The Congo-Nile Trial... Oh, I Mean Trail!

This was really our last picture before we left the Gorilla Hotel this morning 

Nelda and I were walking back to get our stuff and Amy just happened 

to be on the balcony taking pictures.  So... here we are. 

Today...we are heading to Kibuye.  It is a town also located on Lake

Kivu but south of Gisenyi about 40 kilometers.  

People had told Bruce that the road to Kibuye 

was now paved and wonderful so make sure you go there. So off we go! 

On our way out of town kids were heading to or from school.

So many kids.. I have about 4 pictures spanning about 1-2 kilometers
of kids heading to school or home for the day.  Only a couple here. 

These folks had huge sugar canes on their heads.

 At one point we took a wrong turn and as we were trying to find the right road to take
out of town we discovered this shop!  Not what you think though. 
In Rwanda... Saloons are where you get your hair done. 
Bars are where you go to get a drink!  
None-the-less the name of this shop is choice!  Don't you think?

After many turn arounds and asking folks for directions we took off on what
everyone was telling us was the Congo -Nile Trail!  But it certainly wasn't freshly paved.  Or even paved at all.  This little guy and his stick and metal rim were flying down this incredibly bumpy road surface. 

We stopped to take a picture ( 2 below) and these little ones came
running to talk to us.  Joy, joy, joy!!!   They, too had their sugar canes.
They all love chewing on them.

  For them they are giant candy sticks to chew and get juice from.

 This was the picture we stopped to take of Lake Kivu at the beginning of our trip..
 This route was to take us right along the shore all the way to Gisenyi. 
Hmmm?  
We didn't see the lake again for the rest of the trip!

These two little ones (just a bit bigger than babies) were off to gather water for their family or families.  It is about this time on our "trip" down this supposed beautifully
"paved road" that we realized someone had led us astray.

We weren't anywhere near the lake shore and 
THIS WAS THE BUMPIEST ROAD ANY OF US HAD, HAVE OR PROBABLY EVER WILL BE ON AGAIN! 
The car was shaking so badly that I had to hold on to the dashboard so that it and the radio wouldn't just fall off.
For 2 1/2 -3 hours we traveled like this...  My muscles were even stiff the next day from pushing so hard on the dash.....

The rocks that were "under" the clay-looking soil seemed to be sticking straight up instead of lying down.  We were all sure that we would have any where from 1-4 flat tires before we reached Kibuye.  Truly, it would have even been difficult to walk on.... let alone drive.  But we kept pressing on since it seemed we were going the right direction... but just not along the lake.  We were heading up into the mountains!!!!!
 Nelda and Kristi and Amy were in the back
and most of time we didn't even talk because we were being shaken so much....
We would have sounded like the Veggie Tale gang.....uhuuhuhuhuhuhu........ trying to speak.  We were laughing so hard sometimes because it was the only relief from thinking of what might happen if we had flat time our HERE.. in the middle of nowhere....The ride was indeed a trial... of our endurance.  I don't know how Bruce ever drove it without having a breakdown!
Oh... I forgot to tell you.  Nelda asked to see the map at one point along the way and
we were shaking so much that when I tried to hand it to her we couldn't even 
make the exchange.  It was just gyrating all over!  We laughed 'til we cried.

 BUT in the middle of this "road trial".... these scenes started appearing.
We didn't know what they were at first.

But as we drove, we were climbing higher and higher and the greenery just 
kept getting more and more beautiful!!   

But what were these massive hillsides covered with?
What was all this lush green stuff?

Hillside after hillside of what we are coming to believe must be fields of TEA! 

Yes, Huge Tea Plantations and lots of worker bagging all of the tea
they had gathered from the day.  

These trucks preparing to take the tea to market...
were the only other vehicles we saw on these roads.

There were still some homes along the way...
as there are all over the hillsides in Rwanda..
but they were all surrounded by tea plants(?), tea
bushes(?)... We didn't even know what to call them.
 Still don't, really.

Along the route there were also some strong warnings....
about employment and use of the land and water;
written in both English and Kinyarwanda.

We did not do either!

This was an indication of how old the plantation is.

Reminded me of the Great Wall of China...

We were all in awe of the beauty that  surrounded us...
as weeeeeeee jerrrrrrrked arooooooound in the caaaaaar. 

But what does Bruce spot as he is driving????
THIS:  A marker for a Fiber Optic Cable!
I don't know what the elevation is here but i do know there is no electricity
delivered to these parts yet...
BUT the entire country of Rwanda is wired for Fiber Optics!
Progress can be an unusual thing.  Seriously... think about this... no
running water or electricity... but wired for the future!  Astonishing.

These work stations were all along the route with lots of people working and
resting after working so hard!
So, I looked up what they do and how they process the tea and here is what i found.


http://www.excellent-tea.com/rwanda-tea.html

Very interesting if you would like to learn more. 

Just aimed the camera straight up out of the car window at one point
and captured these trees! There were groves of graceful, tall
trees along the way. 

 Coming down out of the mountains we still haven't seen any signs of
Lake Kivu.. but we did spot this river.. I don't know what the name is
but we've been told many times that the source of the Nile comes from
Rwanda.... Seems hard to believe.. but-----read for yourself. 


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activityandadventure/734885/Journey-to-the-source-of-the-Nile.html 

Standing right near the river was this Hadada Ibis,

at least according the bird book that is what it is. It seems to be a match.

He looked like he'd been in the river.... 

since the muddy clay seemed to be clinging to him. 

After almost 3 hours of shaking we discover pavement lying straight ahead.
Cheers go up!  We are nearing Kibuye!!!   

In fact, we can now see Lake Kivu again so we know
we are getting close! 

The circle drive around this little town was both scenic and somber. 

Many small islands dot the lake and Bruce wants to return and 
explore these some day....

This is the Genocide Memorial Church.  It sits atop a hill
looking over a beautiful view of Lake Kivu.... but 11,000 people were
killed in this church in the space of 3 hours.  This is a mass
grave in front of the church.

 The church remained "empty and scarred" as the guide book states,
but gradually it was redone and is now filled with worshippers
each week. 

The church was locked since we arrived late in the day,
but I was able to take these shots of the interior through the door windows 

This is the view right below the church.  So peaceful and tranquil.

Walking behind the church we find some poinsettia trees...

 and some a large cactus tree, too!

Hard to imagine such destruction of life could happen anywhere but certainly not in a church- in this totally tranquil location. 

 Heading on around the lake with all of its scenic views we happen onto this sign....
It is describing the methane gas that is trapped under Lake Kivu.  Currently,
there is a project underway to convert this gas to electrical power.  This could
bring terrific progress and opportunity for this entire community.

 Once again, seeing something I have no idea what it is... Yes, a boat, or boats, or connecting boats....homemade Catamaran?  Don't know.
Any ideas out there?  Looks like it might be challenging to get
from one boat to the other, though.  

Time to head home after being away for 3 days.  Just as we are driving out of town
this view jumps out at us!  Spectacular over the hills.

BUT the most spectacular thing was the road home.

I notice now that I am putting pictures on the blog that I never took a picture of those bumpy roads we drove on coming from Gisenyi to Kibuye......
God's unbelievable nature and scenery
overtook our being shaken up.  His creation and the plantations were far more
fabulous that trying to hold the car together...

But.... we did finally find the road that was paved to Kibuye.

It was the road home... the road from Kibuye to Kigali!

So after another 2 hours on a smooth but dark road (sun sets at 6pm here)  
we made our way back to Kigali.... 
The end of the trail! 

( The Congo -Nile Trail heads south from Kibuye
1 1/2 times further than we had already come).

But Kigali was our destination.... It had been a day of trials, tea plantations and
beautiful scenery.

One thing is for certain, though
.... none of us in our car will ever forget the Congo-Nile Trail!

love,
margie

Time for a Cup of Tea... Care to join me?


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADAM!!  DIDN'T DO A LOG ON YOUR
ACTUAL BIRTHDAY BUT HOPE ONE DAY LATE COUNTS!