Rwanda is a small country. At 10,000 square miles it is the same size as the state of Maryland, so it’s fairly easy to get around – especially with Patrick our driver-guide and his forest green Toyota Landcruiser (green is Christi’s favorite color so she is already happy). Actually, I probably need to fill in a little of the back story as to why Christi and I are making such a fleeting visit to Rwanda. And despite what you may think from yesterday’s blog on the genocide, we actually came to Rwanda to visit the Mountain Gorillas. Tickets to visit these gentle giants are extremely limited and very expensive. Simply turning up in the height of the summer season and expecting to purchase a couple of tickets is highly unlikely, so Christi and I planned ahead. Of course planning ahead means committing to a date. I booked and paid for our trip with Bizidanny tours 6 months ago. And thank goodness for a little foresight, because I don’t think we could afford to visit the gorillas otherwise. Despite quite extensive research, it was still something of a gamble to use a local Kigali tour operator to organize our trip. Thankfully Patrick and Bizidanny tours are working out just fine.
Today Patrick winds his way through the Rwandan hills (Rwanda is known as the Land of a Thousand Hills) northwest from the capital towards Volcanoes National Park (VNP). VNP is the oldest national park in Africa. It borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. VNP is home to 5 of the 8 volcanoes of the Virunga Mountains and these volcanoes are covered with rainforest and bamboo. This unique environment is the perfect habitat for the few remaining Mountain Gorillas. Noted zoologist Dian Fossey studied gorillas in VNP until she her murder there in 1985. Dian Fossey wrote the semi-autobiographical book on which the critically acclaimed movie Gorillas in the Mist was based.
Much of the landscape on our way to Ruhengeri, the nearest town to the national park, is rugged peaks. Yet even under these difficult circumstances agricultural terraces are common. Almost as common in fact as the groups of young boys we meet. They all appear happy and excited to see us. I didn’t know I had that effect on people. It couldn’t be Christi and her blonde hair could it? We also complete a scenic loop of beautiful Lake Burera before finding our way to La Palme Hotel in Ruhengeri. It’s another tourist hotel, but in our present penurious state it seems magnificently luxurious to Christi and I. Although there is no guarantee we will find the Mountain Gorillas tomorrow, we go bed full of nervous excitement like children on Christmas Eve.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of love and test tubes.
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