Volcano Hotel Kigali

... 500 per person permit charge for tracking gorillas, and they don't have such tight restrictions on how many people can go in one group. We enjoy conversing with the other trackers.

As we ascend the volcanic valley toward the mountain, the sky lightens and the rains cease. We are all thrilled that we have gone forward with our final tracking activity in spite of the inclement weather. The forest is a bit boggy, and ...

... of 7 hours to reach our destination. We got in at 18:00 absolutely exhausted. In the morning we were met by our new driver and cook again to be told that it was just the two of us, perfect. This safari took in the Mayanmara NP, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. We had an exceptional day in the Serengeti, including an attempted lion kill right in front of our vehicle. We annoyed a lot of people as they had been waiting around the small pool of water for 1.5 hours ...

... 3-1.
In the second half with all our boys now playing we were given a lesson in how to play football at altutude and in blazing sun as goal after goal flew in. We enlisted the help of some of our Rwandan friends but ti no avail as we lost 9-1! It was a good natured game and a rematch has been requested. At the final whistle the Kigali players walked off with one of our team arm in arm.

We then gave our gift to them from Hibernian Football Club of 20 ...

Today was our last day of normal camp activities. I wanted Daniel and Cindy to have the chance to see the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, and if they didn't go today, they wouldn’t have the chance. So Doc and I dropped them at the Center at a little after 8:00 with instructions to Samuel to come and pick them up after he dropped us off at Runda. That would give them about an hour and half to view the memorial exhibits, and the mass graves.

We ...

... issue is not easily dismissed. I answered that based on what Jesus said, Christians are not to take human life, but that reasonable restraining force can be used to protect others, and that we have to trust that our lives are in God’s hands, and that we are under His protection for His will to be done.

Daniel covered a question about our relationship with God. Greg Swartz covered questions about what we have to do to receive salvation, and why Satan ...

We had breakfast at 8:00 and were to have driven out to the camp location about 9:00, but Mr. Mundeli was delayed, so he didn't arrive with the taxi (and one of usual drivers: Samuel) until 10:30. We drove into Kigali and then out the other side on the road that would take one to Ruhengeri, Goma or Cynagugu. It’s also the road toward the Mundeli’s village of Remera.

We arrived in the village and turned in toward the technical school which we ...

... we went to visit the women of the NGO, INEZA. These women are the most inspiring women I have ever met in my life. The women were raped during the genocide and contracted HIV-AIDS through the rapes. They talked with us for a long time before finally deciding to share their testimony with us. They were so happy we had came here to see them. They said that us coming to see them and hear their story ...

... br>
today we are going in a few hours to a memorial about an hour and a
half away and then afterwards we will come back to kigali and they will
have a city tour for us at 2.

it's been great so far...
we tried the infamous banana wine yesterday..... wow that stuff is hard to describe. it's thicker and is very sweet but the aftertaste is a bit like smoked wood... it reminds me a bit of mead

Situated 60 kilometers to the east of Kigali, at the intersection of two major national highways,lies the town of Kayonza. For most, this is little more than a truck stop, a place where people pass by going either South to Tanzania or North to Uganda. Yet not even 10 kilometers beyond Kayonza lies one of Rwanda’s most pristine locations, Lake Muhazi. Long viewed as more of an obstruction than an attraction, as ...

... were killed. The reality of it all was driven home by the simple honesty of it - one little toddler was described as "naughty" and no effort was made to dress the children up as saints but it made it all the worse. I could only manage to walk through half of the display before I had to leave, it was just too upsetting. I'm going to spend a day in Kigali before going to the local memorials to get a little taste for the country before depressing myself any further!