Return trip to Rwanda Having been there in 2010 on a Group Health Medical CME tour. It was interesting to return and see the changes. Rwanda is a beautiful country with a temperate climate and friendly people. A former Group Health doctor , who adopted a Twa village and has been returning regularly, organized the trips. Since the last visit the village has been moved off the side of a hill where they lived in mud huts with leaky thatched roofs to more typical brick Rwandan housing and given land to farm and raise cattle. The kids are able to attend school and look much healthier. At the last visit they were malnourished and we were supplying peanut butter supplements. Now they look fed. The villagers create crafts and continue to perform their traditional dances.
Kigali was clean, safe, and easy to get around. There are very nice restaurants and we ate well. We spent one afternoon at the genocide museum. Considering this only happened in ’94 perhaps, not by choice, they have moved on. There seems to be the same process of dehumanizing a group and then organizing the killing for all genocides. Rwanda commemorates its genocide for 1 week each year in order to facilitate healing.
Pretty much everywhere we visited was farmed. A person we met from the African development bank told us that agriculture has been one of their successes.
This trip we went to see the gorillas and they were quite entertaining.
Protected from poachers, they see to lead a nice life eating plants and insects and climbing thru the forest. We met several nice people who are an example of the many that are involved in their preservation. We also visited Akagera National park. Highlights included a leopard in a tree, hippos, giraffes, and antelope. We stayed at the Ruzizi Lodge. The neat thing about sleeping in tents is you hear all the animals through the night. John Walton from Wal-Mart had helicoptered in and stayed 4 days prior. From there, we took a boat trip and saw hundred of birds that habitat the shores of Lake Ihema. I kept my limbs in the boat as they told us that a crocodile had recently killed a fisherman.
Banking is still primitive, as we had to bring new $100 to cash into Rwandan Franks. Only Visa cards are accepted at a few places. Internet was more available then last time and faster. Service is still a bit random. I had no hot water for 3 days in my hotel, but had the internet. Others had hot water but no internet. Since they are trying to improve their tourist economy improving service is a government priority. We got to meet the Rwandan bicycle team which was started by Jonathan Boyer. It is good for the country to have representation in the Olympics.
