Blogs from Rwanda, Africa - page 40

There are only 700 or so Gorillas left in the wild, so how cool would it be to be able to trek to see some of them? The Gorillas live on a mountain range that forms the intersection of the Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. We wanted to try and trek to see the Gorillas from the Rwandan side, the side that Diane Fossey worked on who you may remember from the film Gorillas in the Mist. The night before we were due to set off my stomach had been in knots, the repeated visits to the great white telephone brought on by the dodgy goat curry I had scoffed the night before. I popped a couple of imodiums and hoped for the best as we hoped into a 4x4 at 6.30 in the morning to take ... read more

It's funny that that's how it's described, because million is the common estimation of the number of those who were murdered in the genocide in 1994. Rwanda had captured my heart. It's a country with all contradictions possible: Green prosperous agriculture, hugh green coffee and tee plantations and on the other hand unimaginable poverty. optimism and belief in the reconciliation process but also cynicism and disbelief it could work (depends on whom you're talking to) great hospitality to foreigners but still there is a feeling of suspicion and that everything and everyone is controlled. A traditional society where old people are considered to be the wisest, when there are villages with hardly any elderly people. Rwanda got straight in to my heart. In Tanzania I've started smiling, not only lips but all organs are involved: I ... read more

We last left you guys with us boarding the bus to Kigali, Rwanda. When we were originally planning our trip, this seemed like a great idea. The Lonely Planet had all the info, it was quite cheap (only about $20!!) and quite convenient. Much cheaper than flying! So we thought all was good. We got the first hint that things weren't all that rosy when we told Watoto where we were going next. "So where will you be heading next?" "Kigali" "Ah - wonderful. What time will your plane be leaving" "Uh well - we're actually catching a bus". Our friendly driver visibly paled. A difficult thing to do when one is African. "A bus? Are you sure?" "Uh - yes? " "Oh - ok then". Our driver looked rather worried, as though he wanted to ... read more

part one: gorillas in the garden i got picked up at 5 o'clock saturday morning. going to track gorillas!! woo hoo! let's go. oh, first we have to stop for gas? ok. tank full? woo hoo! let's go! oh, now we have to stop at the office? ok. well, tell ya what, just wake me when we get there. there are 5 gorilla families open to tourists. 8 visitors per group for one hour of viewing. they know the locations of each family by tracking, like they do with the monkies and chimps. when we arrived, we had to decide which group i would visit. we had always talked about my going to susa, the largest group, but because of petrol issues (gas prices increased a lot here in the last week), susa was too far ... read more

since arriving in rwanda i have seen countless mass graves and memorials on the side of the road, where 10's of thousands are buried. the mourning color in rwanda is a deep purple, and as soon as you see that color in the distance, you know what's coming. it's a common color. kigali is home to the "official" the genocide memorial. it's devastating. besides being a mass grave for approximately 250,000 bodies and growing, as bodies are still being discovered throughout rwanda (in fact, just the day before my visit they had brought in a newly found body), it's a museum about of the history of the country and genocide. it is done thru showing photos, short films and testimonials, skulls and bones, and clothes. you really start to understand how planned it was. the museum ... read more