Blogs from Rwanda, Africa - page 2

Okay where did we leave off? I think we were about to go to Bright Future. This place is absolutely amazing and made me wish I had more time in Mbarara. Sheila, the head woman, is totally exhausted but such an inspiration. She has taken the often broken system of orphanages in Uganda and tried to downsize it so it was more of a family dynamic. This smaller size (13 children currently) allows her to also throw in all her efforts to try to relocate the children she gets on her doorstep, from the police, from the hospital or from finding them abandoned in the bush. Unfortunately if the children are with her past one year typically they will remain there until they go out on their own. This has happened to several of her children ... read more

We reached Rwanda after two rather long days of travel, via Johannesburg for one night. I was beginning to wonder if it would be worth it to go all that way to see a group of gorillas. I'm pleased to say my doubts were unfounded. In fact our short visit to Rwanda was much more than a visit with some amazing primates. We arrived at Kigali, the capital of Rwanda in the evening and were collected from the airport by our guide Fred who would look after us very capably for the next few days. Fred took us to a very fancy hotel via a brief city tour. Kigali proved to be a bustling city which in parts looked surprising modern and groomed. We settled in for the night in our five star digs and enjoyed ... read more

Curving hillside roads, waving kids, contagious smiles, vista views, a palate of greens, and everywhere people walking, walking, walking. On their heads they carry anything from feed for their cows to logs used in construction. And this is just a scratch on the surface of the sights and delights we discovered during our 1-week visit through Rwanda. Lured by the challenge and thrill of trekking mountain gorillas, we planned a tour of Rwanda around this central goal. However, what we discovered was that this once in a lifetime experience was just the icing on the cake of exploring this nascent country full of promise and gentle people working hard together toward a harmonious community and clean environment. Rural Rwanda is farmland. Potatoes, beans, rice, and tea are common crops, as well as the ubiquitous banana trees. ... read more

The day had finally arrived; I was going to see ‘my’ gorillas in Volcano’s National Park in Rwanda. I have been coveting this travel experience for over 15 years and it was hard not to bounce around like Tigger from Winnie-The-Pooh, so I focused very much on trying to be calm (yoga breathing helped) but not sure I really pulled off the 'zen'! We got to the entrance to Volcano's National Park, saw some traditional Rwandan performers and dancers welcoming us and then met our guide Ignacio who gave us the briefing. Trackers had left before dawn to find the individual family locations and once our group got to them, we would get to spend an hour with them. We were to be very quiet, and to stay 7 metres away from them and not do ... read more

A few overland trucks stopped by while I was around and I had a good time reminiscing how the long organized tours could be. Other than that there was a few characters that would show up on the regular such as Jean D’Amore. This cat was amazeballs….He was one of the best politician personality types that I have ever met…if that makes sense…he was soooo funny and had something to say in such a correct but funny way that I always laughed and supported whatever weird nonsense he was spouting. LOVED IT. Not only was he a funny man, but finishing up his PhD and running all kinds of charity things and UN work, etc etc etc. This guy also had a flock of turkeys in his city center home as well as a bunch of ... read more