A weekend at Lake Kivu

Friday night at the Rubengera compound was Alaskan night. One of the expats is from Sitka, Alaska and she had just returned from vacation at home bringing with her ten pounds of fish, shrimp and four cans of smoked salmon. We were definitely in for a feast tonight's celebration of Alaska Day.

1. Alaska Day marks the anniversary of the formal transfer of the territory from Russia to the United States and the raising of the United States flag at Sitka on October 18, 1867. It is usually celebrated on October 18 each year.

 The drink of the evening was White Russians curtesy of Randy, which kept him very busy mixing drinks all evening.  After filling our bellies with bread and salmon dip, ( I could have licked the bowl clean, however refrained and someone else did), and seafood it was time for games.

The first test was to walk the log. Now normally this would seem fairly simple, however there was a complicated twist to this log walk. The coordinator had found a 25 foot long log and trimmed it of all branches and bark, then the log was greased with cooking oil. That is were the real challenge came to play. Members of the team took of their shoes and socks and attempted to walk the log. Not only was normal balancing a component of the task, the oil made the log extremely slippery and participants struggled to stay on for even 2 feet. As people slipped and fell it was apparent it would only be a matter of time before someone fell and seriously hurt themselves, but fortunately no one did. After numerous attempts by lots of people, one individual finally mastered approximately 8 feet and was declared the winner. 

Next we were treated to a play focused on a reenactment of the sale of Alaska from the Russians to the United States. I am sure that other than the consumption of a lot of vodka and that the sale was actually transacted very little else in the play was anywhere near accurate. We laughed our heads off as the four actors attempted to teach us about the history of Alaska.

Now that we had seen the play it was time to test our knowledge of Alaskan facts and trivia. Turns out my one trip to Alaska was of little help. Divided into three teams the questions started to roll. Even with some good guessing our team managed to come last. Lol. Who knew that Alaska was sold for 2 cents/acre or the name for Alaskan boots? Apparently mukluks isn't  right. The prize for the winning team was of course bragging rights, which we definitely heard.

For some members of the team is was time to head off to their individual homes, for others it was time to dance and party. We stayed for a short time and then called our taxi driver to take us down to Kibiriz House. It was a fun night with tonnes of laughs. Just not sure I am ready to dance and drink all night anymore. Plus we were spared the terrible hangovers some of the others sported the next morning.

One of the expats rents a gorgeous house at Lake Kivu, Kibuye, Rwanda and graciously offered to let us use it for the weekend. Having been to Comoran Lodge which is right next door on Wednesday afternoon I knew the location was beautiful and would provide a relaxing atmosphere for Randy to rest.

With the generous offer from our friends we offered to look after their dog for the weekend. Buster turned out to be the best behaved dog ever, who stayed by our side and never barked the whole time.

Arriving at the house we were totally impressed. The yard and lake were absolutely breathtaking and the house was almost exactly what we would like in our dream home. The livingroom and master bedroom are on the main floor looking out over the property and lake. The second floor is an open loft looking over the living room and out over the lake. Simple, cozy and comfortable. 

The back of the house features a huge deck with an amazing, open turret fireplace on the side.

We spent the afternoon walking down to the lake, exploring the property and relaxing on the deck. At least until the thunderstorm started. As the rains started to pour down and the thunder cracked through the sky, we headed indoors with Buster cowering under our feet afraid of the thunder.

After a filling dinner of spaghetti, we couldn't think of anything better than to sit on the deck with a nice fire to warm our souls. But where would we find wood? Then Randy found the owners instructions indicating if we went up to the gate of the compound and ask the attendant (for a few francs),

someone would come light a fire for us. So with flashlight in hand I wandered up the path looking for the attendant. Remembering that everyone in Rwanda speaks French and mine isn't that great Randy suggested I take a pack of matches with me. It turned out to be a good idea. After a bit of sign language and an attempt at saying "feu, si vous plat" I lite a match and literally the light went on for all of us. Three young men said "oui" and raced off to get wood.  A few minutes later they were back with several long logs, a box of matches and a machete. Back at our house one young man climbed into the fireplace, a second chopped the wood and the third "supervised".  Before long they had a roaring fire going, we would enjoy for the rest of the evening. We probably overpaid but the whole experience and evening by the fire was more than worth it.

Next Stop Rwanda

One of the last things my dear friend Raid said to me before leaving for Africa was "travel safe and don't go to Rwanda". So when Randy said we were going to Rwanda for two weeks, I felt that internal fear rise up inside me. However, Randy had already been there once before and assured me the country was now one of the safest countries in Africa. OK, but my guard was still up.

Arriving at Kigali airport, the customs process was very straight forward and the agents actually "welcomed" us to Rwanda. The airport has been recently upgraded and the architecture quite impressive. As the city unfolded before our eyes I was totally impressed. Clean beyond your imagination, not a scrap of paper, garbage or debris could be found on the roads and the countryside.

First a quick stop at the One Acre Fund (Tubura) guest house in Kigali to pick up an interview candidate that needed a ride to the Country Directors home. A quaint home with a great view overlooking the valley and city of Kigali. 

The trip from Kigali to Rubengera was about a 3 hour drive through gorgeous countryside. We quickly understood why Rwanda is known as the "Land of a Thousand Hills", as we drove through the twists and turns of the curvy mountain roads. Looking out across the valleys the hills are tiered to prevent crop and soil erosion creating a truly artistic view of the landscape.  

Today was Sunday and the side of the road was filled with Rwandans walking to and from the small towns along the way. I of course made the assumption that they were heading to or from church. At one point our driver stopped to let us take pictures. We were immediately meet by several young boys eager to tell us the history of the area and valley. The boys ranged from about 8 to 14 years of age. One of the older boys proceeded to tell me the legend of the valley while a younger boy recited the same rendition to Randy. It was as if the younger boy was following the lead of his older friend to help learn and memorize the presentation.  After finishing the story the boys broke into song, with one young fellow playing a hand made musical instrument. Although I knew they were performing in hope of receiving  a tip, the whole experience made my heart sing, even if I had no idea what they were telling us.  Something about big rocks is all I got out of the translation. Of course we happily gave the group a reward for their efforts. I only hope the entire group was able to share the cash we handed to the oldest boy (?). For the rest of the trip we simply sat back and enjoyed the scenery.

Once we arrived at Ruebengera, there seemed to be a bit of confusion on where the driver should take us. The main compound, the office, or the Kibirii House (which would be where we sleep each night). So first we dropped our bags off at the Kibirii House and then headed over to the main compound. 

Getting to the Kibirii House is an adventure in itself. Let me try and explain. You turn into town off the main highway and follow a dirt road, crossing over wooden bridges until you come to a fork in the road past the blue gate. Then you turn right and follow the road until you find an open field on the left side of the road. At the open field which looks like a farmers field with a set of tire tracks running across it you follow the tracks until you see the tracks turn right.  Continue following the tracks past a few adobe huts and then after a few hundred yards you come to a cement house with a bamboo fence around it. Stopping at the gate the guard welcomed us to Kibirii House. The house is fairly new, with all the basic amenities of home and a maid that comes in twice a week. We were impressed and knew we would be comfortable during our stay in Ruebengera. We are a 25 minute walk to the main compound although a taxi is available at 7:30am each morning to drive us if we choose. So far we have walked 3 mornings and driven 2. We do take the cab home every night. I am still not sure about walking home in total darkness and there are no street lights.

In Rwanda there are 21 expats working for the organization. Lunch is provided each day by the kitchen staff and every night different members of the team prepare dinner for the entire group. While I don't believe it is actually deemed as a competition it definitely appears that everyone takes a lot of pride in producing a well balanced delicious meal. Lots of home grown vegetables, salads, meat and cakes made from scratch almost every evening. One night they were slicing a smoked ham hock imported from Spain as an appetizer. It currently is hanging over the kitchen table and individuals can be found slicing off a small piece for breakfast, lunch or snack.  

Monday afternoon we decided to go for a short run. The first half was quite easy as we ran along the trails going downhill. A kilometre in a young man joined in and ran with us until we hit the entrance to his home at which point he said " my home, good bye". Then we started to attract a following of children. Even though it was late afternoon, they all said "good morning, how are you, I am fine" and laughed and giggled as we tried to communicate with them. In Rwanda they speak Kinyarwanda or French, followed by a few words of English. The children thought we were quite entertaining as they ran in front,  beside and behind us. Coming back the children stayed with us until we reached the place they first joined us. Probably at the entrances to their adobe homes. Now we were going uphill and my paced slowed down considerably, often to a walk. I am sure the Rwandans we had past on the way down were laughing at me as I huffed and buffed my way back up to the compound. One great thing about not knowing the language is you can pretending everyone is laughing with you and not at you.