Canopy Walk at Nyungwe National Park

Annie and Emma brave the canopy walkway led by our guide David.

Bates Clan at Uwinka Overlook

This overlook is located at the visitors' center at Nyungwe National Forest. It's the start point for most of the hikes on the park's many trails.

Nyungwe National Forest

About 5 hours east of Kigali is located Nyungwe National Forest. It takes 5 hours not so much due to its distance away from Kigali but due to the very poor road conditions, pedestrian congestion and lack of signage. Nyungwe is a jewel of a tropical rainforest whose geologic bedrock was formed approximately 1.2 billion years ago. It is home to some breathtaking vistas and a bio-diversity of stunning proportions. It is said, for example, that it is host to 140 different species of orchids alone. The vegetation heralds back to the beginning of time and the park is populated with huge fern trees reminiscent of Jurrasic Park, mahogany and other Dr. Seus-like specimens.

What makes it such a special site is that just about every inch of arable land around the forest has been terraced and transformed into either tea plantations or plots of sustanance crops--- dating back to the iron age. Villages line the route leading to the forest and long lines of pedestrians crowd the sides of the road for mile upon mile, when suddenly one enters the park, the lack of human activity becomes palpable. The temperature even drops dramatically and the increase in wildlife becomes immediately noticeable. A sense of calm and peace descends upon the traveler. We spotted several types of primates foraging near the road sides as we traveled towards our accommodation for the night. More about the accommodations later.

The following day, we undertook a guided hike on one of the park’s many trails. The park has benefitted from the efforts of USAID which constructed a colorful and informative interpretive center and a canopy walkway. Nonetheless, forget about getting an admissions' discount as an American citizen. We forked out $50 per person even for Gus and Emma. Annie got a bit of a reduction and her admission was only $40 US. I’m pretty sure that entrance fees to some of the most popular US national parks don’t even begin to approach such amounts.

We of course selected the canopy walk not only because it was the shortest time wise for little short legs, but also because we got to get up to tree-top level and view the forest from a totally different perspective. We saw lots of monkeys, birds and plant species which were all new to us. We got some great photos , a thrill from walking across the undulating canopy walkway 100 meters above the forest floor and made it back to the vistors’ center with a minimum of complaining from the young’uns and without getting rained on to boot!

Some of the more spectacular species we saw during our excursion (both while driving and hiking) were the Great Blue Turaco (pictured), Blue Monkey (Diademed Guenon) and Large Spotted Genet (unfortunately, he'd been run over, no doubt by one of these passenger busses that travel at breakneck speed with no regard for anything else on the road).

Church

We’ve been attending Catholic services at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Kigali. There are several masses in a variety of languages. There’s a French mass, one in English and one in Kinyarwanda (the native language of most of Rwanda’s inhabitants). We’ve opted for the English mass which lasts typically about 2 hours. There’s a whole lot of singing, which is quite nice. The voices in the choir are just amazing and it’s truly a wonder what they’re able to accomplish with so few resources. Additionally, there’s a whole lot of incense at a number of intervals during the mass. We’ve noticed some interesting differences as well. For example, during the offertory not only are the bread and wine brought up as gifts, but there’s an entire procession of people carrying things like laundry detergent, toilet paper and fruits such as bunches of bananas and pineapples. I guess the priests have to have their clothes cleaned and need t.p. in the same way that their parishioners need these items. Such manufactured items tend to be very expensive because they’re usually imported, so I guess they are indeed viewed as a gift.

Something else we’ve also observed is that the congregation claps during the consecration. It’s a bit unsettling to hear “applause” when one would normally hear the tinkling of the bells and the solemn pronouncement, “The Body of Christ”, but it appears to be a well in-grained tradition here.

Homilies are fairly long and a bit difficult to follow given the accent, so the kids aren’t too happy that their parents “force” them to attend. Lately, they have really developed an appreciation for the atmosphere that Fr. Greg has been able to foster at Immaculate Conception of Lakeland. What is striking to me , though is the universality of the Catholic mass. I’ve attended mass in many places on this globe, often in languages I don’t understand (like Florence, Italy when I took the Catholic of PC kids on a European tour) and if one is remotely familiar with the order of the mass, it doesn’t take long to catch on and follow easily even in an unfamiliar language. We attended services a few Sundays ago at a non-denominational church that many ex-pats attend and it just didn’t have the same effect for us. The pastor and his wife were quite welcoming, but we just weren’t convinced about the service. It had the feel of being made up as we went along. Indeed, the congregants had to be cued as to what was to follow as the pastor would pronounce each time, “And now we’re going to…” Given that Catholicism is imbued with centuries of traditions and rituals and there’s never a question of what’s supposed to happen next because everybody already knows, it was interesting to observe the difference. It was definitely a good learning experience for the kids as well.

Fetching Water

These young'uns were supposed to be fetching water for their mother. They were taking a break to play a VIDEO GAME out front of the neighbor's fence. The yellow water jugs are ubiquitous, but can't possibly hold very much. Often, smaller boys are carrying three jugs. How they manage, I'll never know. The water pressure may not be very good at our house, but at least it flows within the house!

Another View of this Pretty Fellow

He's definitely a nectar eater, but I don't think he's a humming bird. I guess I'll have to fork out the cash for that bird guide to find out....

Housing for many in Kigali and Rwanda

This is a photo taken over our back fence of some residents of Kigali who live down in the valley below our house. Quite a contrast to the previous photo.

Where we live

Here's a photo of our house. Relatively modern with running water, electricity, microwave and washer. Granted the roof leaks a bit and the kitchen cabinets drawers are completely worthless, but it's a far cry from the conditions that a large segment of the population is living in in Rwanda.....

Moto Taxis

Because we’re on the “edge” where fancy neighborhood changes to not so fancy, there’s a great deal of moto taxis that travel down the road behind our house due to the fact that most inhabitants of the valley quarter don’t own their own vehicle. In fact, it’s incessant. We hear their put-putting engines and tooting horns at all hours. Whereas in Namibia, most everyone took a car taxi, here most average Rwandans take a moto taxi. There are literally thousands of these guys plying their trade on Kigali streets. They’re identifiable by their numbered reflector vests and typically green helmets. These guys are absolutely fearless. They zip in and out of traffic honking and beeping. They pass in blind curves; they go where no other vehicle will.

The kids have been observing these guys for the past few weeks when we’ve been out and about. The girls especially have been asking if they can take one. Apparently, in their eyes, the exploits of the moto taxi breed appear fun and exciting. In my eyes, such a ride would be froth with myriad dangers essentially from the moto taxi drivers’ lack of judgment to the equally absent judgment of those behind the wheel of the numerous Toyota Four Runners, Rovers, and other SUVs that crowd the roads here. Sorry kids, Mom is not likely to consent to such a ride anytime this century.

Took the above photo with my phone camera, so again the resolution's not that great and it's a bit dark. I'll learn to carry my good camera with me eventually. One can at least get the feel for what these guys do to vehicles, crowding and zipping right in front of the white car ahead of us.

LSU fans in Africa?

Yes, unbelieveably we spotted someone sporting an LSU sticker on the back of his Rover Defender (Reid's dream vehicle). Of course we chased him down and questioned him thoroughly about his attachment to the esteemed university. His name is, also quite unbelieveably, MacGregor Macgruder and he's an alum of the business school at LSU. He and his family live here. His card says that he's into East Africa Development providing clean water to communities. It's called Living Water International based out of Houston, Texas. I got a photo of the back of his car with my phone camera which doesn't have very good resolution, but we had left the nice camera at home. If you look closely at the top of the back windshield, you can just make out the letters. He was so gracious to let me take a photo and very gracious to even stop for crazy people chasing him down the streets of Kigali, but hey what did he expect putting that on his car??? Fortunately, Emma was wearing her own LSU t-shirt at the time so he knew we weren't a bunch of psychos.

I think I'll start carrying my good camera with me wherever I go now! Oh the wonderful things you see walking down the street.....

Over our back fence

Our house is located on a hillside, on one of the lower rungs of modern housing that sits above a small valley. It seems like the wealthier residents live higher up, while the less fortunate live in the valleys in ramshackle housing that has very few amenities. Because we live on the lower rung, just below us, we get a bird’s eye-view of all the goings-on in the valley neighborhood.

The road or more appropriately described dirt path just beyond and below our fence serves as parade grounds for a constant stream of human movement to and from the small valley. There are women carrying loads of bananas, mosquito netting or just about any product that can be sufficiently amassed into a transportable pile atop their heads often with a baby tied to their backs.

I am in constant awe at the amount of stuff these women can carry. It is little wonder that many look aged beyond their years. Life for unskilled women here is truly difficult beyond words. Our womanly burdens in the States, although many, are incomparable to the challenges these ladies face on a daily basis in Africa.

A Pied Magpie ?

We also spotted this guy outside of our apartment. Found a bird guide today for East African species but I had already spent 33,000 FRW on school supplies and didn't have the extra 25,000 for the guide. The current exchange is about 594 FRW to the dollar. It's really hard to deal in such large numbers. The cars we've been pricing (all used) are going for around 7 million FRW. Scary numbers!

More Bird Photos for Larkin

Some sort of raptor? These guys hung out in the trees located behind the apartment building where we were staying while our house was being readied. We were on the 4th floor so we had a great view of their perches.

Birds

Rwanda is said to be a birder’s paradise. Its Akagera National Park is the reputed home to 550 different bird species. Here in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital and urban center, the number of species isn’t as great for sure, but we’ve noticed lots of magnificent examples of the ornithological type. Many are brilliantly colored and zip around the yard nipping at the hibiscus that grows in abundance and of the super size variety; the speed of which has precluded my photographing them. Others seem to be frequent visitors to our backyard.

One black and white specimen in particular must think he is our own personal alarm clock. Without fail he (and it must undoubtedly be a male for what female would behave in such a manner?) taps persistently at our bedroom windows each morning just about 6 a.m. The windows appear to be coated with a reflective film to cut down on the sunlight and hence the heat in the house. We think that he attacks his own reflection because he views it as a rival bird encroaching on his territory. We’re not sure what species he is because we haven’t found a good bird guide yet for this region, so maybe one of informed readers, that would undoubtedly be you Larkin, can help us identify him and explain his bizarre behavior.

Hired Help and Ironed Knickers

Our house came with its own servants. Most Americans of our class aren’t accustomed to having servants and it’s been somewhat problematic for us in dealing with this issue. What you say, having someone, or in this case two someones to tend to life’s mundane chores thereby freeing oneself up for more noble pursuits, how could this be problematic? Not to mention the secondary issue of what does one pay them given that in the US manual labor is quite expensive…

We inherited a housekeeper named Dorcella. Dorcella is an extremely hard worker. She will clean everything and anything in sight given the opportunity. What’s wrong with this you ask? Well, as it’s been raining quite a bit recently, we’ve been leaving our shoes at the door upon entering the house so as not to track the red mud across the white and cream colored tile found in every room of the house. Well, on Monday, Dorcella washed them all along with the baseball gloves and balls we made the mistake of leaving lying near the shoe pile. We’ve taken to hiding the shoes we don’t want washed as they do take some time to dry given that we haven’t a dryer here and use a line for all of the laundry.

Speaking of laundry, Dorcella will iron everything that comes off the line including underwear. Yes, I am sitting here writing this in my freshly ironed knickers. Go figure!

Dorcella speaks a pretty good amount of French and will even go to the market for me and make the fresh fruit and veggie purchases in the mad house of the open market. I am much obliged to her for that because the market is sensory overload on overkill. It cannot be described in any terms that Americans can possibly understand. Let’s just say that when we took the car up there replete with kids, the mass of humanity that surrounded us all begging to be our errand boy, banging and pounding on our car was like being in the movie I Am Legend and getting caught out after dark with the “zombie” creatures on the attack. I think the kids experienced true shock that day.

Dorcella also acts as translator for the gardener. He speaks no English and his French is not very much better. Ndugu arrives at 6:00 am whereupon he proceeds to wash the car (we’re still driving Tulane’s big Toyota Fortuner) whether it needs it or not. He also takes care of the yard and indeed the plantings and “parterres” are beautiful but what he possibly can do in so small a yard all day long baffles me.
The 2 servants coupled with the guard making his rounds night and day leaves little room for any privacy. I believe most Americans cherish their privacy and so I had to convince them that I only needed part-time help. This was no easy feat as the concept of not immediately cleaning something that one has soiled seems foreign to them. Dorcella washes the garbage bin every time she empties it---often multiple times per day.

It’s a bit ironic and seems to contradict all of the images we tend to have of Africa, but we’ve never been so clean before as we’ve been in Rwanda. Go figure.

Security

We're trying hard to avoid comparing Rwanda to Namibia, but invariably we end up doing so at every turn. Security in Rwanda appears to be less of a concern than it had been in Namibia. This is not to say that it is dismissed here, far from it. There are still the high walls and security guards at most gates, but those walls aren't topped with quite the amount of concertina wire that they were in Namibia. Nor does one see the electric wires atop the said walls also as in Namibia. Perhaps it's due to the fact that the apartheid system never had a foothold here. Most people can walk about the streets without fear of being accosted, robbed or mugged even at night we're told. But let's not kid ourselves, this is Africa after all and the "mzungu" (white guy) is still viewed as possessing vast quantities of wealth. Thus, our house has a 24 hour guard with one of the local security companies---KK. Ironically there are a few of the same security companies here as in Namibia and South Africa.

Our day guard is usually Laurent who speaks no English and a smattering of French. He is extremely friendly and helpful. This weekend, when we got caught up doing errands in town, Laurent took in my freshly laundered clothes from the line before they got spoiled by an afternoon thunderstorm.

Claude is typically our night guard. He speaks better French because he is older and no doubt spent more time under Belgian/French "colonial" rule. Yes, Rwanda's been independent since the 60's but colonial masters are hard to shake.

Both guards pull 12 hour shifts and no doubt get paid a pittance by their employer---but hey they have a job and the security industry no doubt makes up a large percentage of the Rwandan economy employing hundreds of unskilled Rwandans. Additionally, neither is armed with anything more powerful than a billy club and a panic button. Yes, the house is equipped with 2 hard wired panic buttons (pictured above) should something untoward arise and 2 remotes, one for the guards themselves. Not sure what really occurs if they're ever pushed, but I don't actually have the desire to find out either.

Reid says that security in these African countries is just an illusion. He's probably right. I just can't see our gentle Laurent who thinks about bringing in the wash as bieng able to repel anyone who has evil intentions. Let's hope we never have to find out.

Our House

Our House. What can I say about our house? Where to begin…..? Well, it’s new. It’s got a yard, that’s a plus in this city of inclines. It mostly keeps the rain off of our heads, but we’re still working on that. Yesterday, we were down to only two leaks—one in the kitchen and one in the middle of the living room. The plumbing and the electricity are somewhat sketchy. At first there was entirely too much water pressure and the water would just about explode out of the tap when opened. Soooo, some adjustments were made and now there’s only just a trickle coming out of the bathtub taps. It takes about 20 minutes to draw a comfortable level of water in which to bathe, but hey at least we get a bath.

We live off of a dirt road just on the edge of the modern housing. Below us, most of the residents live in what can only rightly be described as mud huts with tin roofs. Most are without electricity and running water. Everyday, there is a steady stream of little, and I mean very little, boys and girls trickling down the street/mud path in front of the house with containers they must fill and bring home to mama for various purposes—cleaning, cooking and drinking. I haven’t yet located the water source, but it’s got to be relatively close to us given the number of kids hauling around yellow water “bidons”. Such a sight tends to put our electrical and water problems into the proper perspective.

Ah, the furniture. What to say about the furniture? The phrase African kitsch doesn’t even begin to do it justice, so I’ve posted a few photos for your viewing pleasure. You all will have to e-mail with your comments because I truly haven’t the proper vocabulary.

Driving in Kigali

So here we are arrived in Rwanda and begun to learn our way around. Rwanda is often referred to as the land of “A Thousand Hills” and indeed what we’ve seen so far of Kigali at least lives up to its moniker. We’ve been driving one of the vehicles that belongs to Tulane. By we, I mean Reid drives us around and we cringe in the passenger seating. It’s a manual transmission, 4-wheel drive Toyota. If I thought that driving in Windhoek, Namibia was insane, I need to take the opportunity to reassess having experienced what can only be described as unbridled chaos, if indeed such a phrase can exist. The traffic here is constant. Where all of these people can be going, I haven’t a clue but there is constant movement on roads until late in the night.

We’ve been staying in an apartment on one of the main drags of the city and since there isn’t any air-conditioning, windows remain open all day to the sound of motors, horns, and general mayhem. There are as many pedestrians lining the roadways as there are vehicles, all perilously close to the flow of traffic. Additionally, the number of moto-taxis weaving in and out of already rapidly moving vehicles can turn the steeliest of drivers into a basket case of nerves. The moto-taxis come up from behind on the left or the right—which ever direction suits their fancy. They stop and start for potential and current fares with no prior indication. They turn left in front of speeding on-coming cars. I suppose riding on the back of one of those could qualify as the practice of an extreme sport .

I cannot, in all of my wildest imaginings begin to believe that I will be able to master the art of driving here! We will eventually have to purchase our own vehicle and I’m sure with our budget, it will also be a manual transmission. I am intimately acquainted with my limitations in negotiating hills in a manual having lived it in Windhoek. I am not looking forward to reliving that experience compounded with the addition of the aforementioned chaos….Oh did I also mention that there are as many unpaved roads in the city as there are paved? What about the lack of street signs? People navigate by landmark, go figure. More on that later. I’m exhausted just writing about the topic!