Rwanda 1/11/11

This weekend we (Marit, Synnøve and I decided to go to the Nyungwe jungle with Kristi and Tim. I have to say that getting to the jungle and back was more adventurous than the jungle itself. We came up with a certain criteria for the bus rides to be acceptable-all from previous BAD experiences. Let me begin by explaining that the term “bus” is used loosely here. Most of the so-called “busses” are oversized vans with an extra row of seats bolted down to the floor with 4 people are smashed into each row. Also bear in mind that Africans have absolutely no sense of personal space, and have no problem laying on you, elbowing you, and placing their bags on your lap. Anyway, here is the list that should be closely observed if traveling on a bus in Africa.
1.Don’t sit by a speaker unless you want your eardrums blown out by Kinyarwanda gibberish.
2.Don’t sit above a tire
3.Don’t sit by a lady with raw flesh in a bucket.
4.Don’t sit by a girl who is going to school for the first time. SHE WILL THROW UP ON YOUR BACKPACK.
5.Don’t trust them to put your backpack in the trunk, chances are the trunk will fly open and your pack will go flying out on the road.
6.DO NOT be the unlucky 3rd person in the row who is half on the bench seat and half on the single seat because you will not be able to feel your arse for the next 3 days.
7.Push, shove, do anything you can to get a window seat, and try to keep the window open for as long as possible to keep yourself from getting asphyxiated by fellow riders, who have not yet discovered the wonders of deodorant.
8.Don’t sit behind a baby, because they all wear cloth diapers that tend to get very stinky.
One thing you must do is expect the most bizarre things to happen. For example we were in the middle of no where in the pitch black, and out of no where a motorcycle pulls up next to the bus, and the bus pulls to the side of the road and the rider of the bike hands a random woman on the bus a couple thousand franks. A few minutes later on the same deserted road we pull over once more, and hand a man on the side of the road a suitcase that had been on the bus the whole time.

Anyway, the jungle was absolutely amazing. We went on a canopy hike; the canopies were a little scary but breath taking. We learned that the forest has been around longer than any other, and if we were to dig below the trees there would be tons of dinosaur bones. Also it is one on the only forests that remained fertile during the ice age. That night we camped. (My favorite thing…) I cooked dinner since unfortunately I am expert at campfire cooking. The next morning the 2 girls and I decided to spend the next night in Kigali, so we packed up and asked when the next bus was. The man said not for a few hours, and most busses would be full that day. So we decided to take our chances hitchhike back to Kigali. We got really lucky and flagged down the second car that passed us. The two “sensible chaps” took us most of the way to Kigali. It was so good to see our friends there. We went to Hotel De Milles Collenies, or better known as Hotel Rwanda. We had lunch, and swam there, the whole time however I kept picturing scenes from the movie. That night we went to Shokola for a goodbye diner for Jemma, Brett, and Tony.
GREAT WEEKEND!