Going to the Congo Border

Lake Kivu is beautiful and even though we could just get a little glimpse from our 

room it was still pretty in the early morning.  We decided we would walk to the Congo Border after breakfast....It was only about 1/4 of a mile away so we figured if we were 

this close, we should go.

The breakfast at the hotel was terrific.  We'd eaten and had lots of coffee and we
were ready to leave and the waiter came out with 5 individual fruit plates for us.
We were so full we could barely eat any of it.
But it was delicious: fresh pineapple, passion fruit, banana and papaya!

See how happy we are after that great breakfast?
We are ready to go on our hike.

As we take off we see the sign that we missed coming in the day before.

We soon realize that this is going to be a beautiful walk.

 Steppin' out!  Nelda was on the move with the
rest of the crew in front of us.

 It just gets prettier...

and prettier!

Have you ever admired a house from the street and wondered what it
might look like on the inside?
  This was one of those houses.  I don't know if it was a private
residence or a B&B but it was so quaint and inviting!

 Nearing the Border between Rwanda and Congo was this sign.
We thought it would be fun to have our pictures with this
sign... just so we will remember we were here.

Looking down the road toward the border patrol.  I didn't take pictures
as we neared the actual border but this is the road that the refugees come
down when they cross the border into Rwanda.

These sign boards are all over Rwanda...
Corruption is Strongly Discouraged, to say the least.
It is the basis of Rwanda's positive progress and advancement.
Keep it up, Rwanda!  

 A stop along the lake!  With us and...

 gorgeous --without us! 

                     

   

Beautiful birds, once again!

 Starting the walk back...

These boys were walking ahead of us and stopped and sort of waited
for us to catch up to them.  They introduced themselves and we discovered
that they are going to a Nazarene Boarding School for their
high school education.  Since Nelda's Dad was a Nazarene pastor
and she is still in the denomination, she had a great time talking
with them and asking them questions.  They were very nice
young men and they had visions for their futures; realizing that
their education and knowledge will lead them to a better life and
a more prosperous future. 

This little love was just sitting on the bank or shore of the lake.
His mommy was working and she would watch him
but this little one was totally content just to be there.
This is a common sight in the fields or anywhere there are
mommies and babies. 

 Bruce and the boys continued to walk and talk about
education and other topics!  

Have you seen any trash in any picture I've ever taken?
Rwanda is SO clean.... because of all the ladies that clean the streets and all public areas everyday!  And here they are doing exactly what I'm talking about...taking great care of Rwanda!!  Thank you, ladies! 

 The beach area a little further down the shore. 

Pretty gardens along the beach.

This was our last memory in Gisenyi...

These two guys were from the Congo and were in

Gisenyi for the day.  They were taking a photo class

and asked if they could take their pictures with us. 

I really think they wanted our pictures because they might 

be the only ones in class to have their pictures taken with a muzungu!!

I'm just saying!  They were a lot of fun. 

Nelda and I met everyone else back at the hotel after our

photo shoot!  hahaha!  

And then we took off for what turned out to be the 

biggest shake up of our lives!  

See you tomorrow! 

love,

margie