July 29- the hills of Rwanda leading to Kibale

We awoke as first threads of light began to filter in through the mesh of our tent, and a chorus of Lake Bunyoni’s little birds tweeted and trilled overhead. We departed from the lake, and our final hours in Uganda were spent driving up and down steep, seemingly vertical ridges.

Once across Rwanda’s border we descended into a lush valley. The early morning sun danced and sparkled upon the foliage, still fresh and dewy. The surrounding hills sloped down into a huge, flat expanse of crops, each segregated into its own neat, tight square. The plots, varied in color and texture, followed one after another, and were woven into a massive tapestry that carpeted the valley floor. I marveled at the incredible beauty around each twist and turn on the mountainous road. We drove on, and eventually the quilted green plots succumbed to row upon row of tea plants. My eyes were drawn upwards to the surrounding hills, each more varied and stunning than the last… terraced farm land mingled with deciduous forest… plunging green hillsides, flecked with silvery blue metallic eucalyptus tress. Once again, the tall, whimsically skinny trees we had seen in Uganda flanked the roads. We began to see man-made bee hives hanging from the slender trunks. The honey harvested is sold, as well as used for medicine and beer. We rounded one corner and happened upon dozens of people surrounding a truck, laden with giant silver milk canisters. Sunlight glinted off the canisters, as milk streamed forth into smaller containers. For miles we passed women, walking along the narrow road, with milk-filled containers balanced perfectly atop their heads. The picturesque valley eventually tapered off to a thin, long line of wild grasses. Slowly, we climbed and descended the ridge around the valley. Crumbling mud huts perched precariously along the ridges, their windows boasting views of perhaps the most beautiful landscape I’ve ever had the privilege of viewing! Sadly, the quick snapshots I captured through the dust-covered windows do not even begin to do it justice…

Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city, peeked out from behind the trees as we approached. We spent the afternoon visiting the Genocide Museum. It was a truly heart-breaking, but incredible, collection of stories, photographs, and videos from the country’s devastating genocide in the early 90’s. Feeling quite somber we continued on through the city in silence. As I peered out the windows at the bustling city nestled amongst the hills I began to realize that something was very different about Kigali. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the energy was different. I am almost embarrassed to admit how long it took me to realize that the most obvious difference was the extreme cleanliness and organization of the city! It is truly unlike any other large city on the continent. Not a scrap of garbage could be found on the bustling streets. Garbage cans lined the road, and signs everywhere encouraged cleanliness.

A quick stop at the Hotel des Mille Collines, made known to the western world in Hotel Rwanda, and then we were off to Famtima Mission to camp for the duration of our stay in the country. A former church mission, Fatima Mission was plain, clean and well-manicured. It boasted a little open-air roof top that we enjoyed relaxing on in the evenings. While most of our travel mates opted to stay in bunk rooms, we set up our tent on the hedge-lined lawn and treated ourselves to two mattress pads a piece- a luxurious experience after nights of camping on hard ground.