Day 10

Took an early start this morning and set out on my hike to Shyogwe. Lydie told me it would take a small hour to conquer the 6 km, but after 1,5 hours, I realised something was odd.

Tour du monde
A friendly driver pulled over and asked me where I was going. He had checked with a local farmer how to get to Jangwe Lodge and apparently I still had a long way ahead of me. He offered me a ride and took me to the little town of Shyogwe, still in the Gitarama district. Since he had another few hours ahead of him, he dropped me off and asked a taxi-bike to take me to the lodge.

I can’t remember the last time I sat on the back of a bike, but I’m sure I was still a minor and weighed 20kg less. This boy however, managed to drive me over the hills and I enjoyed the stunning scenery along the way. I think I had to get off once to climb a steep hill, but he cycled all the rest. It’s a very common way of transport here, next to taxi-motos and cars.

School must have been finished because all of a sudden I was followed by 20 or 30 children, running and chasing the bike as far as they could. It’s cute how they try out their first English words on me such as ‘goodmorning teacher, how are you, I’m fine, thank you.’

Jangwe lodge
I finally made it to the lodge, only one hour late. Lydie told me they were located 6 km off the main road, not 6 km from where I was. But it didn’t matter. Her husband Georges is originally from Rwanda, but being a halfblood he got the opportunity to come and study in Belgium when he was thirteen years old. His Belgian father built the home in the sixties and after he passed away the rebuilt the ruins – keeping the original blueprint – and turned it into a fabulous home and lodge. They moved permanently to Rwanda almost four years ago and she will help me out with some other travel plans.

Safari
A couple of hours later, an elderly Belgian couple arrived at the lodge. They were going to spend two days up there and head back to Kigali on Thursday. Through a local agency, they had arranged a jeep and a personal driver, Jean-Marc, who took me back to Gitarama town center. I’ll be in touch with him for other arrangements, but will meet him again on Friday. The couple, André and Inge, are planning a safari in Akagera National Park for the weekend before flying back to Belgium.

Akagera is on the border with Kenia and has a great deal of wildlife such as hippo, crocodiles, lions, buffalo, zebra, giraffe and elephant. Signs of a rhino have been spotted and it also has an extensive bird population. It is on my to do list, but I found out you need to have private transport, a driver and a guide to get access to the park. Very expensive, but I wouldn’t be me if luck was on my side once again. André, Inge and Jean-Marc invited me to join them for the weekend. Lydie is taking me to Kigali on Thursday, Jean-Marc will settle me down with cheap accommodation from where he’ll pick me up on Friday before we head out to the Eastern border. There’s an overrated, expensive lodge in the National Park, but he knows a nice, small lodge just outside of the park borders where he will arrange me a place to sleep. I can’t wait!

National Women’s Day
But first we’ll have National Women’s Day tomorrow. Mr.S. and his colleague are taking me down to the event which protests against the abuse of women. Many women will share their stories about domestic violence and I hope to get some facts and talk to some witnesses.

For now, it’s a hot shower and off to bed.

Monday 7th March – Gitarama 27 degrees