King of the Beasts

From kenya 2

I will in time blog of our experiences in Masa Mara but I need to talk about this lion. Our first day at Masa Mara we came across him and his mate just lying around. Two vehicles were already there watching and we pulled in about 7 metres away. As we watched the male lion rose to his feet and in a matter of fact fashion, mounted his consort, giving her neck a nip in the process. We both got several photos of nature in action.

We came across the couple the following morning still lounging around. We came across them again in the afternoon. Within a minute our arrival it was lion-making time. Less than 5 minutes later just to prove who was King Of The Beasts another session ensued (we got that one on video).

I left feeling somewhat inadequate.

Lake Nakaru

After leaving The Ark we headed west, with of course one stop for carvings. They did offer to do the Equator demonstration again and seemed put out when I told them that I had formally crossed the Equator 6 times already.

As we proceeded the roads got worse and worse and Peter frequently had to drive on the shoulder or in the other lane. We eventually arrived at the rather large town at the southern end of Lake Nakaru. The road thru there was also bad but we proceeded on to the park.

The first place we visited was a lakeside area with many flamingos and pelicans. Lake Nakaru is a salt lake with no outlet. The flamingos thrive on the blue green algae which survive in the salty water.

From kenya 2011

From kenya 2011

After spending a half hour viewing and taking pictures, Peter drove us to the Sarona Lion Hill Lodge. After The Ark we were wondering what form our next hotel would take. Fortunately the SLHL is a wonderful place to stay, perched on the side of the hill overlooking Lake Nakaru. On arrival after the traditional hot towels and welcome drink, strong men ran up the hill with our incredibly heavy bags. The rooms were small but elegantly furnished. We had as usual arrived in time for lunch which was served buffet style washed down with a Tuskers.

Peter picked us up at 1600 for our first game drive. Lake Nakaru is famous for its population of rhinos which we hadn't seen yet. We very soon saw a black rhino off in the distance, too far for a really good photo although we took some anyway. As often happens you often get a way better shot later in the day which is what happened.

From kenya 2011

We saw many rhinos that day, in addition to a wide variety of mammals and birds. This included our first lions.

From kenya 2011

These young males were just hanging out about 10 metres from the road.

We rolled back to the hotel around 1830 a little cold and very satisfied with our day. After another buffet dinner and a couple of glasses of red wine it was off to bed in anticipation of the long drive to Masa Mara.

The Ark

Mysteriously on our itinerary was our stay on the second day at The Ark. There was very little detail, all that was known was that we would have to pack an overnight bag.

Peter picked us up at 0830 after a delightful buffet breakfast and one of our best sleeps in over a month. We headed out the gate and back into the grasslands. Our first leg stretching stop was at the "Equator".

From kenya 2011

This involved another demonstation of the Correolus Effect which I have seen several times in Ecuador, followed by an invitation to visit (surprise) the carving shop.

We headed on thru the grassland before turning onto a rough dirt road for several kilometers before incongruously going back onto a paved road to the ranger station where we bought park passes.

We then headed back onto the dirt road to the "Country Club" which is the base for "The Ark". The Country Club was a lovely stone building surrounded by stone bungalows. Baboons frolicked in the well manicured grounds.

From kenya 2011

We arrived at 1100 and were told lunch would be at 1245. We walked the grounds and took it all in. Other guests arrived while we waited.

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We had sat for a long time and realized gradually that the rest of the day would involve sitting watching a waterhole at The Ark so we took advantage of the optional game drive for $40 each instead of the bus directly to the lodge.

After lunch our driver took us away in a large Toyota Landcruiser. We first visted the lodge's private game reserve and entered a large field filled with giraffes, zebras, warthogs, and antelopes. Because we were not in the park, we were able to actually walk up quite close to a group of giraffes.

From kenya 2011

We headed on out into the park. We saw lots of the usual animals, baboons, Cape Buffalo and antelopes. We suddenly stopped and our driver pointed to our right. In the bushes was a large grey shape. An elephant. As we snapped pictures, he gradually emerged from the bushes into view.

From kenya 2011

We must have spent half and hour observing him. Later we came across a family of elephants in the bushes. We could get a clear shot of one elephant only 5 metres from our vehicle. During the three hour drive we saw a family of Black and White Collobus monkeys frolicking in the trees.

From kenya 2011

We also saw from a distance a bush pig. These are very rare and were endangered largely due their penchant for challenging lions. Lions have now been removed from the park to allow their population to increase (perhaps along with their intelligence).

After a delay caused by a large tour bus stuck in front of us we arrived at The Ark.

From kenya 2011

The Ark sits in front of a watering hole and former salt lick. The salt lick is gone but the staff put out salt every day. Balconies overlook the area included an enclosed lounge and "the bunker" where you can admire the animals thru slits at ground level. The Ark was built in 1970 and looks so. According to the Lonely Planet the furniture is from Austin Powers. I disagree. You would not want to shag in the chairs in the viewing lounge.

Arriving in the lounger we proudly announced that we had seen two elephants. A dour Israeli man informed us he had already seen 12 at the water hole.

There were only buffalo and wart hogs at the water hole when we sat down, however in time a line of elephants emerged from the forest and ambled slowly towards the water hole.

From kenya 2011

During the evening there was a steady coming and going mostly of buffalo and elephants. A hyena wandered through at one point. The hotel has a buzzer system which alerts you in your room of any important sightings like rhinos, leopards or something killing something.

We slept soundly in the spartan rooms of The Ark. After breakfast we left in the bus back to the Country Club. Almost immediately our driver stopped. He pointed to a leopard at the side of the road. As we watched and scrambled for our cameras the leopard ambled slowly across the road. In the large front window of the bus, everybody could have had a memorable viewing and even some decent photos without leaving their seats. Not to happen. One man lept to his feet blocking everybody's view while he got his memorable leopard shot. He returned smugly to his seat oblivious to the ill will being directed towards him.

We waited for a while to see if the leopard would re-emerge before passing on. We later saw a family of bush pigs in the foliage and finally arrived back at the Country Club where we retrieved the rest of our luggage and Peter took us on our way.

Kenya Day One

As I mentioned it was very late when we arrived in the Norfolk. We were to leave at 0800 and had to organize our bags so we awoke at 0630 and were down for breakfast by 0700. It was apparent that we were back in the British Empire. We ate outside on the open air verranda. The posts were painted white and there were ceiling fans circulating the morning air. The breakfast buffet had the usual assortment of fried food one has been accustomed to, travelling in the Empire.

Our driver met us a 0800 and we headed out through the early morning Nairobi traffic. Nairobi is undergoing a major road building project that makes the Quesnel Bridge look like a pothole repair and we had to skirt around that. Fortunately most people were heading into Nairobi. Nairobi is sprawling and it seemed to take about an hour before we were in the country. Farmland began to surround us with bananas, pineapples and corn seeming the most popular.

After an hour and a half, our driver, Peter announced the first break to "stretch our legs". We were introduced to the first carving shop. After going to the bathrooms in the back we came out into a largish room filled with carvings of various sizes, species and woods. It was our first day, we really didn't fancy hauling anything around. This didn't stop a man from following us around extolling the qualities of the carvings and the excellent deals we could expect. Our driver finally rescued as.

We proceded on further and the land became more arid grassland, strangely like around Calgary. We had one more carving stop where the proprietor was even more annoying and agressive than the one before. We continued on climbing higher and higher. The land seemed to be grassland and we wondered what the land surrounding our hotel would be. Finally we went through a gate towards the Mount Kenya Safari Club.

From kenya 2011

This was another "died and gone to Heaven" experience. The MKSC is a classic hotel. Heads of animals adorned the walls. It overlooked manicured lawns patrolled by different species of birds. There were photos of all the celebrities who had stayed there including Ernest Hemingway, Bogart and William Holden who actually lived there. Looking towards Mt. Kenya the foothills were densely forested, very different from the grasslands we had just passed through.

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We of course had arrived in time for lunch which we ate on the verranda washed down with a beer. There were all kinds of activities available to us we were told, however in such a beautiful location, why would you want to do anything except hang out, which is what we did all afternoon and into the evening.

From kenya 2011

Out of Rwanda

We left Rwanda last Friday. We showed up for one last morning report and then headed over the Serena for a workout and swim. At noon over to Karibu for lunch and then home to the apartment for some last minute packing. As usual we were ready about an hour early.

It was then that Mary looked at her itinerary and discovered that she was on a different flight from me and should have been at the airport one and a half hour earlier. Obviously a mistake, no travel agent would put husband and wife on different flights and somewhere I remember that I had originally had an afternoon flight.

Our driver was supposed to arrive at 1500 but by 1515 no one had showed up, so we phoned again and someone else showed up at 1530 which was actually when we wanted to go (we are beginning to understand African time). To the airport where we discovered sure enough Mary should have already been on the way to Nairobi. Fortunately for $75 and $150 to be ungraded to the only available seat in business class, Mary was able to accompany us. In all the confusion I forgot to ask for an aisle seat so I got a middle seat.

We sat quietly in the departure lounge. It had for many reasons become a draining day. To top things off our flight was an hour late and so we finally boarded, several hours after arriving at the airport. As I mentioned I had a middle seat. As I found the window seat was occupied by a man wearing a "Live strong" hat with matching bracelet. I know I may be generalizing but I have yet to meet someone dressed in Live Strong apparel who is not, well you know. Live Strong did not disappoint. He became bearing two steamer trunks worth of cabin baggage. He made everybody else move their stuff out of the overhead compartment so one of his steamer trunks could go there and sat with the other between his legs. It appeared some of his cabin baggage was expensive video equipment so he could have been a journalist, however I suspect he was just a poseur with expensive equipment.

Arriving in Nairobi we proceeded to immigration. Kenya requires the purchase of visa which is ordinarily just a cash grab. We had in hand the yellow card given us on the plane. It was apparent that the line was not moving and that the people at the front of the line were not at all happy. Soon a message was passed back stating that in addition to the yellow card, we also needed to fill out a white piece of paper. Fortunately there were three of us so one went back and picked up three white pieces of paper. The white piece of paper had exactly the same information on it as the yellow card. As we got further towards the counter, a message was passed back that we also needed a blue card which we also obtained. It had exactly the same information as on the yellow card and the white paper. By this time people who had been sent back to get one of the white or blue cards were arriving at the front and butting in. Finally we actually got to an agent, who scanned out passports (getting electronically the same information on the yellow, white and blue cards) and asked us how long we were staying. We said 8 days. The agent as if he was doing us a favour told us he was giving us 30 days. Oh yes, they also took my picture. It was nice however to watch them make the Americans get fingerprinted.

Our luggage was ready after this ordeal, after an all too hasty farewell to Brady, we found our driver quickly and after negotiating a massive parking lot traffic jam, we were in our beds at the Norfolk just after midnight.

Leaving Rwanda

We are now in Kenya. Rwanda was an amazing and somewhat emotional experience which I am sure will come into focus in the next few days.

What I will miss:

The younger school children walking to school looking for handshakes and asking in English "how are you doing?"

The kids who waved at us along the road and acted likely us waving back was the best thing that ever happened to them.

The bustle of the Nyamirambo road

The pineapples we bought along the street for 500 Rwf

The little bananas

Our butcher slicing off meet with his machete.

The deliciously cool pool at the Serena

The countryside outside of Kigali

The beer

The Green Corner

Karibu

How positive people seem after what they have been thru. I hope it lasts.

What I won't miss

The bustle of the Nyamirambo road

The all night party which went on outside our apartment every night

The children who greated us by asking for money

The motorcycle taxis. They are a menace, they block the sidewalks, intersections, they honk there horns and rev their engines. If you are walking they drive up alongside you, as if I would be crazy enough ride one

The guys selling MTN cards, magazines, memory sticks, and maps. I now know how to say no in all three official languages (not that it made any difference).

That stupid sign outside of the hospital.

The red dust.

Shakedown in Butare

I had vowed not to write anything negative about Rwanda but the simple egregiousness of this needs to be mentioned.

I do have limited experience travelling in developing countries; I am aware however that a certain small minority of people regard travellers as unlimited untapped pools of cash. This is unfortunately also true in parts of the developing world as well. I can certainly see their point. Even the scruffiest backpacker is probably wealthier than 99% of the population. I am aware that we probably pay more for taxis, and that we pay more in the market although not outrageously more. On the other hand we have been treated with the utmost courtesy by most of the Rwandans we have met. With the following exception.

Twice during our stay here we have gone to Butare to teach the residents there. When in Butare we stay in the Hotel Credo which has seen better days but has a pool and has not generated a "large African insect story". When we checked in the first time we had Mary and Mike, Brady's dad in tow. The well-dressed smiling desk clerk informed us that they were unaware that we would be bringing guests and that we would have to pay extra for them. This is even though Mary and I were sharing a bed. Fine, we said. The hotel was bed and breakfast and so the next morning we were charged for Mary and Mike's breakfast. Fine again. On checking out two days later, Mary paid a further 4000 Rwf per night. No problem.

On our second trip the same smiling desk clerk informed us that the ante was now up to 17000 Rwf for what we thought was two nights. To put things in perspective, there are 600 Rwf to 1 US$. A little steep but something we would deal with. In addition we were charged for breakfast both days. On checking out Friday morning the cruncher came. The ante for Mary to stay was now 34000 Rwf. Now the hotel posts it's rates behind the desk and we could clearly see that one room one bed was 25000 Rwf for one person and 29000 Rwf for 2 people. That, I pointed out comes to $8000 which I would not very happily pay. But, says the smiling clerk, we gave the University at discount on your room and only charged them 11-12,000 Rwf therefore for the privilege of sleeping with your wife you have to make up the different between the discounted rate and 29,000. I asked to speak to the manager and he phoned someone and after a long conversation in Kinyarwandi, he told us that he was sorry but that was policy. The manager was on his way, however and about a minute later a man in a tracksuit and sunglasses arrived. Men who wear tracksuits and sunglasses in Canada are generally drug dealers or gangsters and I was a little concerned. 8000 Rwf is my final offer I bravely announced and eventually that is what we paid.

We were by now late for our teaching but I ran into Dr. Theo and told him what had happened. Dr. Theo said, no it is 4000 per night and phoned somebody at the university who phoned back later and confirmed that that was in fact the case.

We came back to the hotel a couple of hours later to reclaim our bags which we had checked. The desk clerk was still smiling, nothing was missing from our bags and we were on our way.

Kivu

After the gorilla viewing we headed down the road which was just as bumpy going down as going up. We were trying to eat our massive lunches that the lodge gave us. It was very difficult as we were thrown from side to side. The lunch included: a sandwich, a hard boiled egg, two pieces of pepperoni, a piece of cake, two slices of pineapple, a Snickers bar and a juice box. Imagine packing that uphill for 3 hours (we left ours in the truck). As we got further down the hill children were lining the route. I tried to open the window to share some with the kids but our guide Oliver who was hitching a ride with us turned around and told us not to do this as it would turn the kids into beggars. Good advice. Actually I think Oliver was a little pissed because we were the only ones to tip him but still good advice all the same.

We finally met the main road and headed back towards Musanze. The Gorilla naming ceremony appeared to have ended and we motored on. We were planning on visiting Lake Kivu the last of the must-sees (at least that we are aware of) in Rwanda. The road was typical of every road we have driven on in Rwanda. There was never any period where we could not see someone walking or bicycling along the road. People wore a variety of clothing, school uniforms, western clothes and the traditional dress. We marvelled at the improbable items women could carry on their heads. At one point a rock climber was climbing up a high rock face and the road was lined with people watching the crazy white man.


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After 90 minutes we descended the hill into Lake Kivu, specifically the town of Gisenyi. From there it was straight to the Serena Hotel. We love Africa but this is not our universe and occasionally we need to step back into our own universe. We were met a reception with hot towels and a welcome drink before being escorted to our room (not as nice as the Lodge) where we took advantage of the hot shower.

After a latte at the poolside bar we decided to go for a walk. There is a road which runs along the beachfront and we headed north from there. Gisenji has certainly seen better days and there were a lot of rundown properties along the road and some being restored. After 30 minutes or so we arrived at the Congo border. It seemed to be fairly orderly and certainly less threatening than any Canada-US border. There was a large wedding on the beach which we had passed and we could see guests visiting from the Congo gifts in hand.

After walking back to the hotel, a little relaxing poolside seemed appropriate. Unfortunately even Africa is not immune from Sea-doos. I tried my best to wish a hippopotamus attack on them. After changing into nicer clothes we had a buffet dinner at poolside. There was a stir-fry station and we had stir-fried goat. Yes Mary actually likes goat now.

Back to our rooms watched a movie and off to sleep.

Sunday we awoke at 0700 which seems late now. We headed down for the breakfast buffet and a whole lot of coffee. Then we decided to walk the other direction south. We passed a lot of people dressed for church. At some point the road forked with one fork going down towards a small bay and one fork heading up the hill. The downhill fork had a sign saying local traffic only and a soldier so we figured that sort of made up our minds for us. Up the hill we headed. People were still walking down the hill to church. There was a steady stream of bicycle taxis with padded passenger seats, the passengers calmly sitting astride or side saddle as they flew down the steep hill. We arrived at the top and walked back down. At the bottom one of the soldiers said hi to us and explained that the lower road went towards a small navy base. Even land-locked countries need a Navy.

A swim and it was time to check out and Shema was there waiting for us. We headed back mostly the way we came. Along the way we passed a refugee camp. Shema asked if we had refugee camps in Canada. I said we didn't but that we had some refugees in our country. I didn't have the heart to tell him that our government puts up refugees in apartments and motels.

We arrived back in Kigali around 1530. Another fantastic weekend over. Kenya is going to have to pretty good to top this.

Sorry no pictures. Lake Kivu was pretty hazy.

A visit to the in-laws

gorillas

From gorillas

Any visit to Rwanda of course requires a visit to see the Mountain Gorillas. This requires the purchase of a permit at $500 per permit non-refundable. And no they don't take Visa or any other credit card for that matter. The only payment is by bank draft and hope they don't lose it. Buying one once you arrive in Rwanda is risky as a permit may not be available. Therefore to simplify matters we got a local tour company to buy one for us. I did this back in January and had of course completely forgotten what I had booked and really only had a voucher and the local phone number and email for the tour company.

There are at least two ways to travel in developing countries. One method is to use your travel guide, read everything you can about the area, chose a hotel, hope the travel guide writer actually visited this hotel, book the hotel and use local public transport to get to where you are going. Then there is the way we went.

Our day started out in Butare where we were teaching. Butare is two hours away from Kigali where our pick up was and we were supposed to teach all morning. We were finished around 1130 and our favourite (actually our only) driver Jean was ready to leave around 1200. Jean has an interesting approach to driving. Any vehicle in front of him must be passed, no matter how much traffic, how narrow the road or how steep the hill. Also his SUV is right hand drive which meant I was sitting on the left side. After about the 20th time pulling out into traffic, I figured out that some special force must be protecting Jean and stopped worrying.

We arrived in Kigali around 1400 and repacked for our Gorilla trip. Our driver was supposed to come at 1600 but we were ready early and he was able to come early so around 1530 he pulled up in front of our apartment in a huge Toyota Land Cruiser FWD. Surely a little overkill, I thought, for such a well travelled tourist route? We piled in and our driver Shema, explained that the trip was going to take 3 hours. We also learned that he was our personal driver for the weekend. We had had visions of being crammed into a bus with a bunch of other tourists so were very happy.

We left Kigali and headed west and then northwest, climbing a huge winding hill out of Kigali. We were going thru a forest of Eucalyptus and other trees. Soon we reached the top and were driving along a ridge with spectacular vistas on either side of us. We descended another winding hill into a broad valley which we followed for a while before ascending yet another long and winding hill. After about 2 hours we drove through Musanze which is the gateway town to Gorilla trekking. We were heading towards Virunga Lodge. “Do you know anything about the hotel?” Mary asked. “Not the slightest” I replied. We continued onwards and after about 2.5 hours we turned off the main road. Shema pointed towards lights that he but not I could see and said that is your hotel. The road meanwhile got rougher and steeper. It was getting darker but we could see lakes on either side at least 1000 feet down a steep hill. Finally we pulled up to the Lodge.

Staff came out to welcome us and we were directed to two couches to be oriented to the lodge. Virunga Lodge is an Eco-lodge which is entirely off grid and solar powered. After further instructions two staff headed quickly up a moderately steep hill to our cottage carrying our bags. We opened the door to discover what is probably the nicest hotel room we have ever stayed in. There was a huge bed, hardwood floors in the bedroom and a stone floored bathroom that was about the same size as the bedroom. The staff explained that the shower was solar powered as well. It was now about 1840 and we grabbed a quick solar powered shower which was hot enough that we had to add cold water.

From gorillas

No bed bugs here!

Then it was up the hill to the main lodge for dinner at 1900. Dinner it was explained was served family style to allow guests to share their trekking experiences. It was cocktail hour when we arrived and a waiter quickly approached us and took our drink order. There were about 10 other guests seemed to know each other although one or two came over and introduced themselves to us. We were then summoned to the common table in another room. Our co-guests were a collection of fairly wealthy Americans and one Swedish banker. We had ordered our entrees on checking in and they were delicious accompanied by an excellent red wine with which our servers kept our glasses full. After dessert we were asked what time we wanted our wake up call, whether we preferred tea or coffee to be brought to our rooms and what would we like for breakfast.

After a sound sleep we arose at 0500 and sure enough someone was outside our door with a pot of coffee which we drank quickly which getting dressed and packing. At 0530 we were in the dining room where our breakfast arrived quickly accompanied by more coffee. A large packed lunch also appeared still warm.

At 0600 we were down at reception where Shema was waiting. We headed down the hill, in the morning light we could now see the incredible vistas on either side of us. All along the road, people were walking starting their day. Today was the “Naming of the Baby Gorillas” ceremony to be attended by the President as we drove towards the staging area, the road was lined with people. I felt regal as we drove by.

The staging area was a mass of activity. A group of about 10 dancers were dancing traditional dances lead by a small Kwa man. There was also a traditional medicine man and a lady grinding sorghum. All the gorilla trekkers were milling around. We had aspirations of the Susa group, the largest but also most inaccessible group but our driver had judged me as not Susa worthy and we were assigned to a group with an older couple, 3 teenagers and a New Zealander.

We took off again in our Landcruiser and turned off onto a dirt road which rapidly deteriorated into what was more of a creek bed with 20 cm round volcanic stones. The truck ahead of us spun its tires and lurched around and I wondered whether we would have to get out and walk. We soon came the parking area however. We elected to hire porters to carry our packs and with the group set off through potato fields heading gently up the hill. We had to cross a medium size creek and the guides and porters arranged stepping stones for us. After about 15 minutes we crossed a crude stone wall that was the boundary of the park.

One of the trackers carried an submachine gun which our guide explained was to scare off buffaloes and elephants that we might meet and we saw fecal evidence of both. As the brush got denser and the trail narrower I felt like I was in Apocalypse Now what with the machine gunner walking point in front of us. After an hour or so our guide stopped us. We were according to him now 100 metres from the gorilla troop. We had to leave our packs, walking sticks and proceeded on with only cameras. Soon we could see in the distance a gorilla in a tree. I tried to point this out to Mary in front of me but she had already come almost face to face with an almost fully grown gorilla at the side of the trail. As he got up and ambled towards us, our guide shooed him off with a low pitched growl. He passed us and lay on his back shovelling food into his mouth.

From gorillas

We moved on single file and soon we were in the middle of the troop. As our guide had explained to us, we are supposed to stay 7 metres away but gorillas do not know what 7 metres is. The next hour was incredible as we saw all the gorillas in the troop. There was a mother with a small baby who we watched for a long time, two young gorillas fought each other, one scratched his manly bits, the Silverback alpha male casually ambled through the group, and a gorilla high in a tree let out a stream of urine which just missed us. Everywhere you looked there was a gorilla!!! They are such docile, fun loving creatures who happen to be built like “brick shit houses”...After shooting terabytes of pictures it was time to leave.

From gorillas

We left two of the trackers, submachine guns at ready to guard the group. The walk back was anti-climatic and we soon arrived at the parking lot. After paying our porters and tipping our guide we headed off down the bumpy road.

Uwinka

After our day bushwhacking we decided to do something less strenuous and so decided to set out to Uwinka which is the main staging area in Nyungwe. It was also on the way home and offered a large selection of trails. As I mentioned, national parks operate differently in Rwanda than in Canada and instead of just paying for a park pass and going on the trail as you would in Canada, it is necessary to take a guide along with you, consequently each trail costs between $50 and $90. This sounds at the outset like a make-work project until of course you realize that in Africa we are much farther down the food chain than we are in North America.

We got to “sleep in” on Sunday which meant we only had to get up at 0600. Breakfast was waiting for us again. There was another group also up that early and we ate together. At 0630 we headed eastward over the bumpy road back to Uwinka. It took over 30 minutes to cover the 20 km and we eventually rolled into the fairly new tourist centre at Uwinke. We were all pretty sore from bushwhacking after the cousins on Saturday and trail selection was going to be a game time decision.

Mary and I decided to pass up on the 6 hour hike with the 700 metre elevation change in favour of the 3 hour hike with only a 300 metre elevation change. Funny how 300 metres sounds so much easier than 1000 feet. Brady and Mike had learned nothing from the day before and decided to track a group of Colobus monkeys, an excursion that they were assured would involve bushwhacking.

We met our guide Ami and were handed walking sticks and set off downhill on a fairly steep hill. We were very soon in the midst of the rainforest. Ami mentioned that we might encounter chimps and explained what we should do if challenged by a chimp. “Yeah right”, I thought, “2 hours of bushwhacking yesterday and we run into one on the trail today.” We saw huge mahogany trees plus a tree whose name I forget with large buttressed trunks. There were ferns that looked right out of Jurassic park and many flowers. A large valley opened up to the side with incredible vistas. We continued to head down and down. This concerned me as I knew that we were eventually going to have to climb back up again, plus the heavy rains from the day before had made the track very slick. At one point Ami pointed us upward and high above our heads we could see the interlocking branches of the trees forming the canopy over us. After about an hour and a half of mostly stead descending we arrived at the waterfall mentioned on the trail guide. Ami suggested we wash our faces in the cold water; I didn't like the look of of rocks we were going to have to walk on to get to it.

A steady climb out that didn't seem as bad as I feared and we were back at the staging area in under 3 hours. We had been afraid that Brady and Mike would be waiting for us but they hadn't returned. We talked to a couple from Britain who were driving from South Africa back to Britain. Brady and Mike still hadn't returned. At some point one of the guides told us that their guide had radioed in and they would be another hour. That was when a major rainstorm started. We huddled under a shelter and thought about how our colleagues must be suffering. Finally they returned. It turned out that they had chased the monkeys down 700 metres of bush before having to ascend said bush.

We piled into the truck and took off eating some croissants that Mary had brought. We stopped for photo at the Nile Congo divide sign and then it was off out of the national park and through the same countryside we had passed through on Friday. A few hours later we were back in Kigali.

Later in the evening we got a torrential downpour in Kigali, the first rain there since we arrived. We took a taxi to an Indian restaurant for a fabulous meal.

Pretty decent weekend.

A visit to the cousins

Last Wednesday afternoon we left Kigali to go to Butare to teach the junior residents there. Kigali seemed hot, dusty, crowded and noisy and we were happy to get out the city for a while. Our driver Jean arrived promptly at 1400 and we piled into the car, Brady, Mary and I along with Brady's Dad Mike who had “dropped” in the night before. We left Kigali to the west travelling along a valley and sound ascended into the hills surrounding Kigali. When they call Rwanda the county of a thousand hills, they are perhaps understating things. There seem to be a lot more than one thousand. We went literally over hill and dale. The hills were terraced with crops, the valley bottoms heavily cultivated. Every 15 minutes or so we went through a small town, not even slowing down much. Everywhere along the road, we saw people walking, women carrying loads on their head and school children returning home in their uniforms. The vistas as we drove along the sides of the hills were incredible. We tried some drive by photos and we couldn't stop for a photo op. After 2 hours we entered Butare and checked into the Hotel Credo.

After freshening up, we decided to go out to what was described as the best restaurant in Butare by our guidebook. Guidebook....FAIL. I will probably post on this separately.

We were sleep deprived from the heat in Kigali and our noisy neighbours and in the cool quiet of Butare we slept like logs. Until.....at 0500 the sound of what was for 0500 beautiful singing. It turns out there is a Mosque about 500 metres away complete with loudspeakers to call the faithful to prayer. In case the faithful missed it, it was repeated at 0515. We got up, ate breakfast on the terrace; a bean soup which was quite good, a plate of fruit and toast plus coffee. Just after 0745 Dr. Theo arrived to pick and Brady and me to go to the hospital.

CHUB was a refreshing change from CHUK. We changed in Dr. Theo's office before going to the OR where we were met by Isaac and Adolphe two of the junior residents who greeted us dressed in clean white OR scrubs. We had a great day working with them, they were enthusiastic, asked a lot of questions and were open to suggestions. After our list finished I had the usual Rwandan buffet lunch with Adolphe before heading home. We all dined that night at the Hotel Ibis along with it seemed just about every other ex-patriot in Butare. I ate the special grilled rabbit. It really does taste like chicken.

After another sound sleep until 0500, we had breakfast and Brady and I walked to the hospital. Friday is a short day in Butare with only emergencies scheduled. Dr. Theo met us and asked us whether we wanted to attend their Friday morning case presentations or do the three emergencies. We decided on the case presentations. We all sat around in the store room. Dr. Theo quietly asked that we start the meeting with a prayer and everyone (except Brady and I) joined in, in a beautiful hymn followed by a short prayer. We certainly don't start our meetings in Canada that way although sometimes we could use a little prayer.

Butare lies in the southern part of the country as does the Nyumgwe National Forest, one of the must sees in Rwanda. Unfortunately tourism is not that well developed in Rwanda. We got very little information from the tourist office in Kigali and our Bradt travel guide wasn't that much help either. We had originally thought of just staying in Butare and commuting to the park on Saturday and Sunday until we learned the park is actually 3 hours from Butare. They looked so close on the map. We therefore booked rooms at the Gisakura guest house. We still figured that we could get there on the bus which Bradt said was possible. At the last minute we decided to ask our driver Jean how much he would charge to drive us there Friday and pick us up on Sunday and he quoted a very reasonable rate.

Therefore at 1300 on Friday we set out west from Butare. We first when up a broad valley which was heavily cultivated with some fish farms as well. We soon however got into hilly country. The hills were terraced with farming often up to the top of the hill. Some of the hills stuck out like sugar loafs circled with terracing. Again we passed people on the road and small towns. As we got farther west we started to see tea planted on the slopes. After an hour or so we reached Nyungwe National Park. The road very quickly got very rough even by Edmonton standards. Our driver tried as best he could to steer around the larger tank traps often going onto what shoulder there was or into the other lane. We were surrounded by hills covered by jungle with deep valleys off the side of the road. We could see the dense canopy. At one point we saw our first group of monkeys at the side of road, necessitating a photo stop.

Unfortunately at that time our driver noticed he was leaking brake fluid from his rear brakes. We check the fluid levels and he seemed to have sufficient fluids plus hey the front brakes work and we were out in the middle of nowhere so we pushed on.

After some time we passed the Gisakura Tea Plantation which is on the western side of the park and which was close to where we were supposed to stay. We saw no sign for our guest house and we figured that our driver knew where he was going so we pushed on for another 30 minutes. At that point our driver stopped to phone someone and it was at that point we realized he didn't know where he was going either. We consulted the guidebook, turned around and headed back. At every village our driver stopped to ask directions. As a man I could feel his pain. Eventually we arrived at the Gisakura Guest House.

Some travel guides have not been kind to the Gisakura Guest House and I was expecting some spartan and not particularly clean accommodation. I was surprised. The guest house is a series of brick buildings, surrounded by nicely manicured grounds with the jungle just past the fence. The staff welcomed as and showed us our rooms which were clean and comfortable. You do of course have to share a bathroom. We had an excellent buffet dinner with the small number of guests later that night.

National Parks in Rwanda are different from National Parks in Canada. Firstly as we found out, you really need a driver to get around. Uwinka were many of the good trails are is 20 km from where the hotels are. To see the chimps is a 30+ minute drive. Fortunately we ran into our driver Jean who had decided not to drive back and were able to negotiate his services for Saturday and Sunday.

We all decided we would like to see the chimps. This involved phoning a ranger to book the trip and it was already 1800 and the rangers had gone home from the Gisakura Ranger Station. Fortunately a guard was still there who knew the phone number and we called a ranger. We then had to each come with $90 US, give it to Jean who took it to the ranger who would sleep overnight at the Gisakura Ranger station. Oh by the way, we are leaving at 0430.

We went right to bed after dinner. Our alarm was set for 0400 but we woke around 0345 and got into the clothes we had put out the night before. The guesthouse had given us the key to kitchen and had put out small bananas, bread and most importantly coffee for us to eat. 0430 came and we met Ranger Robert in the pitch black night. We piled into the car and headed west down the bumpy road. In time we turned onto a dirt road that was strangely smoother than the “paved” road. In the headlights we frequently came across people out walking in the predawn. We passed small villages as we went up and up the winding road. The sun began to come up. We passed a large group of people out running in the dawn. Finally our truck pulled over. We got out. Another ranger and 4 trackers were awaiting us. They all wore green uniforms with their pants tucked into their gumboots. Below us we could hear the “cousins” whooping it up.

Ranger Robert handed us each a walking stick. We figured this was a nice touch for the tourist. We headed down a steep trail cut into the side of the hill. There was a wooden handrail which probably wouldn't have taken my weight. “The vegetation will stop me, “ I thought but I wasn't really confident. We walked mostly downhill with the occasion uphill. Periodically Ranger Robert would talk on the radio to the trackers. Eventually we stopped. The cousins were not coming to us, we were going to have to go to them. We backtracked and suddenly left the trail onto a narrower “trail”. Vegetation was dense and I had to crawl under obstacles. The camera I had at the ready for my chimp shot went into the backpack as did my hat. We were perched on the edge of a steep hill. The soil was very loamy and it was hard to get a foot hold. It was that when I realized what the walking sticks were for. After about 20 minutes of hard slogging we stopped. “Chimps” somebody whispered. High above over 20 metres in a tree we saw an adult male perched on a branch in a perfect pose. Too bad the camera was in my backpack. We saw a total of 5 chimps including 2 babies up in that tree. Around us we could hear the whoops of the tribe who we had disturbed.

The pack moved north and we decided to follow them. This involved about an hour of bushwhacking thru the underbrush, clambering up impossibly steep slopes and descending treacherous downhills. We gave up eventually but has some more bushwhacking to go to get back to the trail after which we could walk back to our truck where Jean was waiting for us.

Then came the decision of how much to tip. We huddled briefly and decided that 10,000 Rwf between the four of us would be appropriate and gave this to Ranger Robert. He looked a little displeased so we came up with another 10,000. I remember how one of his men had possibly saved my life when I started to fall backwards and came up with another 5000.

It was now 1000. We had been up for 6 hours already. We backtracked along the dirt road passing villages and tea plantations until we got to the main “road”. We passed multiple villages. Finally we stopped in a small village. Jean pointed to the gas gauge. Almost empty. We had agreed to pay for gas. There is of course no Esso station. Ranger Robert yelled out the window and in time someone appeared with a large Jerry can of diesel. There was a negotiation, and the proprietor inserted a hose into the Jerry can with one end inserted into the gas tank. He then blew over the opening of the Jerry can to force gas into the hose which was then syphoned into the gas tank. He had to repeat this several times. Meanwhile the whole village gathered around to watch. Later after Mary asked about corn, we stopped in another small village, Ranger Robert yelled out something and four cobs of roasted corn appeared which somebody paid for. They were delicious.

It was just after 1130 when we arrived back at the Gisakura guesthouse. After a hot shower(!) and a delicious lunch, it was time for a nap. Later Mary and I sat in the gazebo in the midst of a major thunderstorm and reflected on our day and what we were to do the next day.

Pictures to follow once I get a decently fast internet connection.

Rwandan people

Being expatriates, guests in their country, speaking very little French and no Kinyarwandi, our contact with Rwandans has been minimal. We have made the following based on our walks through Kigali. I recently much to Mary's distress purchased an illustrated copy of Herodatus: The Histories. Herodatus of course travelled through much of the ancient world and in his book had vivid descriptions of the people of each nation. Of course Herodatus made up a lot and seemed obsessed with certain types of behaviour.

Rwandan women dress very conservatively but in variety of styles including traditional dress with a tunic, long dress and headdress all in colourful fabric. Most dresses are below the knee and it is unusual to see a woman wearing pants. There is a Mosque in our neighbour and there is a significant population of Muslims. The women dress in a variety of Islamic dress ranging from a simple headscarf to a full Burka (Mary saw one, I have not).

Rwandan women seem to take great pride in their hair which explains the hair “saloon” on each block. Corn rows and dreadlocks seem to be fashionable.

Dr. Greidanus would be glad to know that while babies and toddlers are generally carried on their mother's back, in every case we have seen they are being carried correctly, piggyback style. No hip dysplasia here!

Men wear long pants and button up shirts. Most people do not wear a hat. The residents in our program come to the Monday teaching session well dressed and you can see your face in their shoes.

Rwandans seem to be very polite and reserved (except for the patrons of the bar across from our apartment). They generally will not speak until you speak to them. This morning at morning report, I was the only staff anaesthesiologist present. We all sat speechless until finally I realized they were waiting for me to give the word. “Why don't we start”, I said and we started.

There are no public displays of affection between couples. The closest may be a couple with their arms around each others waist. On the other hand women and men often walk hand in hand and the school children walking to school often walk hand in hand.

Women still carry objects on their head. Many have a cloth donut which enables them to more easily carry the object (still an impressive accomplishment). Some women may have their shopping in a bag perched on their head. More precariously we have observed women carrying shallow baskets of limes on their head. Men also carry stuff on their head. Walking down the monster hill on the way to the Genocide Centre we observed 3 men each carrying 3 of those plastic cartons soft drinks come in their heads albeit stabilized with their arms. Later we saw a man carrying bed frame on his head.

Most of the signs are in Kinyarwandi. While a lot of the population speaks French, there are very few French signs and many of the stores have English names with some really curious names. The government is teaching English in the schools. Many of the school children we come across like to practise English on us.

Street beggars are a rare sight. This may be less to do with poverty and more to do with enforcement. You will encounter small children in central Kigali where the non-Rwandans congregate. Certainly I was panhandled more the last time I walked down Whyte avenue that I have in 9 days in Rwanda. You will get bothered by people trying to sell cell phone minutes, the motor cycle taxis and curiously vendors selling “The Economist”; I may just buy one.

These are, of course, early observations of a neophyte so please don't call me out for generalizing.

A Sunday Drive

On Sunday we visited the Akagera Game Reserve which is located to the East of Kigali on the Tanzanian border.

Our driver, Isaac arrived at 0530. The sun was just rising over Kigali. As we drove north on the Nyamirambo road it was much quieter than the night before when we had walked home. Even the soldiers had gone home. With the street less busy, we noticed a lot of people out jogging up the moderate hill towards where we live. While there was very little car traffic, there were a lot of people out jogging on the sidewalks.

After a few minutes we had left the quiet streets of Kigali and were heading east. Isaac informed us that he had checked and that there were very few animals in the southern part of the park and that therefore we would be going to the northern entrance. As we continued into the farmland which surround Kigali, we saw more and more people on the side of the road. Some people were jogging alone or in groups. Many of the people we saw were bringing goods to the local market. Some carried them in their arms or on their heads and some carried them on bicycles. We saw a lot of people hauling water from lakes or communal taps. This seemed to be a family affair with small children carrying small jerry cans and adults or older children carrying full size jerry cans. It was not unusual to see three jerry cans strapped to a bicycle. Other people carried firewood or long grass for their cows. So densely populated is Rwanda that it was rare to see a stretch of road without at least one person in view.

The area to the east of Kigali is hilly and the farm land is terraced up the side of the hill. We saw a lot of small banana plantations and other crops. As we neared the game reserve, the land became less hilly and more rolling. We turned off the paved road onto a dirt road which we followed for about 20 km. We saw a lot more cows with peculiar long horns.

After about 3 mostly interesting hours, we reached the game reserve. It cost $30 US each plus $15 for our driver, but this included a guide who road in the truck with us. After a bathroom break, we took off along a bumpy dirt road. It did not take us long before we started seeing animals, first some antelopes, then several Zebras. We were of course thrilled with this and stopped to shoot multiple pictures out the car window, not knowing of course what we would see in the next while.

After 20 minutes of driving we arrived into a long grassy valley which was crawling with wildlife. In addition to zebras, and several species of antelope, we counted 17 giraffe. The animals were relatively tame and it was possible to get reasonably close shots with a telephoto lens. We lingered for about 30 minutes before going onto get as close as we safely could to a large group of water buffalo. Then it was onward through a swampy area. A group of 4 warthogs scampered along the road in front of us disappearing into the grass. Some large monkeys ran across the road and we were able to get a look at one their group up in a tree. Suddenly our guide said, “there is a hippopotamus!” Over in the grass about 15 metres from our truck was a hippopotamus barely visible in the grass. We waited for it to get up for a better picture but it was not obliging. We continued on to another grassland were there were larger antelopes to see.

From akagera

From akagera

From akagera

From akagera

On the road back we were lucky to get a better view of the hippo and got some reasonable shots.

From akagera

We continued along back the bumpy road after some time arriving back at the entrance where our guide left us. We gave one of her colleagues a ride back to his town.

The roads back to Kigali were much busier than when we came out with more cars, minivan taxis and motorcycles. We continued to see families collecting water and the overloaded bicycles. People in their Sunday best walked along the road. After our trip out in the lush countryside, Kigali seemed a hot and sterile place as we arrived back around 1500.

We walked back up the busy Nyambirambo road to the Serena Hotel for a swim and hot shower before heading back home for dinner. On the way back we stopped at a second story bar and sat on the "terrace" watching street life, sipping a beer. It was a pretty good day.

The Kigali Genocide Museum

I am a keen student of history. I wish more of our world leaders studied history. On the other hand I like to live in the now and try to move forward while learning from what has gone on in the past.

We had a free day in Kigali today so we decided to visit the Kigali Genocide Museum. Many people had suggested that this would be a must see in Kigali so we went. I really didn't know what to expect.

We found the museum on the map. Because safe taxis don't come to our neighbourhood we decided to walk to central Kigali where we could get into a decent taxi and get there that way. We stopped at the Cafe Bourbon for a latte and chocolate croissant by which time we actually felt energetic and decided to walk the rest of the way. Like most things in Kigali there is no straight line between two points and while it looked like we were half way there already, what the map didn't show was that we were at the top of one large hill and to get to the museum we would have to descend to the bottom of the hill and then walk up half way up the next hill. This is complicated by the lousy map we have and the lack of street signs in Kigali. The guide did say that we could see it across the valley.

Eventually we arrived at the museum. What impressed me the most was the number of Rwandans in their best clothes heading up or coming down the hill from the Museum/Memorial to pay their respects to their dead relatives.

The Museum itself is surrounded by a number of themed gardens related to life before, during and after the genocide. After passing through these gardens you then visit the mass graves. The remains of 300,000 people mostly from Kigali are entombed there. The graves are covered with flowers left by relatives. At the end of the garden is the Wall of Remembrance which is about 50 metres long. They are trying to put of the names of all the dead, however they have only managed to fill two panels and there is a lot of wall to be filled.

After this we went into the Museum. This contains a history of Rwanda before during and after the colonial period. It then explains in great detail the events of the Genocide. This is underscored by filmed interviews of survivors and historic news footage. There is a room of pictures of the dead, and a room full of some of the skulls and bones. Many of the skulls have bullet holes or machete marks. There is another room devoted to the children who were murdered.

The second part of the Museum is devoted to other genocides including the Amenians, the Herraro of Namibia by the Germans (which I never knew of), the Holocaust, Cambodia and the Balkans.

The goal of the museum is to maintain awareness of genocide in the hope that this will never happen in the future. I always thought that by now we would have found a way of resolving disputes that doesn't involve killing people. I continue to be disappointed.

We walked the long climb home somewhat somberly. The streets we walked through were humming with activity and it seems that the Rwandans are at least trying to live in the now.

My boo boo

Things were quiet in the OR today so Brady, Mary and I all decided to go out for lunch. There is a Cantin in the hospital which serves a buffet lunch and I did eat there once however we were warned that patients with TB also eat there. We decided to visit Karibu, a buffet restaurant nearby which Dr. Bona had taken us to the day before.

As I mentioned, walking on the sidewalk in Kigali is a dangerous prospect. As I remember we were walking 3 abreast when I noticed a square street sign about head height. I decided to step out into the street to go around the sign and I thought I was clear when suddenly I had flash of pain in my head accompanied by a loud noise. "Idiot", I thought, "Once again you have hit your head on something". And bemoaning the fact that the world is not made for people my size. Except when I put my hand up to my head, I could feel a gash at least 1 cm and there was blood on my hand. And I knew I was due for an encounter with the medical system.

Brady remember he had a suture kit at home and we were of course near a hospital. I was trying to figure out how I would fare in the ER. On the one hand as a paying customer and on the other...? After buying some Kleenex and applying pressure we decided to phone Dr. Bona to see if he could help us out. Dr. Bona replied right away, came to the door of the OR, and right away called his colleague in the outpatient clinic. Soon we outside the door waiting for the minor procedure before us to end.

Dr. Bona's colleague, whose name I never got took great care of me and explored and cleaned the wound, cutting away an alarming amount of hair before freezing everything. He then explored the wound, put in six stitches which I am told are things of beauty. He also put on a very large dressing and told me to keep it on for 4 days. I personally never put dressing on the many scalp lacerations I have done however he had been so good to me that I was not going to argue. Now of course there is a large white bandage on the left side of my head.

After that it was off to the Karibu to have the buffet and of course drink a large beer (which most of my former patients did before, not after I sutured them). I spent the afternoon moping and licking my wounds (figuratively) at the Serena Hotel pool. Of course I couldn't go for swim.

Brady and I at the airport

 

Brady looks excited, I look like I just spent 8 hours on the plane.

The Nyamirambo Road

When I found out the neighbourhood our apartment was in, I got out my guidebook to try and figure out where it was and more importantly where it was relative to the hospital. We are in a neighbourhood called Nyamirambo. Try pronouncing that a few times quickly. On the map there was a long road which leads to the hospital and to central Kigali. The distance looked about 5 km.

Here is what Bradt's guidebook on Rwanda says about our neighbourhood.

"...lively busy district of small streets and colourful little local shops. The atmosphere has a touch of London's Soho about it."

The centrepiece of this road is the Nyamirambo Road. We have now walked this road back and forth between the hospital several times including twice on one day. A map of course cannot convey what a road actually looks like.

The Nyaraminbo Road is a two lane road which carries all the traffic between our neighbourhood and central Kigali. It is hopping with cars, minibus “taxis”, trucks and the ubiquitous motorcycle taxis. On each side of the road are small shops. About every 10 feet there is either a hair “saloon” or a small bar. The are also multiple cell phone shops, tiny grocery stores, clothing stores and who knows what else. There are narrow sidewalks on most but not all of the road. You have to be careful because there is a 1 metre wide ditch alongside some of the sidewalks. There are also 30 cm deep trenches on the western side of the street to allow rain to drain downhill in the rainy season and if you aren't careful you can step into one of those as I have twice already.

The roads going off to the side are dirt roads which we have not explored much but those that we have walked on have their own small shops and bars. These dirt roads are irregular and rutted from the recent rainy season.

Kigali seems to wake up at 0530 and we usually leave to walk to the hospital at 0630. The street is bustling even more at the time with people walking to work and kids walking to school wearing their school uniforms. Quite often to pass people or to yield to people coming in the opposite direction, we have to step off the sidewalk onto the street which means taking your life into your hands as motorcycles, minibuses and cars are whizzing by, often as close to the curb as they can.

For the last two days we have walked home around 1700 which seems to be when school gets out which means that the kids have a very long day. Today I got "swarmed" by a group of school children who all wanted to hold my hand and failing that my arm. In other countries I would start wondering about my wallet. Many of the young children like to high five us or will ask us "how are you doing" in English.

There is a market nearby called (of course) the Nyamirambo Market. While certainly not the Otovalo market, it has a wide selection of local fruits and vegetables and is overall quite clean. You can get clothing made for you there although Mary and my first try didn't work out that well.

Buying beer in a grocery store is a major endeavour. A 750 ml bottle of beer goes for about 600 Rwandan francs ($1). If however you wish to take it out of the store you have to pay a 500 Rwf deposit. That makes 1100 Rwf for your beer. Still less than $2. The first time we did this however the lady sternly warned us over and over about this and only reluctantly let us buy the beer. Now .... the next time your want a beer, you bring the empty back to the store and you can buy another one for 600 Rwf. And so on and so on. The problem is, that the beer you bring back has to be the same as the beer you want to buy so if you buy something you don't like, you are forever doomed to drink the same beer over and over. Plus if you did like we did and let the people who cleaned our house take the empties, you are back where you started. This sounds a little impractical, however there is absolutely no broken glass on the street, and people don't drink in the streets. Plus there is are at least two bars every 50 metres and it costs the same to drink a beer in a bar as it does to buy it in a store (without the deposit).

Sorry I haven't been posting many pictures. Our internet connection is quite slow and I have not figured out yet how to shrink the pictures down to a more uploadable size.