After an epic journey from Kigoma, Tanzania, to say I was happy to be in Kigali, would be a vast understatement. I woke up to a fresh pot of filtered coffee and free breakfast (I actually had no idea how much I was paying for the hostel, let alone that it had free breakfast) of eggs, bread and avocado (!) and felt much better. Turns out the hostel I had chosen also had a bowling alley (the only one in Rwanda apparently), volleyball court and was the hangout for many locals and expats alike. The advantage of this was all the moto drivers knew where it was, the disadvantage being it was quite loud. Good thing for earplugs!

Kigali is a bit of an anomaly in East Africa. It’s clean, green, safe, modern and even has sidewalks to walk on. Amazing. I was very happy to stretch my legs on the many hills after days on the bus. It’s also easy to get around by moto taxi, as prices are set and range from $1-$2 anywhere in the city. Really, the only problem is there isn’t much to do in the city, except visit the fantastic genocide memorial museum. It’s very well done, although one can’t help but feel like the money poured into it and the city in general by the international community is a bit due to guilt from the extreme failure to take any action during the genocide itself. Regardless, it’s highly recommended and provides really good context for the conditions that led to the genocide (thanks colonialism), the systemic atrocities, and the human aftermath including to present day. 

Other than the museum, I stocked up on organic peanut butter and indulged in smoothies, burritos and coffee, taking advantage of the expat community influencing local businesses in the city. After a couple of days, I was ready to get back to camping and swimming, so took a bus to Kibuye, on Lake Kivu. It was a beautiful journey as the well-paved road climbed rolling hills and I spotted tea plantations and lake views out the window.

When I arrived at my campsite, there was one other guest staying there, Kirsten from Germany. She was pretty excited to have some company, as it had been very quiet the night before. Turns out she was interested in hiking the Congo Nile Trail, a dirt road along Lake Kivu that could be hiked between villages, which I had recently made a plan to hike with Gary, an American I had met in Kigali. He was a day behind me, waiting for his clothes to dry, so Kersten and I spent the next two nights in Kibuye. Unfortunately, just after going for a swim, it started pouring and we sat freezing waiting for food and coffee to arrive to warm us up. With the rain stopping, we explored the peninsula of Kibuye and making plans for the trail.

The next morning we walked to the bus station and took a minibus to Gisenyi, on the north of Lake Kivu, where we were meeting Gary to start the trail the next morning. When we arrived at the hostel, Gary had found another girl, Hannah, who was joining us. The four of us set off to find a map at the tourism office on the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and to buy a blanket for Kersten who had a tent but no sleeping bag. We also found a very local bar serving warm beer and very tasty brochettes (shish kababs of some sort of meat) and potatoes.

The next morning the four of us started off on the Congo Nile Trail.