Rwanda, Here we come!

It was nearly three months ago, when a couple friends and I decided to trek to Rwanda for some adventure during our October half-term break. As we sat in a Turkish restaurant drinking wine and turkish coffee, planted in a man-made park right in the center of Kampala, we for some reason thought it would be an excellent idea to drive. No, we didn't wan to fly, despite the low cost, nor take the bus. We wanted to "road trip" and that was it. The decision was not made with intentions of saving money, but with pure intent on creating an unforgettable journey. And let me tell you, the journey was unforgettable, from the second we set out on the African road until the very end when we dreaded getting back in the car for another nine hours return to our home in Kampala.

At 3:30pm on Friday we piled all of our luggage and our bodies into a rather large Pajero, or so we thought. An hour later, after budging through the chaotic traffic of Kampala, we were just leaving the city and already had numb bums and were dripping with sweat. The twelve hour drive was, well, very long and painful. The entire road was literally studded with pot holes and we began bracing ourselves, getting into position, and ducking cover each time the drive warned us with "Pot hole, get ready". We were in severe pain upon arrival to Rwanda. Speaking of arrival in Rwanda, as we crossed over the Ugandan border into no man's land (space between the two borders that remains "unclaimed") we successfully got our passports stamped declaring our departure from Uganda. To our ignorance and excitement, we thought we were done and ready to enter Rwanda. My friend, the driver, stepped on the gas and we ever so gracefully sped across the border into Rwanda, passing officials not even thinking twice about it. The next thing we know we are being chased by police and immigrant officials informing us that we illegally entered Rwanda. The wonderful driver jerked the car into reverse and we reversed back across the border, got our official arrival stamp and were on our way to Kigali. As we began our trek through Rwanda, we were all stunned by its beauty and perfectly paved roads. Rwanda is surrounded by lush, green mountains with waterfalls trickling down the center of ranges into the small farming villages. Kigali is nothing like Kampala. It is easy to forget you are in Africa and begin to think you are in a European city with posh coffee shops and restaurants.

We spent the first couple of days in Kigali visiting local sites like the genocide memorial and the craft market where I purchased traditional Rwandan paintings made out of cow poo. It's interesting being in Rwanda as you can definitely still feel the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. People are quiet, reserved, and seemingly fearful, which makes it a safer African city but a little creepy. At restaurants waiters refuse to open your drink unless it's in front of you as people are fearful of having their drinks poisoned. The genocide memorial was heavy and absolutely devastating. The general age of the population in Kigali is under 25 and it is not uncommon to see people walking around with machete scars in their heads and arms. After a couple days in Kigali, we headed up north to Lake Kivu and stayed in a magnificent little bed and breakfast right on the lake. Each morning we ate crepes and drank Rwandan coffee overlooking the lake where the fishermen rowed and chanted in their wooden carved canoes. It was so peaceful and a nice break from the craziness at school. That is until we headed to the Congo....