Day 9

After a week full of celebrations, seminars and snoring neighbours, I really hoped to get some sleep today. I was told that every first Sunday of the month, they hold a special welcoming ceremony for tourists, but I honestly couldn’t be bothered.

Laundry
Despite cold air and threatening clouds, I did decide to do some laundry. A pair of trousers, two shirts, a light sweater and five underpants, took me all morning. I was wondering if my white shirts would ever turn white again and my hands were soar by rubbing the tissue. Then heavy rain started pouring down so at that rate, it would take ten years for it to dry.

Once finished, I realised the only option to have them dry was a dirty railing. I didn’t think so! Seemed like they never heard of a rope to hang clothes and I had to walk all the way to town to find a quincaillerie with some rope to buy. Not easy on a Sunday.

Mille collines
Since I hadn’t eaten anything yet, I went to 'the boogie restaurant' in town. The one that looks like a canteen, but has very friendly owners. You pay 1000RWF (1,02 euro) for the buffet which has pasta, rice, potatoes, fries, green beans, red beans and meat. Oddily, they even have mayonnaise. Another popular spice is akabanga, similar to tabasco and made out of pili pili and other spicy peppers. Very hot, but addictive since they don’t really spice their food.

Since you can only get one serving, some boys pile food into a mountain. They are charged the same price, so get to eat as much as their plates can take. Mr. S. calls them ‘mountains’. No wonder this is the land of a Thousand Hills. Omolette is also popular and you choose one made out of 3, 4 or even 5 eggs. Every restaurant or bar I’ve seen, also has a washbasin in the middle of the place to clean your hands before or even after dinner. Which is much needed since some people still grab food with their hands instead of using cutlery.

The day ended sunny and I made myself a very healthy dinner: fruit salad made out of the best mango, oranges, passion fruit and banana. On Monday, I will walk up to Shyogwe, to visit a Belgian lady who lives here with her Rwandese/Belgian husband and I’m excited to meet her.

Sunday 7th March - Gitarama 17 degrees