On my way to the Mountain Gorillas
My day started when Gaston II collected me from the hotel and drove us through the city of Kigali (pronounced Chigarhi in Kinyarwanda) past stunning architecture, green, green and more green until we arrived at the Rwanda Genocide Memorial.
We soon arrive at a neighbourhood market where I hopped out for a look. Everything you can imagine was on sale but mainly locally grown fruit, veg and fresh water or salted fish. The fruit and veg selections included everything we have at home (including tree tomatoes), huge avocados and everything we usually see in the tropics. Plantain and potatoes feature in nearly every meal and both are grown in abundance around the region.
70% of Rwanda’s population is made up of people who work the land either for crops or animals, 17% live in Kigali and the balance in other cities and towns.
As I wandered the market I so wanted to take photos of the people. A couple of people with the most interesting faces, who no doubt had stories to tell, said “no” when I asked to take a photo but one lady who was one of the many seamstresses obliged. She was sewing a glorious piece of fabric that I just had to capture even though the photo quality leaves a lot to be desired.
We found time for an excellent cup of coffee at a small bean to cup coffee producer and I did a smile when the driver ordered a ‘flat white’. My how New Zealanders taste in coffee has travelled. The presentation of the coffee was quite cool and the Americano I ordered excellent. Amazing what a good coffee can do.
Lunch was at ‘Chez Robert’ which served a traditional Rwandan Buffet. Oh no I thought! But not only was the food delicious I even went back for seconds. My pick was delicious whole plantain which had been braised with spinach and celery and a hint of tomato and a melt in the mouth, slightly spiced beef stew. The beef so tender I could slice it with my fork and the sauce made me want to lick the plate clean. So delicious and worth waiting for. So much so I went back for more of the same. 
And so begun the drive to Volcano National Park, home to some of the few remaining Mountain Gorilla families in the world. The park lies mainly across the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and The Democratic Republic of Congo and within the park are five main volcanoes, two of which are active.
Our drive in the black, shiny, modified Prado took us through many tiny villages, where in each one the shops were all painted a different bright colour making the place look so pretty. The shops were very basic and all looked almost identical from the outside, no such thing as a shop window to display their wares but I guess the locals know whats what. It was raining so I couldnt get any photos. Hopefully tomorrow.
Along the roadside we passed many many people walking either to or from the villages, some sheltering from the rain under the goods they had carefully balanced on their heads, while others were huddled under umbrellas. People were carrying large bags of produce or barrels of local beer on bicycles and in some cases had help to push the bike plus cargo up the hills. One young guy was clever and managed to ride up close to a truck going up hill and then caught hold of the back of the truck which hauled him up the hill. Top marks for ingenuity.
Our trip took about three hours and soon after turning into a very very rough rocky lane we arrived at Gorilla Mountain View Lodge, my sanctuary for the next two nights. I suspect I am the only guest but can see signs to about 30 different cottages so it feels rather weird. I am in cottage no 1. A huge room, complete with lounge and open fire, a massive bathroom and right in front of the large windows is one of the mountains, shrouded in mist. Glorious.
I settle in, someone comes and lights the fire and am soon roused by the sound of music coming from a group who encouraged me to follow them to the main lodge where they performed a number of dances then suggested I might like to donate to them and help fund their studies. I obviously gave them more than they expected as they did a few more dances and left calling ‘thankee yooo”. Back in my room someone brings me hot water bottles which slide nicely between the sheets to prepare my bed for the night.
Because the place seems deserted I chose to have dinner in my room. Thankfully no buffet but a menu with a choice of grilled beef or chicken curry. I ordered the beef, for delivery to my room at 7pm.
7:00pm on the dot and knock knock on the door. I open to find the waiter with a beautifully set table outside waiting to bring the entire table into my room. Convincing him that I was good to eat at the coffee table he moved my setting there, poured my rather nice drop of a South African Savignon Blanc and scuttled back to get my dinner.
Knock knock again. I open the door and the ‘Director of Operations’ introduces himself. He has three guys with him (one dressed as a chef), a portable gas fired bain marie and a table. They bring them into my room and proceed to sing and clap around the food before they showed me my dinner. It is not often that I am lost for words but indeed I was. On opening the bain marie they point out the contents of the eight bowls. Sure enough the beef and the fries I had ordered were in their own little bowls but along with them were bowls with two different types of rice, chicken curry, carrots, cauliflower and a spicy sauce. Along with the food came my own wee table number in the form of a tiny gorilla statue. OMG. I did not expect this.
They stoked the fire and left me to gorge myself. The beef had been sauteed medium rare and was like a marshmallow, spicy rice on the side gave some texture and the fries were hot and crispy. How lucky can a girl get??? A lovely meal, a drop of nice wine, an open fire and the anticipation of what tomorrow will bring.
There I spent a couple of hours once again trying to get my head around the horrific events of April-June 1994 and then reconcile that to what I have seen of the country to date. From absolute destruction of the infrastructure and the deaths of around 25% of their population, to a country looking forward to a bright future where Tutsi and Hutu peoples now work as one to make that happen.
The hardest part to get my head around was seeing the mass graves where upwards of 259,000 bodies are buried and where even today bodies are still being bought having only recently been discovered.
The hardest part to get my head around was seeing the mass graves where upwards of 259,000 bodies are buried and where even today bodies are still being bought having only recently been discovered.
The guide I had yesterday at the Museum and my driver were both kids when the genocide happened; one a Hutu and one a Tutsi both say they are comfortable in how things are now and happy to have moved on. The current President, Paul Kagame ( who was recently re-elected with over 90% of the vote) is attributed with remarkable turnaround of the country with no tolerance for corruption, assault, fraud or many other crimes. The Rwandan Constitution now prohibits any one party holding more than 51% of the cabinet positions and also stipulates that the President and the Speaker of Parliament cannot be representatives of the same party. Public Policy also ensures that every Rwandan is equal before the law, and also ensures equitable access to available opportunities by all citizens.
After the sombering visit we went for a drive around the city with me marvelling at the cleanliness and also at thhe politeness of the drivers. There does not appear to be any sort of give way rules, nor controlled intersections but cars and motor cycles alike seem to weave seamlessly in and out of one anothers path without so much as a hand gesture, toot of the horn or a word screamed out the window. They are lucky I am not here driving.
We soon arrive at a neighbourhood market where I hopped out for a look. Everything you can imagine was on sale but mainly locally grown fruit, veg and fresh water or salted fish. The fruit and veg selections included everything we have at home (including tree tomatoes), huge avocados and everything we usually see in the tropics. Plantain and potatoes feature in nearly every meal and both are grown in abundance around the region.
As I wandered the market I so wanted to take photos of the people. A couple of people with the most interesting faces, who no doubt had stories to tell, said “no” when I asked to take a photo but one lady who was one of the many seamstresses obliged. She was sewing a glorious piece of fabric that I just had to capture even though the photo quality leaves a lot to be desired.
We found time for an excellent cup of coffee at a small bean to cup coffee producer and I did a smile when the driver ordered a ‘flat white’. My how New Zealanders taste in coffee has travelled. The presentation of the coffee was quite cool and the Americano I ordered excellent. Amazing what a good coffee can do.
And so begun the drive to Volcano National Park, home to some of the few remaining Mountain Gorilla families in the world. The park lies mainly across the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and The Democratic Republic of Congo and within the park are five main volcanoes, two of which are active.
Our drive in the black, shiny, modified Prado took us through many tiny villages, where in each one the shops were all painted a different bright colour making the place look so pretty. The shops were very basic and all looked almost identical from the outside, no such thing as a shop window to display their wares but I guess the locals know whats what. It was raining so I couldnt get any photos. Hopefully tomorrow.
Along the roadside we passed many many people walking either to or from the villages, some sheltering from the rain under the goods they had carefully balanced on their heads, while others were huddled under umbrellas. People were carrying large bags of produce or barrels of local beer on bicycles and in some cases had help to push the bike plus cargo up the hills. One young guy was clever and managed to ride up close to a truck going up hill and then caught hold of the back of the truck which hauled him up the hill. Top marks for ingenuity.
Our trip took about three hours and soon after turning into a very very rough rocky lane we arrived at Gorilla Mountain View Lodge, my sanctuary for the next two nights. I suspect I am the only guest but can see signs to about 30 different cottages so it feels rather weird. I am in cottage no 1. A huge room, complete with lounge and open fire, a massive bathroom and right in front of the large windows is one of the mountains, shrouded in mist. Glorious.
I settle in, someone comes and lights the fire and am soon roused by the sound of music coming from a group who encouraged me to follow them to the main lodge where they performed a number of dances then suggested I might like to donate to them and help fund their studies. I obviously gave them more than they expected as they did a few more dances and left calling ‘thankee yooo”. Back in my room someone brings me hot water bottles which slide nicely between the sheets to prepare my bed for the night.
Because the place seems deserted I chose to have dinner in my room. Thankfully no buffet but a menu with a choice of grilled beef or chicken curry. I ordered the beef, for delivery to my room at 7pm.
7:00pm on the dot and knock knock on the door. I open to find the waiter with a beautifully set table outside waiting to bring the entire table into my room. Convincing him that I was good to eat at the coffee table he moved my setting there, poured my rather nice drop of a South African Savignon Blanc and scuttled back to get my dinner.
Knock knock again. I open the door and the ‘Director of Operations’ introduces himself. He has three guys with him (one dressed as a chef), a portable gas fired bain marie and a table. They bring them into my room and proceed to sing and clap around the food before they showed me my dinner. It is not often that I am lost for words but indeed I was. On opening the bain marie they point out the contents of the eight bowls. Sure enough the beef and the fries I had ordered were in their own little bowls but along with them were bowls with two different types of rice, chicken curry, carrots, cauliflower and a spicy sauce. Along with the food came my own wee table number in the form of a tiny gorilla statue. OMG. I did not expect this.
They stoked the fire and left me to gorge myself. The beef had been sauteed medium rare and was like a marshmallow, spicy rice on the side gave some texture and the fries were hot and crispy. How lucky can a girl get??? A lovely meal, a drop of nice wine, an open fire and the anticipation of what tomorrow will bring.
Fabulous. You must be so excited.
ReplyDeleteBut I notice you can't have got to the church where hundreds took shelter but were slaughtered anyway 😥. It was the most moving of any place. Terribly sad.
no I didnt go to the church. might see if I can do this morning before I leave. thanks for the tip
ReplyDelete