Kicking it at Kivu

After the excitement of spending time with the gorillas in the mist, we headed west to Lake Kivu for a mellow lake day in the town of Gisenyi, checking out the DRC border, and swimming in the lake. We parked the car and walked to the border of Congo, at the town of Goma. The visual differences between the Rwandan side and the other were drastic. One, a progressive country on the rise, with rules about conservation & even motorbike helmet laws, and the other constantly threatened by rebels & civil war. Our day at the lake also coincided with the end of Ramadan. Even though a small percentage of the population are Muslim, many people were out, swimming, celebrating and enjoying the day. 

The road to the west had many rolling hills, tea leaf fields, and photo stops

Kevin stopped to purchase a few baskets from this man on the side of the road – he was carrying them atop his head headed down the road, miles from any town

Some of the children that ran out for a visit on one of the many stops

A sad roadside marker – here, 25,000 female Tutsi were marched off the cliff, to their deaths when they refused the Hutu's demands to eat their unborn babies

Closing in on the border to Congo

Some first views of Kivu on an overcast day

The largest brewery in Rwanda is settled on the shore of the lake – in addition to trucks, boats load up and travel as far as 200 miles South

These wide fishing boats, manned by three men, set out for Tilapia as well as a smaller fish that is set out to dry – fragrantly 

Beautiful lake Kivu from the hot springs

Kristin trying her best to not be a Muzungu 

Goats, a common meat here, lay about everywhere – some with leashes 

Kristin wanted to stop for some roadside peanuts

Enjoying some cold, local beers at Paradis Malahde

And some very fresh Talapia caught earlier in the day

The locals eat with their hands, and so does Kristin

Relaxing with our driver and friend, Kevin

Locals take advantage of one of the few lakes in Africa where you can swim

Kristin makes friends wherever she goes

Nice little dip in the cool waters of Kivu

Kristin opts not to go after hearing how stories of Congolese neglect of the lake just a few miles away

The sun poked out just as we departed the lake and headed back for Musanze 

Gorilla Business

On our first full day in Rwanda, we woke early, grabbed a quick and tasty breaky at Elaine's Guesthouse (where we are staying) and headed to Volcans National Park to get up close and personal with one of the 18 families of gorillas that call the protected park home. The park extends up the volcanos into the Congo and also north into Uganda – if you summit the Northern-most peak you can simultaniously be in all three countries. The gorillas, which see none of these European prescribed boundaries, can be found throughout the vast area so you can trek for hours to reach them.

We have a big, two-day hike day after tomorrow and we were lucky enough to not have to trek for too long to find our group, the Hirwa Family (which means Lucky in Kinyarwanda, the local language). We spent an hour surrounded by 10 - 17 gorillas ranging from small, young babies to the large, beastly Silverback. We were just shocked at just how close you actually are able to get to them and how much you are just in the middle of them. At one point the behemoth Silverback took a stroll right by me, no more than a few feet away. While I've seen large animals in the wild before, I've never had the chance to be just that close to an animal that could literally rip you to shreds. In one or two good heaves, the Silverback literally pulled a large tree to the ground to eat its branches. A spectacular hour not to be forgotten. 

We've arrived to Volcans

And had to do some serious Jeeping to get to our trailhead

The views of the volcanoes were stunning all along the drive

Kristin starting a frenzy in small village at the base of our walk

The amazing and beefy Silverback

Who was accompanied by many younger juvenile gorillas

Again, the impressive Silverback

For the morning they just move slowly while they eat

In the Hirwa family, there was just one Silverback – they were named this because he was lucky to find a family to look over so quickly

Chow, chow, chow

Kristin and I with the large Silverback in the background

Chow, chow, chow

towards the end of our visit with them, the Silverback settled in for a nap, and the younger members continued to play

This guy was imposing – just after he passed by me, he looked a woman in the eye, and kicked her leg, then continued on

Just amazing creatures

As we exited the stone walls that encircled the park, we were met by many smiling children 

Who were many in this village

And of course were of great interest to Kristin – and visa versa

Beautiful people here in Rwanda

Arrival of the Muzungu

Early in our visit to Rwanda, we visited the two largest towns in the country: the capital city of Kigali & the town closest to the gorilla trekking area, Musanze. Our main attraction in Kigali was the genocide museum, which was both enlightening and a very heavy experience.

On the two hour car ride to Musanze we spent time chatting with our driver, Kevin, and were very fortunate that he felt comfortable enough to open up to us and tell of his personal experience during the genocide, losing four of his seven siblings. At the age of 13 he narrowly escaped a horrid death and was saved and taken alone to a refuge camp in Uganda where he lived for three years, not knowing if any of his family was as lucky as him to survive the atrocities that took place in his home country. It's one thing to visit a museum for learning, but always a much more powerful experience to hear first hand about a personal event.In the smaller town of Musanze we wandered through the local market where Kristin had some local garb made – skirt and headdress. She was an instant hit among all the locals who both laughed out loud, and told her how 'smart' she dressed and that she wore it well. We went from being the Muzungu (gringo) of no interest to the celebrities noticed by everyone – quite an experience.

Touched down in Rwanda, land of a thousand hills – view of the capital city of Kigali

Our wonderful driver and guide, DJ Kevin, showing off his talented family – Knowless & one of the Urban Boys, both who will perform in the finals of the Rwandan version of American Idol this weekend 

Flowers above one of the many mass graves at the genocide memorial

One of the very intense and heavy displays at the genocide museum 

DJ Kevin sharing some personal context of his experience in the mid-90's

Kristin and me on our first day with Rwanda's most major river behind – which flows from the hills of Rwanda to Egypt

Bikes and foot are the primary mode of transport here, even for super heavy & large loads

All food here in Rwanda is found in-country – farming is just huge here, notice the baby strapped to this woman's back

Kids, kids, kids – everywhere

We found our way through the market to the textiles

And Kristin got involved to get some attire made

Both a skirt and a lovely hat

Doesn't she dress smart

One of our fantastic friends we met in town

Beginning in Boston

And we're off! Kristin and I began our big, late summer trip with a four-day stopover to visit her folks at their home in Cohasset, a seaside town and suburb of Boston.

While I've spent a little time in the east, most of that focus was on NYC, and I'd never really experienced the true New England summer that all my East Coast friends rave about and grew up on.

During our time here, we visited with her folks, went striper fishing with her father on his Whaler (The Pipsqueak), spent a decent amount of time meeting and visiting with Kristin's energetic, childhood friends, and even got to spend part of a day on Jeff's commercial lobster boat (Water Dog II). Kristin of course had a packed schedule for us. Most days we were up at the crack of dawn and not home until I was ready to collapse. We had a wonderful time checking out all the small towns, each quainter than the last.

I was really surprised and pleased to see just how much the New Englanders take care of and use their surrounding bays and ocean. Tons of people each day headed out to fish, lobster or just pleasure cruise all over the area, up and down the coast. It was a great visit and I definitely look forward to exploring the greater area more some summer in the future – seems like there's lots of nooks and crannies all up and down the coast to explore.

We now find ourselves in the middle of the long haul – over 30 hours of travel – to Rwanda, the next stop on our adventure. 

Beautiful view back to Boston from quaint Cohasset

New England Architecture is very, um New English

Every home sports the American Flag here, even vintage ones

Lifeguard on-guard at Sandy Beach

Michael set me up to hook a nice little schoolie

Getting bait in Glouster

Jeff's salty and mostly seaworthy, Water Dog II

Me with the captain

A small sampling of the copious amount of herring we brought for bait

The bait was popular with all sorts of sea species

The scene was reminiscent of a Hitchcock film

Kristin and Jeff with some of our catch

A beautiful place here in The East – sunset view over Little Harbor