Well, the number of plastic bags was not quite nil, but I had mine confiscated at the border. Rwanda, "The Land of 1000 Hills" does not allow the carvellas - cheap, ubiquitous, plastic bags, which are a scourge in Kampala- past its borders. This is part of an environmental effort that has paid obvious dividends, especially to the visitor from the comparitively polluted Kampala. Rwanda has rebuilt itself since the genocide, and is a much different city than Kampala. Apart from the prohibition on plastic bags (everyone uses paper for groceries), Rwanda is characterized by significantly more order than its Ugandan counterpart. The boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) are regulated, and have helmets for both passenger and driver. The streets are clean of plastic bags and bottles and excessive amounts of people. The people speak French, as well as local dialects.
Our time in Kigali was brief but memorable. We left Kampala on Monday morning, arriving in the early evening in Rwanda. The next morning, after meeting a fellow traveller from Vancouver (of course), we all went to the Kigali Memorial Centre (genocide presentation/memorial) It was a world-class facility telling a very disturbing tale. Pf note, the last module of the exhibit was that of "Lost Futures"- a feature on the children victims of the genocide. It was built from family records, and included a large photograph of a selected child, and information such as age, name, favourite food, best friend, last words, and cause of death. The ages ranged from 15 months to 17 years, and causes of death included the following: smashed against wall, burned to death in church, hacked with machete in mother's arms, stabbed in face and eyes, and shot. The Memorial grounds were built around several mass graves. There was a room dedicated to artifacts recovered from victims, and included identity cards (which helped fuel the injustice), cheap plastic crosses, car keys, and, most eerily, a tourist t-shirt from Ottawa. To top off the day, we had lunch at the Hotel Des Milles Collines (Hotel of a Thousand Hills), which is and was "Hotel Rwanda". Today, it is a luxury establishment, with absolutely no reference to its history as a safe haven for Tutsi people fleeing the genocide. The reader can imagine the strange feeling of drinking beer and eating sandwiches by the pool, all the while knowing the context. I am not sufficiently educated on the conflict to speak with authority, but would encourage people to learn about it. In particular, Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian in charge of the UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda) has written a book titled "Shake Hands with the Devil".
The name 1000 hills is deserved. On our way into Kigali, we passed vast, monotonous, flat fields of tea, occasionally punctuated by large sloping hills which seemed to rise out of nowhere. The countryside is lush and appears full of vitality.
I am writing this post from Byoona Amagara island, on Lake Bunyonyi (a volcanic lake in western Uganda). We left Kigali this morning, and arrived in Kabale, Uganda shortly after. Chelsea and I hiked for roughly two hours through mountain trails to get to this idyllic lake. We passed traditional farms, a school in the middle of nowhere, mountain goats; yet managed to find a bakery for our regular starch/fat infusion. Not to fear, as the sweat rolls (with peanut butter) were worked off during our one hour dugout canoe paddle to the island. Here, we have met two German ladies and one guy from Colorado. It is raining now, and we're all on the patio enjoying after dinner refreshments. We'll be sleeping (well) in a Geodome- a type of sheltered, open walled structure on the lake shore. In short, the place is magical. To top it off, it dedicated 100% of its profits to sustainable community development in the local area.
The pictures are as follows: gardens at the genocide memorial (to the immediate right are rows of mass graves), me outside "Hotel Rwanda", and a young girl on the mountain trail leading to Lake Bunyonyi. Please forgive the orientation of the pictures, but it is too late to change it, and it took 40 minutes to upload them!
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