Oct 14, 2012 - Golden Monkeys Jumping in the Trees

Today is our last trek. We are off to see the Golden Monkeys. Easy short trek into the park. There are 120 monkeys total in the park. Not sure how many we are seeing. They are all over jumping from tree to tree, climbing and eating the bamboo! Amazing experience! Isaac now has to drive us back to Kigali for our flight tomorrow to Kilimanjaro. We had lunch at the Lava Bistro...burgers and fries. A strawberry milkshake and diet coke also! Some how I got locked in the bathroom...but was able to pass the key under the door for the manager to...

Oct 13, 2012 - Drunk and Farting Gorillas

Our second day of trekking. Wondering how we will top yesterday. Again today we started out in the farmers' fields. Francis is our guide. We have our porters to carry our packs. Today's trek is easier, not as steep as yesterday, but because of last night's rain it was muddy. It was not as far to the park but we had to do more jungle trekking in the bamboo. Today we are visiting the Sabinya Family. A group of 12 with 2 Silver Backs. The oldest (42) and biggest, we called him King Kong. The second was called Big Ben. These gorillas eat bamboo...

Oct 12, 2012 - Gorillas in the Mist

We are all excited this morning and not sure what to expect as we head to the park for our first day of gorilla trekking! We arrive at Kinigi Headquarters where we are entertained with more native dancing. Here we wait while Isaac finds two more people for our group as we go out in groups of 8; Ron and Leslie from New Zealand join us. He also has to negotiate what trek we will do. We have requested a medium ability (not the shortest, nor the 4 hour trek each way). Our guides are Patrick and Gerome, both have been guides for 3 years and some...

Oct 11, 2012 - Are we in Rwanda or Brazil?

As we were getting in the very small elevator after breakfast, the lights went out! Fortunately, we got out before the doors closed and the power was back on almost immediately. Our guide, Isaac, picked us up to take us to our hotel at Volcanoes National Park. The 3 hour drive took us through this beautiful hilly country. Rwanda means land of a thousand hills. It is green and beautiful. Verne and I both feel it is a lot like Brazil. If Africa and South America were once attached, it sure show when comparing the two countries. The houses are...

Oct 10, 2012 - Rwanda Arrival

Our flight out of Johannesburg airport was again delayed, but arrival was only 15 minutes late! Rwandair was a nice airline to fly...too bad our flight to Kilimanjaro was canceled. Rwanda does not allow plastic bags, both Gary's and Ali's bags from the Duty Free store were taken away from them. There are all kinds of motorcycles on corners, looks like a gang, but they are taxis and the drivers have an extra helmet. We arrived at our 5 star hotel...old and clean but could use some updating! Free wifi bit we couldn't get on with our IPad....

Jul 27, 2012 - Kigali by bus...South Africa by plane

Friday, the 27th- Aaron and Deanne finished their Peace Corps conference by noon, and we took off by Coaster bus for Kigali with all of our luggage. Ron road shotgun and he likened the experience to riding the front car on the Mamba at Worlds of Fun. I sat midway back and watched a local man browse and create Word docs in Kinyarwandan language. What an amazing mixture of modern and ancient technology in Rwandan! I sit on the bus watching hundreds of villagers hoe their land with pick axes or carrying huge loads on their heads as they walk....

Jul 19, 2012 - Rwanda at last!!!!

We made it!!!! The 9 hour flight from London landed in Nairobi, and then we boarded our last flight for Kigali (see Ron in photo). We had one brief stop in Bujumbura, Burundi...then we landed in Kigali! Our bags made it with us and Aaron and Deanne were waiting just outside of baggage claim. It was heavenly to put our arms around them!!! They put us in a taxi and we were taken to a missionary family home who are currently on leave. We met A&D's wonderful PCV friend, Markey Culver, who is house-sitting for the Greens. They have two wonderful...

Jan 25, 2012 - Isaro

Heading to Rwanda I knew what to expect in terms of the poverty and life styles I would see but I never expected that it would change the way I see the world. Prior to going I learnt as much as I could about the country's past so I could better understand the people. I knew that they had moved past the horrors that had happened to them and it was their faith and trust in God that helped them through it, but I didn't realize how forgiving this country has been to the people that committed these crimes against them. This trip has given me a...

Sep 17, 2011 - Kigali Memorial Centre and Homeward Bound

Drive to Kigali Photos Kigali Genocide Memorial Flight Brussels - Newark I think that it’s probably fitting that I feel sad today while I attempt to write this final trip entry. I awoke before my alarm on my last day in Africa and went through the usual routine but for the last time. I struggled more than other mornings lugging what now seemed to be very heavy bags to the truck. Our seat rotation system in the truck had me in the front seat by the door and it was turn next to the window – I had circled the entire truck...

Jan 22, 2011 - Retour a Kigali / Zurück nach Kigali

Zurück nach Kigali – wir kommen gegen 23 Uhr am Abend wieder in Kigali an und sind froh, dass mit dem Auto alles easy geklappt hat. Am nächsten Morgen geben wir den Wagen dann wieder zurück und frühstücken zusammen mit Hans, bei dem wir wieder übernachten. Am frühen Nachmittag machen wir uns auf den Weg Richtung Nationalstadion – zur Zeit findet in Ruanda die afrikanische Fußballmeisterschaft der U17 statt, und Ruanda hat es vor heimischen Publikum ins Finale geschafft. Am Stadion angekommen merken wir schnell, dass es nicht so einfach...

Jan 13, 2011 - Kigali

Nach 2 Tagen in Butare fahren wir weiter nach Kigali, der Hauptstadt Ruandas, wo wir Hans treffen, unseren nächsten Couchsurfer. Hans hat ein kleines Haus in einem populären Stadtteil, in dem wir unser eigenes Zimmer bekommen, und er arbeitet wie fast alle anderen Belgier, die wir bisher in Ruanda und Burundi getroffen haben auch für die belgische GTZ. Am Nachmittag organisieren wir uns einen Mietwagen für die kommende Woche. Auf der Suche nach einem offiziellen Mietwagen treffen wir durch Zufall in einem Büro jemand, der eine Schwester...

Nov 10, 2010 - Mzungas in the Mist

Well...you can imagine our surprise, when on the morning of our flight from Mombasa through Nairobi to Kigali, Rwanda...we got an email from David Parsons' (teacher in Shelburne)brother who works in the Canadian Embassy in Kigali that as of November 1, 2010 - Canadians require Visas to enter the country. Yikes...after the financial fiasco of wiring money for the gorilla trekking permits AND figuring out the flights on Kenya Airways....we might have problems getting in. We quickly printed off the forms before our taxi to the airport and...