close, and the gorillas came closer at times.  One of the females actually beat her chest a few times.  Michelle thought this would only be done by males, and that this

The Youngest Baby

must be a sign of aggression or warning, but the guides told us that it is a sign she is happy.  Pretty cool though, as this was the prototypical action we think of with gorillas. 

Unfortunately, before we knew it, our 1 hour was up.  They are very strict about this, and I guess for good reason.  They don't want the gorillas to get too comfortable and so used to being around humans.  They need to stay wild.  We thanked our trackers, and hope they continue doing the good job they do, of keeping the poachers at bay.  Since Dian Fossey first started her research and protection of the gorillas, the numbers have increased because of the protection from poachers.  Unfortunately, Dian Fossey paid the ultimate price for her cause, and was apparently killed by poachers at her research station in the park, poachers who didn't like her getting in the way.  Her legacy lives on though, and her story is portrayed in the movie 'Gorillas in the Mist'. 

We returned from our trek, parting ways with our guides, guard, teknicolor machete men, and some friends we had made on our special adventure.  Tamar, Gilles, Kate and Sarah were all on Cloud Nine too after the experience. 
We met up with Tamar and Gilles later for dinner at our favourite little cafe in town, Les Paillotte, which served up some delicious pizzas for only 1500 Rwanda Francs ($2.50).  Far less than the rest of the day cost, and even better for us that we arrived in Rwanda when we did, as they are raising the cost to visit the gorillas in June to a staggering $750 per person - OUCH!!  I guess they can, because people keep coming and paying the fees - we did!!  *Stub

Learning from Their History to Build a Bright Future - Rwandan Genocide

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"Learning from our History" Sign

Now, Rwanda does not attract your average traveller/tourist in general. We suspect most people avoid it because of its recent history of bloodshed. For Martin and I, that's almost the very reason to visit, to pay respects to all the people lost in the genocide of 1994. As it happened, we arrived during Memorial Week - a sober time when the country remembers the million people that were massacred all those years ago.  For us, travelling is not all about happy, fluffy stuff, but about learning about the good, bad and the ugly. Like Auschwitz and Cambodia (Killing Fields), visiting the Kigali Memorial Centre was a difficult and disturbing experience for both of us. It's hard to describe. I felt sad, sick to my stomach, and overwhelmed by the brutality.

I'll try to be brief about the history we learned as you may know it already: the Germans were first to colonise Rwanda (and Burundi) in 1895 until 1916. Belgian troops occupied it during WWI and then Belgium was granted governance by the League of Nations (some sort of United Nations of the time?). Eventually it turned into a colonial occupation. Arguably, colonisation brings 'benefits' such as medicine, education, infrastructure. A new ID system introduced in 1932 categorizing (and segregating) the people into their tribes, Hutu or Tutsi, was not so beneficial! The next few decades brought the king's death, instability between the ruling minority Tutsi (15% of population) (who were

Kigali Memorial Centre

upheld during colonial rule) and the majority Hutu (85%). In '59 Hutus were tired of this domination and rebelled killing thousands of Tutsi. 700,000 Hutus were exiled. With independence in 1961 came the first Hutu president. In '74 it became a one-party state tightly controlled by President Habyarimana (President H). Hutu retaliation led to civil war in 1990-93, and though peace agreements were signed in '94, there was still some corrupt who were reluctant to move towards democratic governance. In April of '94 the president's plane went down (incidentally, along with the Burundian president) supposedly taken out by his own men who were planning the genocide of the Tutsis. To complicate the story further and exposed in recent years, the French (who were doing $12M arms deals with President H) may have been responsible for this instead - allegedly. Regardless, within one hour of the president's death, the pre-meditated bloodshed began. Tutsis were systematically massacred. As the hatred between the Tutsi and Hutu got out of control, in the end a million innocent people were killed, countless were injured and an estimated 2 million displaced/fled to refugee camps. All this happened over a period of 100 days! By the time the rebel Tutsi organization (Rwanda Patriotic Front led by now President Kagame) composed of fled Tutsis in Uganda, took Kigali city on July 4th the genocide was already over. By the time UN enforcements finally came it was too much too late!

250,000 Buried at Kigali Memorial Centre

A few things that struck me as poignant and worth mentioning:
* There was an informant apparently: one of the president's security guards warned the head of the UN Peace mission (present to upheld the peace agreement). Major General Romeo Dallaire told the Peace Office in New York that there was a Hutu militia plan to eliminate Tutsis. He was told to inform the French and Belgians because of their ex-pat population there. Why this warning was ignored by US and UN or why no action was taken is not clear. There are theories out there…
* A request from the same Maj. Gen. Dellaire for more UN enforcements to stop the genocide was ignored. Instead of increasing troops, the UN Security Council led by the US government - who had just lost soldiers in Somalia, reduced the force to 270 soldiers.  Dallaire figured that he could STOP the genocide with only 5000 support troops - none were issued.
* It is noteworthy that the number of French and Belgian soldiers brought in to evacuate their foreign workers would have been sufficient number to stop the violence.
* No one was spared - not women, children, or the elderly.
* Even Hutu were killing their own. Reluctant to participate in the killing of friends and neighbours, 'Moderate Hutu' as they were known, were also eliminated.
* Children witnessed their parents being brutally killed and humiliated by people they knew.
* An estimated 500,000 - half a million - women were raped before being either murdered or left to live with HIV from HIV infected soldiers (part of the wipe-out strategy)
* Playing on poverty, ignorance and old fears of Tutsi domination, broadcasts on TV and radio waged a virulent campaign incite  fear, perpetuate the hatred and justify the violence.
* Thousands of people seeking refuge were killed in churches. One story was that the priest locked the church from the outside and then allowed the soldiers to bulldoze it down. Incredible.
* One exhibit was gut-wrenching with the names and photos of a handful of children, their favourite food and pastime, and then how they were killed - bludgeoned, macheted, shot, thrown against a wall…
* In the middle of one heart-wrenching photo of a queue of boys, was one boy smiling to the camera. Where was the photo taken and did he know what was going to happen to him?
*Many people crossed borders to refugee camps which of course were gruesome. More violence and rape there. Hutu militia who had crossed along with refugees, reorganized themselves and started incursions and violence. 
* During the fleeing, and subsequent move back in 1996, families became separated. 300,000 children lost parents and family. Aid agencies and orphanages took them in. Numerous left to lead households. Only limited families have been reunited since.
* As for the perpetrators? Many are in hiding in neighbouring countries and even perpetrators who planned the whole genocide are seeking asylum in France. Approximately 125,000 genocidaires as they're called, were arrested - just a small portion of those involved. Held in prisons and makeshift jails around the country, numerous are still awaiting trial. Entire communities were involved in crimes - an overwhelming number for courts to deal with. Stepping in to help the main justice court, community courts are struggling too. And once convicted, due to lack of space, they are given community service instead. In the newspaper I read stories of how people easily escape from these; that the system is inadequate; and families feel they are not getting justice.

Photos of the Some of the Dead at Kigali Memorial Centre

Another afternoon in Kigali, still in shock, we visited a couple of churches 30km south - the Nyamata Memorial and one at Ntarama. These were horrific and perhaps more shocking and sickening because they were at the actual site of so many atrocities.  At Nyamata church the clothes of the dead killed there had been piled on the benches; in the garden a walk-in tomb with bones and skulls in an organized display, within arms reach and not behind any screen or glass. At Ntarama, set in beautiful peaceful countryside, thousands of people were killed here. Tutsi and Hutus refusing to participate in the attack against their neighbours fled to the church hoping for protection. Grenades were thrown in and anyone left alive were shot or macheted apart. Only in recent years were the skeletons (still with their clothes on)  removed. The Sunday School room was lined with low benches in rows and in the corner a wall was stained with the blood of the children thrown against it. Awful! This

Ntarama Church Interior

horror was replicated in churches all over Rwanda.

It was hard to hold back the tears. Indeed we witnessed a number of locals visiting the Memorial Centre who were beside themselves with grief. It's hard to grasp that this happened so recently. Eighteen years is not that long ago. How do people recover from this kind of brutality? How do they come back from this huge tragedy? Everyone has a story. Anyone 18 years or older has seen too much! Almost everyone knows someone who was killed by their neighbours, friends, even family! Worse, probably someone who killed someone! Martin and I wondered how they go on living together after all this? It's still so raw for them. But somehow, they seem to. Our American friend Peter said that as someone who lives here, he can definitely feel

Bones at Ntarama Church

that there is still some tension. How could there not? They are reminded daily of the genocide in the school curriculum, in the ongoing justice court trials, in the papers. Even memorial week!   Maybe it's too much remembering, and some of them just want to move on.

They of course don't want it to happen again. You see signs on graves and memorials saying "Never Again". The billboards and banners around the country remind them… Well, I sincerely hope they continue to 'Learn from their History to Build a Bright Future'. *Mush

Africa Lite, Rwanda

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Pinch me, I don't think we are in Africa anymore…..  Arriving in Kigali, there were some serious differences to anywhere we had been in the previous year, except possibly Cape Town.

Kigali as Viewed from Smart Hotel

Pulling into town, we found that the bus from Burundi was not going to the downtown area, so we got out with a plan of catching another up to town.  Well, we soon found out that things on the buses work differently here: if there are 16 seats, that means 16 people, not 30!!!  For the life of us, we couldn't get a bus to take us, and not because they didn't have room, they just did not have room for our bags unbelievably.  It seems we have become Africanized! In any other country in Africa they would easily have squeezed us in with our bags in the aisle along with lumber, chickens, a goat and 7 sacks of rice or maize meal.  But not here. The buses that went by were 'full'. It appeared that even our bags needed to have their own seat (if one were available). We thought of catching a taxi, but none passed.  So even though it would be challenging with our big and little bags, we approached some motos (motorbike taxis), and then,

With Peter and Moses at Mr. Chips

no-one seemed to know where we wanted to go! Apparently place-names have changed! Although there's little difference between Place de L'independance and Boulevard de L'independance, they still didn't know where it was and even the hotel we were aiming for in the city, was beyond them. Frustrated, we decided to walk the 3km uphill to town. It wasn't much fun I can tell you in the heat. Searching for a hotel was exhausting and I was glad when we settled into one that was cheap - but that was still $25 (not good for the budget)! Over the next few days we found ourselves moving twice more: 'closed' for Memorial week, we camped at a friend of a friend's hostel (with cool bowling alley) for free which was too refuse of course! And then our luck got even better: while Martin sat waiting for me to return with glue after a flip-flop blow-out, an American guy pulled up in his car and started chatting. Having worked all over the world and now Rwanda, Peter was quite a character with lots of interesting funny

Hotel des Milles Collines - The Real Hotel Rwand

stories, and took us under his wing, drove us around and even put us up in his spare room for the next couple of days! Nice!

In spite of our initial rough entry into the capital, we couldn't help notice how cared-for, modern, and clean a city it was, and scenically sprawled over a number of rolling hills. In fact, Rwanda is known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, and its scenery is amazing (with even bigger hills than Burundi's similar picturesque countryside). Rwanda is 26,000 sq km and is the most densely populated country in Africa.  Unlike Burundi though, every little patch of land, if not built on, is tilled and farmed and with healthy looking crops probably due to its copious rainfall. Even the countryside is clean and 'tidy'. We wonder whether it is because Rwanda has laws
about litter. For instance, they don't allow use of plastic bags in the country, but use paper bags

Brochettes with Peter at Hotel des Milles Collines

instead (another story in terms of environmental impact of course). In fact, when we came through the Burindi-Rwanda border we were questioned about our big strong bin-liners that we use to keep our things dry!

In Kigali the people are dressed smartly and drive big fancy cars (we even saw quite a number of Infinities - our car). But as much as Rwanda and Kigali seem to be civilized, clean and very organized, every once in a while we'd see someone turning right from the lefthand lane, or someone carrying a basket of bananas or flour on their head, or perhaps get a whiff of pungent body odour. And we'd be reminded that, yes, this maybe be 'Africa-Lite', but it's still Africa! * Mush

Birds of Lac Oiseaux, Kirundo, Burundi

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Moto Taxi Ride

The town of Kirundo was nothing special and was typical of many towns we'd seen complete with stares from the locals, but our reason for being here was the close-by scenic Lac aux Oiseaux (Bird Lake) - a place that many people had told us to visit. It's now called Lake Rwihinda Nature Reserve and covers a large area famous for many different bird species. Sadly, due to increased agriculture and fishing, and a decreased water level, some species don't migrate here anymore. We took a moto each (motorbike taxi) to get to the park along the 8km dirt track passing through villages and waving at tons of people on their way from/to church (it was Easter Sunday). Because the area is a protected nature reserve we were expecting a Park office of some sort, or at least a booth to buy an entrance ticket. Instead, we arrived at a widened muddy beach at the edge of the lake with scruffy kids

Banana Tree Raft (note the ibishinga top right)

hanging around playing in the water!

A canoe approached the bank within seconds which meant somebody must have called somebody to tell somebody that white people were on their way! We negotiated a price for the canoe to take us to the island. The hour trip was beautiful, and it was super peaceful being out on the water.  Not only famous for its birds, the lake also has compact floating islands called ‘Ibishinga’. Some are just black muddy earth clods without any plants that move around with the wind, and others have tufts of vegetation and are immobile. Both are perfect for local and migratory birds for nesting and feeding.

There were also a lot of lilac coloured water-lillies scattered on the surface of the still water which made a cool sound as the boat drifted through them. We did see plenty of birds, thankfully, including a huge

With our Driver Ben

African Fish Eagle perched in the palm trees, pied kingfishers, pelicans, herons, egrets, ibis, and lots more. Our 'driver' who we nicknamed 'Ben' because we couldn't pronounce his name, paddled us around the island and then landed on it. A quick walk soon revealed that the edge of the island was way more lush and tropical than the dull, brambled interior which surprised us.

Our picnic lunch and walk at the edge of the lake was tranquil when we weren't watching the kids playing in their ingenious rafts made of banana tree trunks, or swimming in the fairly murky-looking water. A pleasant day at the lake, and then back on our moto (our guys remembered to come and pick us up!) to buy a bus ticket for Rwanda next day. *Mush

Egret Taking Flight

African Fish Eagle at the Island

Landing on the Island

Lake Fisherman

The Chicken Shack, Gatumba, Burundi

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With Denise and Jan at our local shop

Arriving back in Bujumbura, we expected to find a place to stay, but the wonderful Natacha offered up her spare bedroom.  How nice is that!!  OK, so accommodation taken care of, now food: a trip back to our pizza place to balance out the recent solid African meals should do it. Stomachs full, we had to purchase a bus ticket for the morning.  All things working out today…. something must go wrong soon.

We had left our bags over the last few days at Michel and Marie-Andree's house, so planned to meet up there, and then take them out for dinner.  All a good plan until the rains came.  And they didn't stop!  Torrential rain fell, and turned the downtown streets into a series of rivers.  We hopped in a taxi, but soon found out that rain in Bujumbura turns all the drivers into complete idiots.  We drove about 50 feet and then were stuck at an intersection where people would just pull in front of each other, not letting anyone cross, creating an absolute logjam.  After realizing that our taxi was not going to move for a long time, we got out into the storm and started walking.  This is when we found out that not 100 feet away, the traffic was non-existent.  But finding another taxi was a chore, as we had to cross the raging torrents of water in the streets.  Eventually, we arrived at their house, but they both had had similar troubles, and were not yet home. 

Dinner at Kanowe

All sorted out finally, and we went to dinner at Michel's great little brochette restaurant, and Natacha and the kids joined us.  It was cool to introduce our new, great friends to each other. As we waited for our food Michel questioned why we were leaving in the morning, as he had some things to take us to on the following day - a holiday.  We explained that we already had tickets for the bus, so it wasn't possible.  Not 10 minutes later, Michel had called his friend, the owner of the bus company, and with our consent (we're flexible and up for anything), had changed our tickets for us!  We certainly found out that Michel is well-known in town, and has plenty of friends!!  The food at Kanowe was delicious as per last time, and we all went away very satisfied, but also looking forward to Friday's events!!

The following morning, as we were sorting out clothes for the laundry, I noticed I was missing a pair of shorts, then one, two and even three shirts!!  Very confused, because I usually don't lose anything, we started the search.  We checked with all the places we had been recently, and then narrowed it back to our hotel prior to leaving for Ijenda. In true Michel style, he volunteered that if I didn't find them there, then he would call the owner of the hotel - his friend of course - haha!!  So, a quick mission back to Saga Residence.  So, let's back up: at Saga there had been two guys working there - one named Londros spoke Kirundi and French, and we always dealt with him.  But, when we arrived, it was just the other man, who spoke only Kirundi.  Very disappointed that we wouldn't be able to get answers from him, he came out from behind the bar. It was then that we both noticed that I had a shirt JUST LIKE HIS!!!  Too funny! I guess he had found the clothes in the room, and since nobody had claimed them, decided they were his.  He eagerly gave the items back, as I think he was expecting trouble, but I was just happy to have my clothes back, even if one had some true African body odour about it!!  If he hadn't been wearing my shirt, then we might never have got the clothes back - pretty funny!!

The Dance Shack

Michel was excited to take us to Gatumba, to visit a place he called very bluntly, the Chicken Shack.  He did keep harping on the fact that it was literally just a SHACK.  As we are game for anything, and love the local experience, how bad could it be?! Well, we arrived in a field, with a bunch of falling over lean-to's, as a couple of locals chased after the truck, grabbing plastic chairs and pointing us in the direction of their shack.  It was pretty interesting, as they threw down some straw mats on to the soggy ground (from the morning rains), and then we waited. We got some music going and had a fun dance party for a while with  many of the locals watching us and some kids joining in.  Michel likes this place because it is pretty much the freshest chicken you can get.  We ordered three chickens for the 8 of us, and I'm sure the guys went off, killed the birds, then BBQ'd them up.  About an hour later, they returned with a feast - the chicken of course, cooked onions, fried bananas, and ugali.  Can't get much fresher than that!

Marie-Andree ready to devour the chicken

Afterwards we walked around the area, meeting a few of the locals and getting views of the mountains in the Democratic Republic of Congo, only a few short kilometres away.  It's weird to think we are so close to the Congo.  Unfortunately, I had a flip-flop blow out, and had to struggle back to the 'shack' through some muddy areas, where all the animals graze, and…..

By the time we returned to the city, it was almost time to get ready for our next social engagement.  Michel and Marie-Andree had invited us to join them at their friend's party.  After attempting to repair my shoe, Michel ended up giving me a pair of nice Reef flip-flops, that he said he would never wear - brand new - how nice is that! It would be very hard for me to find any decent replacements in Africa!!

Lunch at the Chicken Shack

On the way to the party, we visited Michel's parents' house to drop off Samuel for the night, and a special surprise.  We were given some banana beer to try.  Both of us really enjoyed both the sweet stuff, and then the more bitter 'adult' stuff.  It was quite a different flavour, but a fruity type of beer.

We were in for some more treats that night, as at the party, his friend Elois was serving up Jello shooters all night - NICE!!!  Also, Elois was a chef and the food was something different - fajitas, with cheese, guacamole, and skewers of meat for the filling.  What a sumptuous treat! The party was a going-away party for wife Nina, who was taking a job in Liberia for a year or so.  Elois had a couple of other surprises for her, including a some live music from what we are

Local Music and Instruments at the Party

told is the best band in Burundi - called Lion Story.  It was funny actually, as we had already met the lead singer of the band, Ahmadee, at a cafe in town on our second day in Burundi.  So, we actually knew somebody at the party in Burundi!  We love having a social life again.  The other music at the party was a duo with local instruments made like a bow with 3 gourds and a couple of batons to hit the string.  They were playing off each other in quite a comical way, singing along.  It seemed to get funnier the drunker they got!

We really enjoyed our time in Bujumbura, as we had made some great friends who'd taken us under their wing.  So, it was with disappointment and sadness that we made our way to the bus for our trip 'upcountry' as they call it, to a little town in the north called Kirundo near the Rwandan border.  Thanks Michel, Marie-Andree, Natacha, and of course, the kids!!   *Stub

Southernmost Source of the Nile, Burundi

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Beautiful Tea Field Scenery

We awaited the arrival of Natacha, amidst the massive crowds around us, staring at us.  We hoped they would arrive in time to see what interest our presence generates, as I think they would be shocked.  Alas, the hundreds of kids were called back to church, just minutes before the car arrived. Natacha had recruited her friend, Lopez, to volunteer to drive us to the Southernmost Source of the Nile.  Along with her daughter Ketsia, and niece Olga, the six of us drove the road (passed Mugamba where we had tried to get to the day before) towards Kasumo, where the source was located.  The tea plantations along the drive were amazing.  The bright greens of the new tea leaf chutes is quite a spectacular colour when it wraps around the hillsides into the distance.
So…. there are 3 claims of the source of the Nile, and they have all been given separate titles.  Jinja,

With a Tea Farmer in Mugamba

Uganda, has the major source, as the water pours out of Lake Victoria.  Southwest Rwanda, has the

longest source of the Nile.  And that leaves the Southernmost Source in Burundi.  Sharing is good!! This source was discovered in 1934, by the German, Waldecker.  At 2 044m of altitude and at 6 671km from its contact point with the Mediterranean sea.
Now….. I was pretty much expecting a little trickle out of the hillside, but just to be there would be interesting.  What we discovered upon arrival was laughable.  In their infinite wisdom, they had built an ugly concrete retaining wall, with a PVC pipe sticking out of it.  From this, came the trickle into a small pool, and in true African style, the pool had a few plastic bags, an eaten corn on the cob, and an old toothbrush.  How's that for a tourist attraction???  I think the guides might have been a little 'put out' after our laughter.  I'm sure you'll

Believe it or not, this is the Source of the Nile - in all it's Glory!

understand when you see the photo. 

We did climb up the hill to where a tasteful pyramid had been built to signify the importance of the discovery, but we were disappointed to see all the graffiti etched into it.  The pyramid was on top of the ridge that separates the Nile Basin from the Congo Basin.  That is pretty cool - two massive rivers!

We then set out on what turned out to be a pretty horrible road, in the direction of Lake Tanganyika.  As we were driving this road, we started to realize that we wouldn't make it back to Bujumbura that night, so a new plan had to be formulated.  *Stub

With Natacha, Lopes, Ketsia and Olga at the Source

Burundi is not a very large country and we didn't know much about it. The reality is, is that it is overshadowed by its neighbours: touristy Tanzania in the east, problems of massive Congo to the west, and the famous history of Rwanda to the north. It was not until we got here that we started to learn of some of its history. Though it has not been openly admitted to the world, we learned that Burundi also has had its own genocide. Before Rwanda's massacre in 1994, tribal conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis existed here too for many years. Some of the first documented instability happened in 1972 and then 'civil war' started in 1993, and though the political circumstances were different to Rwanda's, many Tutsis ended up being massacred - about 300,000 people tortured and murdered! Brutal! Sad.

The Graves at Buta

It's not that long ago, and everyone has a story. Everyone has lost someone during that time. As we drove along the long bumpy dirt road, Lopez told us horror stories of those times. His own, of how when he was at high school, he moved to a boarding school in the north and was captured by rebels. They held him along with others, for about a week. He was lucky to come out alive, but with a machete scar on his arm as a reminder.

We had heard of a place called Buta - a boarding school/monastery in the south that, sadly, was the site of many merciless killings on April 30th, 1997, where students were killed in their dorms by grenades and  bullets.  It turned out that Lopez had known some of them before he had moved school - six of the forty students killed here.  It was a very emotional and sombre visit. I can only imagine what it must have felt like for

Blue Bay Beach

him: this was the first time he had been here.

It was almost dusk with scary dark clouds in the sky when we arrived at Buta and just as we left it started raining. Unsure about the quality of options for food and accommodation in close-by Bururi, we decided to push on through the storm to touristy Rumonge on Lake Tanganyika's shoreline. It was not a pleasant drive as it was a steep, winding descent. As sheets and sheets of rain came down, the now-tarmac road had turned into a river, and at times, you couldn't see through the windscreen! I urged Lopez to take it easy; this had some effect, but still went too fast for comfort. An hour later with a sigh of relief we arrived in Rumonge (pronounced Ru-mon-gee), found a hotel, some food, and finally flopped into bed at midnight.

Etching on the Rock

All night the storm raged. We were disappointed that it was still raining when we hit the beaches the next morning. White sandy beaches…. I think our guide book lied! But it was a scenic drive along the lakeshore. We were also impressed with one of the beach resorts we stopped at - Blue Bay - a nice layout of cool buildings with tall thatched roofs. There were other resorts that we stopped at that were not as impressive and were a little neglected.

Heading down an unmarked dirt path (not really even a car width) we came to our final destination of the trip: the alleged spot where David Livingstone (off exploring the interior of Africa at the Queen's command), was found by Henry Morton Stanley (who had been recruited to find him)
and the famous line: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume," was uttered.  The simple boulder apparently marks the spot of the encounter. I should point out that the same spot exists in Tanzania too! Ha! * Mush

Livingstone-Stanley Rock

Things Michelle will remember:
1. The two lines of graves behind the church of the forty or so people killed that day at Buta
2. Being impressed with Ketsia and Olga: we had been in the car for most of the day and not once was there a squeak of complaint! They were awesome to be around.
3. A surprisingly tasty breakfast dish called Gatoke (pronounced gatokay) -  basically stewed bananas with meat or veg.
4. The tiniest goat we've ever seen.

Things Martin would like to forget:
1. The white-knuckle ride down towards the lake sitting in the passenger seat with a front-row view!