Day 1: Kigali
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| The view of Kigali from Ubumwe |
It took about 27 hours from the moment I left my apartment
at 6am on Saturday 9/8 until I arrived at my friend’s apartment at about 6pm on
Sunday 9/9. I flew via Qatar Airlines, stopping at Doha, Qatar then Entebbe
(Kampala), Uganda, and finally landing in Kigali, Rwanda. I have to say, the
food on Qatar was really, really good, although by the end of the trip I was
just ready to get off of the plane!
My friend Claire, whom I am visiting in Rwanda, has been
here for about 7 years. She started as a Peace Corps Volunteer and then began
working for a really amazing nonprofit called One Acre Fund. She lived out on
the western border of Rwanda (sort of near Lake Kivu, which I visited during my trip) until recently, when she moved to
Kigali. Claire
met her son, D’Assise when he was just 3 years old when they were both living in a convent (Claire was placed there for her Service Corps assignment) and they immediately had a
connection that was clear to anyone who knows them. D’Assise is a spitfire and
a hilarious kid who is now 9 years old. About two years ago, Claire was able to
legally adopt D’Assise.
D’Assise is a brilliant and wonderful kid and the two of them are inseparable, and I'm so thankful I was able to spend so much time with them for the week!
And since they just moved to Kigali, I get to stay with them
in their brand new, beautiful home! You can rent a whole house in Kigali for
about $300 a month (though there are additional expenses needed, such as a
guard and a live-in caretaker—this is standard throughout the region). I should
note that Rwanda is incredibly safe—it is the safest in Africa, and I wouldn’t
be surprised if it’s safer than NYC. As a result, the quality of life is a lot
better than in other areas in the region—safety means you can walk around at
night, you can have more independence, even more exercise. Other areas I have
visited you shouldn’t walk even one block at night, and even during the day
there were some places I was advised not to go alone/on foot. In Kigali, it’s just more
organized, more lit, cleaner and safer—in this way, it reminded me of China,
which also had less crime and allowed for a greater feeling of independence, especially as a single female traveler.
Anyway, after relaxing on Claire’s beautiful terrace
drinking iced mint tea, we went to have sunset drinks at Ubumwe, which is a
rooftop bar on top of a hotel that has a gorgeous view of the city, especially
at night!
Afterwards, we walked down the road, past the president’s
residence (literally, where the president of Rwanda lives) to an amazing Indian
restaurant called Khana Khazana Kiyovu, which had a really beautiful atmosphere
and really delicious and authentic Indian food.
Day 2: Kigali
To get to breakfast, I took my first moto ride. Throughout
the developing world, motorbikes are used as a kind of taxi and are very cheap
(much cheaper than a car-taxi; in Kigali, a moto costs between about 30 cents
to $1.50 to basically get anywhere in that he city). It's surprising that I've
never been on one until now, and definitely my first ride I was very nervous,
but by the end of the trip I was extremely comfortable with riding them!
For breakfast, Claire and I went to Inzora Café, which is
also a bookstore that sells really cool books as well as gifts. They also have
great coffee and a breakfast of yogurt, granola, and passion fruit—all local
products! In fact, Claire tells me that coffee shops are a more recent
phenomenon, popping up in the last 5 years or so. It’s funny, because I
remember being in Tanzania and thinking that it was weird that they grow
coffee, but there isn’t really anywhere where you can go and enjoy a cup of
Tanzanian coffee. Now, there are coffee shops all around Rwanda and you can
even to a “cupping”—a tasting of different coffees. Unfortunately, I didn’t
have enough time for this—next time!
I then zoomed off to do a Go Kigali Tour, which worked out
because I ended up not having a lot of time in Kigali during my trip! I would
recommend the tour, which is $95; however, if you don’t have time or want to
cut some spending corners, just do the morning half ($65) and have them drop
you off at the Genocide Museum/Memorial and spend a good 3 hours there (note:
this is donation only, you are not obligated to pay for the audio tour, which
is $15 and basically not necessary because you can read everything that is on
the audio tour).
For our first stop, we drove up to the top of Mount Kigali.
Up there is a very serene pine forest and lots of monkeys. Just down a short
path, there is a view of the city that is quite nice as well.
Our next stop was the Ghaddafi Mosque, which is at the end
of Ghaddafi Road. While Ghaddafi didn’t sponsor the mosque—the UAE did and
still does—he did sponsor the paved road several decades ago. The mosque was
built in 1979 and also has a free medical clinic and free school. While we were
there, the children of one class were cleaning up the area, making sure there
was no garbage around. In fact, Rwanda is very clean compared to its neighbors.
For one thing, plastic bags are banned, only reusable bags can be used and
brought into the country. Additionally, President Kagame has prioritized cleanliness
and has done a number of campaigns to create a social pressure that prevents
people from just tossing garbage on the road (called behavior-change
communications). Furthermore, there is “umuganda”—on the morning of the last
Saturday of every month, the whole country goes out and does a volunteer
project with their town or village. The project is determined by their local
“chief” (an elected official that is a volunteer role), and people receive a
fine if they do not participated. While I like to think that this helps to
create a sense of community, I’m told the fine is low enough that the wealthy
often just pay the fine and don’t participate.
Our next stop was a milk bar. In Rwanda, milk and yogurt are
very important. In the past, there were Rwandans that did not drink water, only
milk; others still never ate either, but only drank milk! Some did live to be
quite old, and this does make some sense—milk has a lot of nutrients in it and
can be hydrating. Still, it’s quite a fascinating idea to not know how water
tastes or how it feels to enjoy solid foods.
Milk bars are simple places where locals can go to enjoy
some milk or fermented yogurt, which is drinkable yogurt. In Kigali, they
receive the milk from out of town (there are no cows in Kigali), fresh each
day, and then pasteurize it on premises. On our stop, we had one milk that was
still warm from pasteurization, and also some fermented yogurt, which I really
liked a lot!
Our next stop was a traditional-style market. At the market
there were all kinds of fruits, beautiful multicolored beans like I'd never
seen before, live animals, clothes and kitchenware, and lots of 2nd-hand shoes.
On the tour we got to try some banana, tree tomato (sort of similar to a
passion fruit and very good!), passion fruit, and orange. After that, we went
to lunch where we had local Rwandan fare, which included goat, beef, French
fries, rice, green peas, potatoes/yams, umugale (cassava flour made into a
dough and used for dipping in sauces) and isambe (cassava leaves made into a
consistence similar to cream of spinach or pesto).
After that, we headed to Question Coffee, which is a women's
coffee collective. It was very pretty and had an airy outdoor space, but the
view at Inzora is nicer.
Next, we did a water taxi/small boat ride to a poorer
neighborhood that is to be relocated because they want to expand the lake into
a bigger, cleaner, more scenic lake. Apparently it is quite common and accepted
that the government would ask you to move, and supposedly the people being
relocated are very fairly compensated so they don't mind. There is a master
plan for redesigning Kigali, which you can see at City Hall, so many people
have to move because of that. But also, people sometimes are required to move
to be closer to medical centers and schools. I find this to be quite
interesting, since in the US we are beginning to face a shrinking hospital
system, leaving those in rural areas without access to medical services in
reasonable distances. In Rwanda (a very tiny country with the highest
population density in Africa), the solution is relocation. I wonder what this
solution would look like in the US: I imagine it would cost a fortune, but I
also wonder what the social response would be. While some people told me that
it's true, people don't mind to be relocated, I'm curious if this is true across
the board. And if it is true, why? How?
After this we went to the genocide museum, and we only had
an hour. This is just enough time to see the museum or the grounds, but not
both. The museum was very fascinating and we'll done, I'm glad I went thru it,
but I regret not getting to see the memorial grounds. Next time!
That night, Claire, D'Assise, and I met some of Claire's
colleagues and friends at an Italian restaurant for trivia night. It actually
was a really fun concept--1st place gets their meal comped but they have to
create the questions for the next week. 2nd place gets their drinks comped
(which, by the way, are pretty cheap--beers are never more than $3 in Rwanda).
Almost everyone there (if not all) are foreigners, and the questions definitely
skewed that way. We actually won 2nd place, which was awesome! Also, I'm picky
about my pizza, and I have to say they had pretty good thin-crust pizza.
Day 3: Rubinghera and Kibuye
We then headed to Rubinghera, where Claire and a bunch of
people had meetings to attend for work. One Acre Fund, also known at Tubura
locally, has a compound in Rubinghera, which is in a rural area in the east of
Rwanda near the border with the Congo (you can literally see it in the
distance). The compound has housing for its country staff, offices, communal
areas, and gardens. It's on the top of a hill overlooking an incredibly
picturesque valley of lush green farmland, with Lake Kivu and its islands in
the distance.
In the early afternoon in relaxed in Rubinghera and then
headed to Kibuye (pronounced key-boo-yay), the town nearby that is on the lake. I went to the Cormoran
hotel where they have kayaking for 8000rfw per hour and also water access. I
can't even describe how beautiful the area is, with steep lush hills that go
crashing into this brilliantly blue lake, which is also so big that it seems
more like a bay, with small waves in the afternoon. While swimming, I met two
Rwandan women who now live in Germany and Buffalo, NY and we all marveled at
how beautiful afternoon clean Rwanda is and how far it's come in such a short
time.
While waiting for Claire to join me for dinner at the hotel,
there was an intense rain and also some lightning over the lake which
illuminated the islands in an incredibly beautiful way I'd never see before and
couldn't capture on camera. Apparently this area has the most lightening in all
of Africa. A Rwandan also told me that 9 people died in the last month of lightning
strikes--I'll have to fact check that, but the point is that they have a lot of
lightening here! This is also the beginning of rainy season, which started a
little early this year, and so it rained every evening around dusk, just as the
temperature began to drop. The perk to this time of year is that no one is
around--basically not are soul to be seen anywhere at any of the hotels!
Claire joined me for dinner and we both enjoyed tilapia,
which is farmed here in the lake as well as across Rwanda. We also had some of
these tiny little fish that are served battered and fried and eaten
whole--actually not bad!
Day 4: Rubinghera & Kibuye
Back at Rubinghera, Claire made us breakfast: scrambled
eggs, tomato, avocado, and passion fruit, all grown locally! I then headed back
to Kibuye to the Golf Hotel for a boat ride. These things are always hard when
you're one person since it's hard to negotiate the price (6 people paying $10
or even $5 is obviously better than one person paying $18), but I was able to
go for 2 hours and see an island with a lot of bats and another island with a
monkey that comes right to you (either island hopes of food or in hopes of
being rescued island guess). Cow herders also herd their cows between islands,
with the cows swimming in order to go between them. You can pay the herders to
have their cows swim for you! The most interesting thing was the bats, since I
had never seen a bar up close and there were thousands. Plus, my boat guy
actually let me drive as well! No time for swimming though; apparently a better
paying couple wanted a boat ride.
I walked up the road to a beautiful hotel called the Bethany
B Hotel (there is also a Bethany A Hotel that is also beautiful), which has
water access and a beautiful lawn that goes right to the water’s edge and has
seating and servers who will bring you food and drinks drink (which was very
cheap!). I enjoyed reading and swimming and meditating by the water, just
watching the clouds pass, the water move, and the sun crossing the sky.
Funny enough, while eating some hawks definitely took notice
of my chicken wings and tried to steal them! The hotel actually had a guy stand
by me to guard me! I couldn't stop laughing, it was so funny.
Back at Rubinghera, the staff was setting up for a party for
one of the staffer's 3 year work anniversary. It was an incredible banquet for
20 people, complete with boeuf Bourgogne, soufflé, olive tapenade, and
chocolate cake! The team there is really great, and what a beautiful night to
enjoy a communal meal with good people.
Day 5: Musanze
In the morning I walked down the road to the top of a hill
where you can really see the lake and the islands. You think you're in and
rural, isolated place, but Rwanda has an extreme population density so that
even in fairly "isolated" places, there are always people around. And
when a muzungu, or white person, walks by, it's quite exciting. At one point, I
swear a whole pre-school came out to heckle me, and I couldn't see who was
calling me, but some child in the distance, perhaps across the valley, was
calling out, "Muzungu! Muzungu!" It's definitely a weird experience.
Additionally, in Rwandan culture, it is not rude to stare. People will stare at
you wide-eyed all the time, so while the children would heckle me, the parents
would just stare me down. Usually, the stare-down could be broken by a smile
and friendly wave, which is usually returned a smile and wave back. I think mostly
people are just curious what a white girl is doing in the middle of nowhere,
clearly a long way from home.
We then drove back to Kigali where I caught a bus to
Musenze, where there are 2 large lakes and a volcano chain (all except 1
volcano is dormant, and that is on the Uganda side of the border). Patience is
a tour guide operator that Claire knows and whom she arranged to have pick me
up at the bus station (FYI, the 3 hour bus ride costs less than $3). Since I
didn't guide in until 5pm, I asked Patience to take me to the lakes, which were
SO beautiful. If I had come earlier, I would have gotten to kayak or bike ride
around the lakes (there are also some caves you can check out). The two lakes
were connected before, and now between them there is a hydroelectric dam, which
I think is really cool to see because I think most people don't think of Africa
as having hydroelectric dams (I think most people wrongly assume Africa is all
dark).
I stayed at the La Locanda, which is a hotel/guest house
owned by an Italian woman. I had a delicious dinner at the hotel, and then my
room had been upgraded since they were overbooked! It was a bit chilly (I guess
upper 50s?), and my room had a fireplace (very unusual), so I had them light it
for me! It felt so fancy and smelled great--what a nice way to treat myself and
relax.
Day 6: Musanze/Crater Lake Hike
I had a great breakfast at the hotel at 6:30am, and at the
same time was the rest of the hotel--a large group of cyclists. Many Rwandans
ride bikes as a mode of transportation, but there are many who cycle
recreationally/for fitness. This group was all foreigners doing a biking tour
(which is becoming increasingly popular--but FYI Rwanda is VERY
hilly/mountainous, so it's definitely meant for those who are more serious),
but throughout my trip I saw many very serious Rwandan cyclists, and apparently
they have quite a good national cycling team.
I then headed to the national park that is well known for a
few reasons: this is where you can go see gorillas in their natural habitat,
this is where Diane Fosse did her research and died, and you can see a crater
lake. I did the Crater Lake hike, which I would not advise doing in the rainy
season unless you are an expert/seasoned hiker/mountain climber and have rain
boots for hiking. The climb is very steep and rocky, and since the rains have
already started, very, very muddy. People on the climb had done Kilimanjaro or
regularly climb in the Alps. I run a lot, but the mud made it a bit treacherous
for me. Coming down was actually terrifying and I know another guy was also
very upset/concerned for his safety. However, the Crater Lake was gorgeous,
especially as the clouds came up and over us and across the mountaintop. It was
freezing and misty, so we ate and quickly headed back down (which annoyed some
people that it went so quickly). In total, the hike took us 7 hours--normally 5
in the dry season. We had about 10 fit and active people in our group, but
usually in the dry season you can have 30 or 40 people!
Also, you can pay for a porter. I thought this was very
unnecessary, but a couple told me that they had done a shorter hike the day
before and because of the mud it's worth it. Patience also told me it's a good
cause--for just $10 you're giving these guys good work. So I figured I'd do it.
Thank god! My porter was Innocent and coming down the mountain he really helped
me to keep me from sliding all the way down and killing myself. I felt so silly
having him hold my hand, but it was needed--suddenly, I'd start sliding down
the mud and if he was holding my hand, he could stop me and keep me from
falling in the mud! They obviously knew this would happen because they brought
extra porters and people who thought they shouldn't have one and needed one
could get one. Turns out these guys only do this every couple of weeks, and
normally they are just simple farmers. This pay mostly sustains them until the next
time they get to be a porter. I honestly would not have finished if it wasn't
for Innocent!
Patience was driving back to Kigali, so I hitched a ride
with him. We stopped at a Cafe in Musanze so that I could eat and have a coffee
and jump on WiFi to update Claire. WiFi in Rwanda is spotty still--cafes and
businesses in cities have it and it's pretty good, and in cities people have
smart phones with data plans, but in rural areas people still have simple Nokia
phones and WiFi isn't as strong. Facebook tried to make WiFi everywhere using
balloons that they sent up in the air, but some countries didn't want that (and
I'm sure the telecom companies weren't so thrilled), so that didn't work out,
though they still offer access to Facebook for free basically everywhere (and
you'll see ads for it!).
Day 7 & 8: Safari
Over the weekend, we drove to Akagera, the national park
where you can do safari and see the "typical" African animals. What's
different about doing safari in Rwanda versus its bordering country that also offers
safari, Tanzania, is that you can drive yourself! So we got a car and we were
able to drive ourselves. Rwanda's safari park is a lot smaller than Tanzania's,
and also has few animals, but that means there are also less people. I also
feel like, because we didn't have a guide, I paid attention more, since we were
dependent on ourselves to find animals. We saw lots of zebras, antelopes, and
other kinds of deer/horse-types of animals (no idea where they were), as well
as giraffes. I also saw hippos (just their heads, but still cool) and water
buffalo, which I hadn't seen in Tanzania. The topography was also very nice,
with rolling and lush green hills. They also have a giant plain where giraffes
and buffalo and warthogs all hung out.
We stayed the night at the game lodge, which was affordable
and had a stunning view (and pool!). It and so had and son AMAZING breakfast
buffet. They're renovating the lodge as well--apparently a new glamping-style
hotel has opened down by the lake and the competition means they need to stay
relevant. Claire told me when she stayed last time (about 4 years ago) this was
not so--it was pricey and falling apart.
I will say, Claire's son, D'Assise, was great on the trip.
Safari seems like a fun idea with kids--until you realize that 90% of it is
spending hours and hours sitting and looking out the car window. I think it's
definitely more of an adult experience--take your kids to the zoo. But aside
from a few cranky comments, D'Assise was such a pleasure!
Day 9: Spa Day in Kigali
For my last day, I only had the morning, as I had a cab
arranged to take me to the airport at 1:30pm. I went to Inzora Cafe for one
last coffee and yogurt (and to upload my safari photos!), and then had a spa
day. At Soothing Spa, a fairly legit spa, I got a Swedish massage and pedicure
for about $30! And it wasn't rushed like in NY, instead is spent 3 hours there
and the staff really took their time. While there were some other things I'd
have liked to have done on my last day, I think there's nothing better than
getting pampered before getting on 2 flights totaling 20 hours!
The end of an amazing and wonderful trip, all thanks to
Claire and D'Assise and her friends at One Acre Fund!
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