Kigali is by far the cleanest, best developed and hardest working civilian city I've SEEN here in Africa....Of course I have a bias and I knew Rwanda was always going to be my favourite but it's gorgeous. The whole city and country are rolling hills, green and lush, clean (ban on plastic bags-- how's that for innovative!).
I arrived on Saturday and didn't do much other than miss Val, and blog and check my hockey pool. Sat by the pool for a bit, is all. Met my group on Sunday morning, it's apparently an "Adult" tour with hotel stays and restaurant meals. I figured the price was a little or lot higher than the other tours. It's really more like a Seniors tour, my tour mates are 70 and 49 respectively. Luckily I can request my food not be mashed or pureed, and I can refuse to be turned during the night to avoid bed sores!
Sunday was the Kigali Genocide Memorial and this morning we stopped into a Genocide site near Butare. The country in it's recovery, has greatly put alot of resources into preserving the memories and brandishing the past. I don't think I care to really comment much on what I seen, it's not for the faint of heart and I'll leave it your imaginations to figure out. If you want to ask me when I get home, then so be it.
Monday we drove to the Nyungwe forest bordering Burundi and the Congo. It's a very hilly, gorgeous drive along all sorts of towns. Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa and every square foot of it looks like it's farmed or Jungle. People everywhere.
Got up at 0400h on Tuesday for a Chimpanzee trek, and that was very good. We found a clan of 30 chimps and I couldn't get a single good shot (not allowed to use flash) but got several cool video's and we got as close to 15 feet from one. Their quite large, and quite chattery. I'm really really excited about the Gorilla trek on Friday (supposedly the come quite close to you) but we have to stay 5-7meters away. Then I have a Diane Fossey grave site trek and tour, then on Sunday a lazy day at Lake Kivu.
I'm really kinda struggling to keep my thoughts here, don't get me wrong Rwanda is a MASSIVE highlight for me and I'm loving all the sites (Amohorro stadium, Hotel des milles collines, the Genocide sites, the UN buildings) but I'm really missing Val like crazy. So I've one foot staying here and enjoying the twilight of my tour, but one foot sorely missing home and eager to start the rest of the great EXCITEMENT that is coming in my life.
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