End of Week 2 & other activities

Saturday in and around Kigali
After walking back down the mount, we caught a minibus back from Nyamirambo to “mu muji”. Once back in town we decided that as we were quite hungry we would seek out somewhere to eat close to the bus station. Bus stations are normally quite organised in the outskirts of town and are recognisable as such. However, for Kigali the term “bus station” is a misnomer. Here it consists of several streets strung with coaches and minibuses often two deep at the side of the road.

We each had an omelette; mine was called espagnole which did have potato, onion and tomato in it, with a small beer. The café had two seating areas, one was laid out for eating, whilst the other had ranks of plastic seats so that the Man U v Everton match could be watched with a drink! Bert left to go back home and the three of us sought out the Tourist Office only to find it had closed 30 minutes earlier at 2 p.m. We now know the opening hours!

From there we looked in a small parade of shops where I bought some porridge oats so that I can have something substantial for breakfast from time to time. We then went to the Nakumatt Supermarket to find an extension lead with surge protection for Lynne & Darryl as well as a few other items.

Once back at the house we all needed to chillax as the walk was more strenuous than we had realised. Bert had suggested we go to the Jambo Inn for dinner so that was agreed. Just before we left the power cut hit. This meant we had not left on the light for their guard Jean d’Amour – what a name!

We set off at about six p.m. and walked to the Jambo Inn which was also affected by the power cut, but there was enough other light to find our way up the stairs in the fading light to the flat roof were we were to eat. The waiter kindly moved a table out of one of the booths, which had walls too high to look out over, to an area with a balustrade so that we look out over that part of the city and face towards the airport. It sounds grand but it was quite basic with plastic seats and trestle table covered with a table cloth. As food was barbequed the lack of power was not a problem. We each ordered brochettes and chips, I chose both a goat and a fish brochette, but Bert did say to expect it to take at least an hour to arrive and he was right! Before long power returned and we did have enough light to eat by. The fish brochette was particularly good.

The rooftop was quite good for viewing the night sky. It does seem odd to see Orion horizontal, Sirius so high in the sky and the Plough upside-down!

Mount Kigali
On Saturday morning Bert, Lynne, Darryl and I set off to go for a walk to the top of Mount Kigali. We caught a minbus to Nyamirambo terminus, where the football stadium is located. From here we followed the cobbled road until it ran out and then walked up the dirt tracks working our way in what we thought was the right direction. It was!

It was quite tough going as it had rained heavily in the morning before we set off. This meant that whilst the dirt tracks had drained well there was a lot of humidity, the tracks were steep and we were at an altitude of about 1200m at this point. So we took it easy in terms of pace.

Once we left the main concentration of buildings behind we were joined by four young men of secondary school age, as well as a group of younger children who were collecting dried fallen twigs from the eucalyptus trees. They were very friendly and wanted to talk to us in English, two of them in particular, and we meandered through the forest until we reached the military camp at the top. Unfortunately we could go no further so exploration was curtailed.

However, the views were not very good at the top due to the forest so we turned back and retraced our steps.

One disappointment was that we saw several very beautiful butterflies, but I was unable to get a picture before they flew off!

Minibuses
I should say something about minibuses which are a cheap form of transport with most journeys costing about 190FRw (20p) around Kigali, but they often wait until they are at least 90% full. Whilst they are built for 11 passengers they have extra fold down seats in the aisle and squeeze four passengers into space for three. So they usually have 17 plus driver and conductor!

There are larger vehicles, small coaches that also run around Kigali but they only semm to run on certain routes. Some cost the same, other more, not sure why. These also squeeze in as amny as possible too.

So travel is a hot business, though Rwandese, as they call themselves, seem to have no problem about personal space. Using a few basic words of Kinyarwanda also causes great surprise and prompts conversation.

End of week 2
Well we finished ICT (In-Country Training) on Thursday evening and people began to depart for various parts of Rwanda. Much excitement on my part as I have received the keys to the house I will be living in. This was tempered by being told that I could not be collected until Monday morning by my colleagues from Gatsibo district.

By late Friday morning just two or three of us were left at the Amani Guest House.

I went into town with a colleague and had burger and salad at the Bourbon Café. Whilst the “melanje” at the Amani is highly rated by volunteers it was a welcome change. Afterwards I bought an iron as it was one of the items that Neal, a former volunteer in the house I will live in, has said is needed and so that I can look presentable at work in the District Education Office in Kabarore. I spent the afternoon trying to get some sense of order to my notes, particularly the Kinyarwanda, though more work is needed yet.

Lynne texted me and invited me to join her, Darryl and Bert for the weekend as I will be all alone in Amani after Saturday a.m. We plan to walk up Mount Kigali on Saturday morning. So I caught a minibus to Remera and then a mototaxi to Kimironko where they live.