A Day in Kibuye

---

Another day, another adventure!

My goal today was to see Lake Kivu and I accomplished that. The lake is 100 km long and covers 2,200 km2 and it’s among the 20 deepest and 20 most voluminous freshwater bodies in the world.

I took the 8:10am bus from Kigali to Kibuye, a two to three hour trip depending on traffic. I was a bit unsure about the bus since all of the ones I usually see are very crowded, but the ticket cost $8 round trip vs $150-$250 to hire a car for the day so I decided to give it a try.

I got to the bus station area early since I wasn’t quite sure how I’d find my bus. All of the bus company run out of the same area and it’s often chaotic. I found the ticket desk for International Express and someone walked me across the street to the gas station and told me to wait there. For the first time since I came to Rwanda, I felt really uncomfortable. Not unsafe, but not very secure either. There were lots of people, but no Westerners. There were people selling all kinds of things and I was like a magnet for all of them. There were more people begging than I have seen during the entire trip and, again, they all headed my way. The bus was scheduled to leave and it arrived ay 8:00am. There were only six of us so I figured it was going to be OK. There was room and I moved to the back row so I could see out both windows. All was fine for about five minutes…

Then we pulled into another very busy area and people started piling onto the bus. I was pinned in the back corner and couldn’t take that so I forced my way out of the bus. I waited until everyone was on and then took one of the jump seats near the door. There was very little room and I was pinned by the guy next to me with a large suitcase on his lap. I had the window open so I had fresh air so I just tried to relax. The road is very windy and hilly so there’s lots of sliding. My shoulder is sore from being pressed against the window handle and the car wall. I did my best to minimize contact, but I think the guy next to me was pressing extra hard around the corners!

We stopped several times along the way and people got on and off. By the time we reached Kibuye, there were not may of us left. At the end, I was sitting next to an old woman who at one point had a finger up her nose to the second knuckle. She was also spitting on the floor and I actually started to miss the Shoulder Smasher. I was planning to just walk around the lake for a bit, have lunch, see the Genocide Memorial Church, and get back on the bus. I bought a ticket for the 3:00pm bus back and started walking.

I was stressed from the bus ride and got turned around. I saw a church on a hill and thought I’d gone the wrong way, but decided to visit the church first. It was a tough climb and when I got to the top, it turned out to be a Baptist Church! There were a bunch of kids outside who were all friendly. They knew a little English and everyone wanted to shake my hand. They thought my braces were hysterical and wanted to see them over and over.

I headed back to the main road and along the way ventured out on to an overlook to see the lake. It was a nice view, but then I realized I smelled something funny and saw three guys smoking pot about 10 feet way. I quickly made my way back down to the main road and followed the lake for quite a ways. I came across a mass grave with a genocide marker, something I have seen in so many towns in Rwanda.

It was a nice day and I enjoyed the view of Lake Kivu, the largest lake in Rwanda. On the western side of the lake is the DR Congo. I came to the Hotel Eden Rock and decided to have lunch. My guidebook warned about slow service, but the menu had times next to each item so I ordered something that took 20 minutes. It was 1:00pm and I wanted to be done by 1:45pm. My 20 minutes snack took 53 minutes and I was a bit annoyed. I asked the waiter twice and he finally just left. When the food came, I asked for the bill and told him I had to catch the bus. He left again and then came back a few minutes later with a piece of paper in his hand. I had to ask him twice to actually give it to me. The total was 2,800 FRW so I gave him 3,000. He made no move to give me change which was annoying so I scarfed a few more chips and hit the road. I was about half way around the loop and it was now just after 2:00pm. I decided to keep going so I could at least see the church, but then it started to rain and the road got steeper so when a motorcycle taxi came by I waved him down and got a ride back to the bus station.

The bus came a little before 3:00pm and we loaded up. Again, the bus wasn’t overly full and I got the jump seat by the door. We drove for a few minutes and then picked up more people so that we were packed. This time the guy next to me made no effort to stay in his own space. He kept trying to take more room and I kept pushing back. The seat was a little wider which was actually bad because there was more room to slide. It was very difficult to brace myself the best I could as we drove round the curves. I didn’t like being so close to someone else and it was a long three hours ride back to Kigali.

I tried to distract myself by looking at the beautiful scenery. The hills are mostly farm land so there are plots of different crops. There are many terraces and also banana plants. Approximately 35% of Rwanda’s farm land is devoted to growing bananas and I’m surprised the percentage isn’t higher!

So, all in all, not an overly relaxing day, but I did accomplish my main goal and I saw some nice scenery along the road.

Kibuye history: During the genocide, the prefecture of Kibuye experienced the most comprehensive slaughter of Tutsis in Rwanda. Numbering 60,000 before the genocide, it was estimated afterwards that nine out of every 10 had been killed. There’s a mass grave in town where 10,000 people are buried. There’s a nice mark on the spot and lots of fresh flowers. Several others are located around Kibuye and I was one of them today. In the Catholic Church on the hill that's now a memorial, 4,000 people were slaughtered in just three hours using gernades and machetes.

---

Photos

Lake Kivu in Kibuye
Fishing boats

Genocide Memorial in Kibuye
This is one of the smaller memorials located on the shores of Lake Kivu