Sept. 3 – We left our hotel today with our little group.
We went to the memorial that was a church where thousands of Tutsis were killed by Hutus. The reasons are nonsensical and unreal. It doesn’t matter now anyway. mthe fact that it happened is rason enough to study this awful affair.
It is a reminder of how barbaric people can e to each other.
We then went to a reconciliation village where people on both sides of the conflict live together. We had a discussion about those events. Somehow they make this situation last.
We had lunch with a family and some of their friends. It was great. Beans, potatoes, chicken, plantains and sweet potatoes. We are getting to know aor new traveling companions.
I wonder which one is the master spy and which one of them is the murderer. I have my early suspicions.
We are now heading up into the mountains by land cruiser. They are new and perhaps that will become another problem. We shall see.
We have traveled about 135 kilometers from Kigali and up into the mountains.
We have passed through small villages with there small open store fronts selling anything and everything. The shops are made of tin or cement blocks and resemble small one car garages.
They are painted in very bright colors with ads splashed all over them. People stand on the road side with green bananas still on the stalk. Ladies walk on the side of the roads with bundles of everything balanced upon their heads.
This morning we went started for the Kigali Genocide Memorial.
We also went to the Reconciliation village where where perpetrators and victims of the genocide live together. We had a discussion about those horrific events and learned more about the people of Rwanda.
Many of the people were severely wounded and or lost relatives in this awful event.
Kigali has dissolved in the mist below us as we drive ever higher into the mountains.
The ever present Eucalyptus trees line the road. They are beyond hated here as they take all the water for themselves and kill off the native vegetation. Bee hives made of hollow logs hang high in the trees waiting for the bees to return after foraging for pollen.
I can see terraced fields below me on the side of the road and small brick making sites as well. The tall mountains surround us as we venture higher.
We are near the Ugandan boarder at the base of a range of volcanoes. The gorillas are waiting for us further up in the mountains at the Ruhengeri, the gateway to Volcanoes National Park.
We finally reached our lodge. It is at the end of one of the bumpiest roads I have ever been on. It is short, thank goodness. But it is a road made solely of stones and for the purpose of separating us from our change or livers, I’m not sure which.
It is cooler up her around 8,000 feet. We stopped for lunch half way into our journey in a newish bakery and restaurant. It was a beautiful building reminding me of Japan in its architectural style. It had a green steel roof built at a steep angle and a deck for eating outside. The view is wonderful. The food was very inexpensive.
Once on the road again we had to stop for a new set of power lines being drawn across the highway by several men. A ladder was set up on the pole where the lines were to be attached. It wasn’t a long stop but a reminder that this is a growing country and things are done differently here.
The mountain roads are narrow and winding around blind curves. We are traveling at a good pace and sometimes cut across the lines on the road. It is an exciting ride for a few reasons. Our driver is very familiar with the roads and the traffic.
Bicycles and pedestrians are all around us. Walking or riding bikes is the order of the day. We see people walking miles from any signs of civilization. Open markets are seen as we pass through another wide spot in the road.
There are men with their bicycle taxis waiting everywhere for someone who needs lift.
Kigali probably lies five miles below and behind us as the crow flies but it is a hundred kilometers away and a few hours by this road.
Much more coming later today and in the days to follow.