Celtic Rover
Our first impressions of Rwanda were not good, for only the second time in Africa we had folks test the security of the car in broad daylight in front of staring onlookers, who did nothing…
However, we are assured by many people that Rwanda is actually very safe in general including a number of people who live here full time so we are prepared to give it a chance.
Before Poppy leaves we go to the Genocide Memorial Gardens in Kigali and the preserved monument to the Belgian Peacekeepers, both were very well done and deeply unsettling, a grim reminder, if we need it, that stirring up groups against each other with misinformation and polarisation eventually gets people killed. We were a bit down then a lovely group of people from Ghana lifted the mood and a video chat with Lee from the car park put us out of our dark mood.
We stay in a nice hotel in Kigali so Poppy can sort out her stuff for the flight home and I drop her at the airport for the flight home.
I am now travelling for the last few weeks on my own, intentionally, although travelling with a copilot makes great sense from a safety point of view I find that travelling by myself leads to much more interaction with local people. So it proves once again. I stop on my way to Kibuye on the lake in a little guest house, one of the staff Emanuel, befriends me offering local food and the owner arrives, he brings me along to watch the Champions league final, by the time the night is out Emanuel is doing a guided tour of my truck explaining the features to the rest of the staff in local language.
The run to the lake is easy and very senic, there are people everywhere this is a very densly populated country, so practicle problems, like where to stop for a pee, arise, but the feeling is much more friendly than in the towns and I find a nice welcoming place to stay on the lakeside, borrow a kayak and head off exploring.
As I write this I am playing Van Morrision on the resorts sound system, now the friendly days guests have left, while watching the sun set over the lake, warming to Rwanda, slowly
