Day 2 in Akagera Park

For those of you who really know me... you know that seeing a sunrise isn't 

one of my usual things to aspire to.  BUT there are always exceptions.

This is what it looked like on Sun. morning.  

Should have been Resurrection Sunday!

It was so beautiful!!

Finally decided to go to breakfast... and when we opened our door.... down below us

on the ground level.. were about 25 baboons!   Here are a couple of the cute ones. 

We've learned since returning home that these little "sweet looking" creatures are anything but sweet.  Some have done some terribly vicious deeds... at the lodge.  But to us, they were just amazing to watch. 

This mom actually had twins but i didn't get a good picture of them together.
I was standing about 6 feet away from them when i took this...
but had i known what I now know I would not have gotten so close.

Mommies and babies were everywhere...One of the older
baboons looked like Barney.. with just 3 legs. 

THIS was the only "hotel" information in the room!  How funny is that?

After breakfast we did something that we have not done for many, many 

years... We went to the "sort of" clay tennis courts and played tennis. 

Wow, were we rusty!  And not just from the dust of the court either. 

We won't be in a tournament any time soon... but it was fun 

to try to see if we could still wield the racquets.  After about

an hour we could finally volley back and forth a few times. 

This is something we need to re-up in our "old" age! 

It is so much fun...but it probably wouldn't be 

nearly as much exercise if we had a ball boy! Ha!

Time to relax at the pool for about 1 1/2 hours after tennis.

Met Jennie, a lady from the US embassy.  She was great 

to talk to with and she encouraged us to get more involved with them. 

We hope to do that AND sign up for our absentee ballot for November, as well.

By this time Bruce had had a little too much sun...so he took a dive and then 

a girl in the pool said, "Hi, Bruce"!!!!  He was so shocked that someone knew him
instead of me.  I loved it!  Turns out she has applied and is 

accepted to be in CMU/Rwanda this fall. Fun to meet her and the 

friends she was with.  Very sharp girl and English speaker!

We decided to leave a little early to get home at a decent hour... so on the way home,
Bruce stopped at the park entrance to get some drinks and picked up a rider-- Charles..
a guide at the park since 2000.  He needed a ride back to Kigali--2 1/2 hours.
I wasn't too excited about that at first... but then quickly changed my mind.
He knew exactly where to take us to see some beautiful animals.
These zebras were the first sighting!   

They just meandered ahead of us in the car.

 Don't think I've ever been this close to a zebra and the statues they carve here look
just like this one.

 And then on Bruce's side of the car.. this "little" guy
just stood as we drove closer and closer.... Bruce shot this
from the car window.. No zoom even.

 I had been trying to get a picture of their eyelashes!  This picture caught it.
Imagine what they'd look like if they used mascara???

Charles told us that this giraffe is due to deliver a baby any time.
She is over 20 years old and they don't know if she will make it through
the delivery.  She was so beautiful.  I think he called this a reticulated giraffe. 
On second thought i think not.. I think the lighter ones ( like the ones below) are reticulated but i don't know. 

Did you know that giraffe only sleep a few minutes each day and eat about 140 lbs of food a day? If they lay down to sleep they twist their necks around and rest them on their back laurels!  Imagine that? 

OK... this is with a zoom... We weren't this close but we were only about 12 feet from this little guy.  We were in the car and he just turned to see us drive by so his world could get back to normal.  After seeing him, we left the park to start the
"detour" route home.  Fortunately, Charles knew a better route than the one we had come on so it didn't take nearly as long to get back.  

 There were some scenic places on the return drive, though!

Just out for a Sunday Stroll.

 Mud bricks drying so someone's house could be built or repaired.

 Kids all along the route would come running to the car or just way from afar.... yelling, "Muzungu".  We would wave from a distance, slap hands if we were close!
BIG SMILES all around!  See the little cow next to their house by the little girl in pink?  This is a typical sight in Rwanda.


When I started writing yesterday, I began by saying that
we didn't have very high expectations since so many people had told us that the South part of the Park had very few animals.
Expectations?  Well, i guess if they are low anything is great but
truly ours were met and even exceeded our hopes.

It was a great two days.

And another thing happened when we drove into town....
We never expected to see Street Signs here either but guess what?
While we were gone the poles went up!

This could mean that we might actually have an address here.

Still no mail delivery but it would make giving directions a whole lot easier.

This is the pole on our street!   Can you see it among the white columns?

So...things beyond our wildest imaginations and expectations are coming to pass...  

I WONDER WHAT WILL BE NEXT?  

Our Sunday ended with a visit to Sanythia and her family in Kagugu village.

She was home from boarding school because she had been sick.  It was great 

to see and be with her. 

AND after that we went to Geoffrey Rugege's Birthday party at Crystal's house.  

His dad was there too and he is 98 years old.  Still walking everyday and he gave a very

moving tribute to Geoffrey for his birthday and closed the party with a long prayer that we didn't understand, but we are now learning that this is the way birthdays are celebrated.  Several people speak on the birthday person's behalf and after the birthday "boy or girl" also gives praise and thanksgiving for things in his/her life... a prayer concludes the celebration.  

As Bruce said on the way home----"The Rwandans know how to do traditions right!" 

Giving praise to the one who gives life in the first place

does certainly seem to be the right thing to do! 

And we were pretty thankful for a great time with all of His creations, too!

love,

margie