Gisenyi, Rwanda – June 7, 2011

Standing outside the Belvedere bus station in Kigali, surrounded by bags and impatient to depart the bustling city for our more pastoral destination alongside Lake Kivu, 90 minutes seemed too long to wait for our bus to arrive. As I began to negotiate prices for a car to take us three and a half hours away to the lakeside town of Gisenyi, a familiar face spotted mine through the crowd. Claude, a reliable and friendly driver, whom I had worked with in March, embraced me sincerely and offered his assistance. Despite the fact that he was scheduled to drive a busload of people across the country in a matter of minutes, he spent a good quarter of an hour negotiating the reimbursement of our bus tickets and arranging a very reasonably priced private taxi for us. His helpfulness felt like that of a real friend, an equal, rather than the false friendliness and awkward relationships I have often encountered here between service providers and service recipients. He was just one man trying to help his friend out.

The roads across Rwanda were windy and steep, but I slept through the first two hours, slowly recovering from the exhaustion of 3 weeks of trip leading. Before reaching the volcanic mountain region of Virunga, we stopped for tea at a friend’s house. Kitty, who I lived with in France, is now in her second year of Peace Corps in Rwanda. She lives in Gikenke, in a quaint home with courtyard and gardens and western style plumbing. Tea and cookies awaited our arrival and for awhile she told us about her experiences here and we marveled at her strength in living so removed from the western world, so isolated from her peers.

We drove on.

Near evening, we spotted the shores of Lake Kivu in the valley below us (although even the lake is at an altitude of 1000 meters.) In the distance, we could see the Congo, just a few kilometers away from Gisenyi. We took a twisting road lined with villagers down towards our bed and breakfast (the wonderful Paradis Malahide) and arrived with enough daylight to appreciate the beauty of our new home.
The Paradis is aptly named. We were greeted with warmth and quickly led to our individual bungalows. The round huts have thatched roofs and a view of the lake a few meters away. Our windows and doors open up to a breeze and the landscape is a magical blend of red, orange, yellow and purple flowers. Lantana, bougainvillea and a dozen other flowers I can’t name make a rich home for the even more stunning birds and lizards that also dwell in this Garden of Eden. Beyond the vibrant an colorful landscape, the gentle waves of Lake Kivu lap against the shores and lull us to sleep at night. In the mornings, we hear the distant laughs and voices of children mingling with the morning chatter of birds. I could stay a week – or a month.

The first night, we went a few doors down to the Restaurant Touristique. It was already late when we arrived and there was only one other table seated. We stepped up to the counter, expecting to be seated, and were handed a menu. We were asked to order before we were seated. Then, a waiter led us down some rickety steps to a deck beside the lake. There we were sat among the haphazardly scattered plastic lawn chairs that stood about. It took a few minutes for our table to arrive, but eventually the waiter brought us a table. A bit after that, he arrived with a tray bearing Ori’s beer and a box of wine. With difficulty, he poured wine from the awkward box into a small glass. I stood back to avoid the spray of the wine dripping from the spout and laughed at the uniqueness of the situation. My glass a bit as it only had half a base left, but it stood strong and the South African red wine – boxed or not – was quite good. We quickly toasted to the beauty of the place and the singular experiences such as these that make travel so worthwhile. Our good spirits remained as evening turned into night and the hour plus wait was worth every minute when we finally tasted the fresh grilled fish that had swum only hours earlier in Kivu.
Prepared just for us, we were served a spectacular dinner of fish, potatoes and grilled bananas. The food was hot and fresh, and while we couldn’t quite see our plates in the darkness, we used our hands to pick out the bones and eat around the head. Having eaten only vegetables, rice and fruit for the past 3 weeks, I enjoyed the treat of this freshly cooked delicacy.

We awoke earlier on Monday and sat at wooden tables overlooking the Lake. There is an island nearby and we enjoy our breakfast surrounded by flowers, birds and brightly colored lizards. The staff of the Paradis brings us a complete breakfast of fruit salad, omelets to order, toast, and sweet crepes for dessert. The coffee and tea are served in pottery and the plates are silverware are carved from wood. Throughout our breakfast, we listen to the sounds of hundreds of people bargaining at the market a bit further down the shore. The waiter tells us this is weekly market for the people of Gisenyi and Kiyuvo, a city about 6 hours south of here by roads.

After breakfast, we walk down to explore the market. Coal seems to be the main attraction at the market and is sold in huge sacks covered with leaves. Men and women carry the heavy sacks on their heads and make their way across the rocky shores without shoes. We see bananas being sold and dozens of pineapples being loaded off of wooden boats into the baskets that rest upon the heads of the women who line the shores. Many of the women have young babies tied snugly to their backs with fabric. We see a girl of eight or nine with a baby and another woman who could be a great-grandmother carrying both baby and basket upon her frail body.
A group of young boys do summersaults in black netting and play and giggle as the women next to them stick their arms deep into buckets full of slimy half-dead sardines. Further down the shore, we watch men unloading heavy loads of sand from the bowels of a rusty boat (ironically named “Titanic 2”). Barefoot as well, they balance their bodies on the swells of the lake and their heavy burdens on their heads as they walk a rickety plank towards the shore, the sweat visibly dripping down their backs. One of them has a big belt buckle with the face of President Kagame. We point it out and he smiles.

We are conspicuous, to say the least. Women, men and children all point t us and cry “muzungu.” They stare, unabashedly, they giggle and whisper about us in each other’s’ ears. I understand nothing but am curious. Some of them say, “Give me money,” but more say “good morning” despite the fact that it is already afternoon. AS I watch the men unloading sand from the ship, I sit down on a log beside two women. One has just finished breast feeding her baby. This baby, about four months old, is particularly adorable. She has a round face and puffy cheeks and as I smile at her and point, the two women eagerly pass me the baby. I touch her round soft head and smile into her sparking eyes. Ori and Zipa come close to take pictures and for a few blissful moments I am completely content.
… until I feel something warm on my lap, and Ori points at the trickle pouring between my legs. Diaperless, the baby has peed with joy as I cradled her and as her caretakers laugh hysterically, I gently hand the oblivious baby back to her mother. The warm wet stain on my pants doesn’t really bother me, but I waddle back to our hotel (a few blocks away.) A few of the villagers point at me and laugh – as if I had soiled myself – but I am glad for experience and mostly grateful that the baby only peed.

After a shower, we head into town. The hotel manager assures us we will have no problem finding a taxi on the road. After walking for awhile, the public bus stops to offer us a ride. We ask if they can take us directly to La Corniche, a restaurant that a friend has recommended. The driver assures us that – yes, he can take us directly there. 15 minutes later, we are deposited on a bus station above the center of town, on a dirt road. The drivers surround us, asking for money, but we are nowhere near La Corniche. One driver comes to our rescue with kindness (and good French.) While we aren’t given any direction about how to find the restaurant, we are allowed to leave without paying for the misguided busride. We wander the back streets of Gisenyi, tripping over rocks and sweating in the heat. After asking many locals, we finally find ourselves at the buffet. The Rwandan food is delicious – particularly a seasoned rice and red sauce that they serve. We receive freshly sliced avocado, savory cabbage and onions and fill our bellies beyond capacity.

Our attempts to negotiate a cab ride back to our hotel fail, so we set out on foot yet again. We find ourselves on the main road of Gisenyi, a wide boulevard that leads along the water to the border of the Congo and the adjacent town of Goma, just a kilometer away. The road is clean and in good condition and lined with tall palms and a sort of giant cactus tree that I have never seen. Between the road and the lake is a well-manicured park where residents play soccer and swim. Opposite the water are stately mansions, impressive villas We are told that at leats one – the most impressive we see – is owned by a Rwandan business man. The houses have gardens and buttresses and see befit for Malibu, or the Amalfi Coast.

Along the walk, where we run into a boy who wearing a graduation cap (he had just graduated high school and, smiling with pride, he told me in perfect French that he was headed to university in Uganda!) After 40 minutes or so, we come to the fancy Kivu Serena hotel and enjoy coffee and icecream beside their pool. The lobby is fancy and the décor could be that of a nice hotel anywhere in the world, but the service in slow and communication a challenge. We are grateful to be statying at a much more interesting auberge where the service is superb and the location nestled far from the center of town and a small inlet in the giant tht is Lake Kivu.

Today, we woke up later and enjoyed a slow morning beside the lake, reading, playing cards and swimming. Now, we await a meal of grilled fish and an evening of lazy meanderings in the city of Gisenyi.