Arrival

After an 18 hour long journey which took me from Brussels to Paris, Addis Ababa and Nairobi, I finally arrived in Kigali, Rwanda. During the flight I always stare down on earth and wonder who lives in such remote areas. Ethiopia was very depressing to see. Nothing more than sand and dunes and bald landscape and a couple of settlements here and there. In Kenya I tried to catch a glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro, but it was hidden in the clouds. Leaving from Kenya you could see the boarders of the worldfamous Serengeti National Park. It was good to see there is still a large outstretched area where nature can get most out of life and do its job. We crossed Lake Victoria and flew into the evergreen land of a thousand hills; Rwanda.


World’s fastest internet
After the ‘entry’ stamp in my passport and baggage collection I officialy set foot into Rwanda where I was met by Mr. S. He gave me a warm welcome, took 20 pictures and called one of his friends to pick us up. When this guy showed up I was surprised to see the car even still in motion. It was literally falling apart. Mr. S. got so annoyed that he called us a taxi into Kigali. On our way to Kigali, I couldn’t help noticing that the roads were more beautiful than an average boulevard in Brussels. The roads were impeccable, with palmtrees and banana trees in the middle and high, wide sidewalks for pedestrians. This country is not just green by itself, many teams were actually planting trees and flowers along the roads.


Upon arrival, Mr. S. dropped me off on a very nice terrace, while he was going to fix me a Telephone card and internet. Knowing how long these things take at home, I was very surprised to see him running back 5 minutes later. In less than 10 minutes I had internet up and running and I have two local numbers! Actually, the internet is a governmental initiative. Rwanda wanted to be the first country to provide its citizens with cable and internet. The downside is that half of them don’t even have electricity, but there is internet.


Homebase
All set, we left for the countryside, to Gitarama, which will be my homebase for 72 days. Driving through, I was amazed by the country’s beauty. It all green green green, just the way I like it!


I haven’t seen any slums, but people live in small brick houses, surrounded by a little garden where they grow vegetables. Outside the walls they grow lots of banana trees. It’s also funny to see they do some gardening. They keep plants and flowers to brighten things up. I like!


When we got to Gitarama, we stopped at Mr. S. work/office/house to drop off the bags and head out to find me a place to stay. We ended up in Centre St-Charles where I got a nice room with everything I need. Unpacking is for tomorrow, nackered, I’m off to bed at 8.30pm. Good night!


Friday 24FEB – Kigali 28 degrees