Advertisement
Published: December 16th 2007
Gorilla Dance
The song was about the Gorillas, and this lady acted out the part of the gorilla (who stole someones child). After 5 days in Kigali, we decided to sign up for a "community based" tour in Ruhengeri, about 2 hours north. We boarded a bus for $3 and off we went! The intention of the tour is the give travellers the chance to really meet Rwandans and experience true Rwandan culture.
Day One - Street Kids Project After arriving in Ruhengeri we were taken to a project which helps male children who are not living at home - either because they don't have homes, or because there are problems there. The project invests time into these kids, and teaches them useful skills, such as sewing, weaving, pottery, mechanics, etc. They also work to educate the children, and the goal of the program is to reintegrate the kids back into their homes. It also serves as a place where troubled kids can come to talk and be mentored by adults who will not judge. Very inspiring!
Day Two - Batwa People and Traditional Medicine Man First thing in the morning, our guides Abey and Hassan picked us up to take us to a village about 20 minutes away where the Batwa people are living. They are a community
Pharmacy
We went from the field with the plants, to the pharmacy with the goods. He drys and creates these medicines himself. who pretty much keep to themselves, living peacefully and efficientlly off their land. At times they need a little extra help, so there are organizations or companies which lend a hand, such as the one we booked through (we chose them because they give a large percentage of their profits back to the community). When we arrived they did some traditional singing and dancing for us ... and even grabbed us to dance with them! We were mortified, but gave it a shot! They also showed us their homes and explained a bit about their daily life. The people here love getting their photos taken, so finally we had the photo ops we were hoping for!!!
Afterwards, we met a village doctor who showed us his crops. He explained what some of the medicinal uses for his plants, and how they work. He then took us to his pharmacy, where he showed us the "finished product" for the medicines. It was very interesting to see, partly because we were a little skeptical about the herbal/natural remedy thing, and also because such a large percentage of the population here rely on this kind of medicine.
Day Three - Scenery Land of 1000 Hills
Rwanda REALLY is the Land of a Thousand Hills! Tour and Cooking Class
Rwanda is called the "Land of a Thousand Hills" ... and for a reason!!! We were absolutelly blown away by the natural beauty in this country!!! We drove for close to forever on bumpy roads and made our way to a waterfall ... but the real point of the journey was driving high on the hills overlooking Lake Burera just to see how beautiful the country is. Ruhengeri is the jumping off point for people who have come to see the gorillas (we were seriouslly the only tourists that did not come to see them!), and is in the Parc National Des Volcans. Our camera could not capture how amazing it was! In the afternoon, we learned to cook "Rwandan" style. It was a bit of a challenge ... things are done very, very differentlly here, but the food was delicious!
Day Four - Banana Beer and Orphanage Banana beer is a biiig part of the culture here ... and the people love it!! We arrived early at a village with mostly women and set about to peel hundreds of bananas. Everyone worked together, and the task took only about 30 minutes.
The Pile of Bananas
See what you can acheive when you believe?? After peeling, the bananas are covered in grass and banana leaves, and two or three people set out to smush the life out of them (until they get liquid). They work feverishly, and this too only takes about 30 minutes. It was really cool to see, but the beer does not taste anything like bananas! (Trevor liked it, Kristena thought it was a little scary). They add some sogum (stuff to help it ferment), and the entire process from picking to drinking takes 8 days. The last thing we did on our tour was visit an orphanage just outside the city. There are 34 children living there, and we were lucky to meet the Austrian couple who has agreed to sponsor the kids for 30 years. The couple was about to leave to head home, and we were treated to their goodbyes -- it was really moving for us to see the love and appreciation from both the children and the couple. These kids really are their "children", and vice versa, and we found it to be another example of us needing and wanting to do more to make a difference in the world we are experiencing. We are seriouslly
Our New Friends!
Another one of our guides, Egide, and his "classmate" Sharon. (haha, sorry Egide, we couldn't help it!!!) ;) considering chopping our trip a little short to head back to Rwanda to volunteer in an orphange (a different one) for a month or so before heading home ...
So that brings us to the end of our time here in Rwanda - we head out tommorrow morning to Kenya, where we join a safari for 9 days. This country has been truely amazing, we have met wonderful people and really hope to return one day!
Cheers, (and Merry Christmas, incase we can't find internet in the bush),
Trevor and Kristena
*** For Other Travellers ***
The company we used is called Amahoro Tours - it is well worth the money you pay ... their website is www.amahoro-tours.com ... Happy Travels!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.064s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 14; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0239s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
TinNiE
" Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness "
Beautiful trip ... and inspiring too ...