We have our own wheels now, so getting around town has become much easier and weekend road trips outside of Kigali are now on our agenda. Whoopee! Buying a car was not an easy process, but with a little help from our fellow Fulbrighters Liam and Kathryn; Eric, the car broker; and Gilbert, the car owner's brother, the paperwork was completed and we are the proud owners of a 2002 RAV4.
Some things we learned about buying a car in Rwanda:
Network, network, network. Ask around. Ask people who have bought cars or people who know people who have bought cars. Talk to car brokers. We searched online at Rwanda CarMart, Carmundi Jumia Car, and the Living in Kigali Buy, Sell, Trade forum and eventually found a car through the Rwanda CarMart.
Research a good mechanic in town and have him check the car out before making any decisions. Carey, an expat Canadian and long-time resident of Kigali, came highly recommended, inspected the car before purchase, noted problems (a few basic ones), and charged little. We have since returned to his garage for maintenance servicing.
Consider buying a manual over an automatic in this country of a thousand hills. Transmissions can go fast.
Insist that all taxes be paid, and that insurance and the Control Technique inspection form be renewed before purchase.
Ask a local resident or a broker to assist in obtaining the tax information number (TIN) and completing the paperwork.
Carefully check on payment options for a car which will cost millions of Rwandan francs. Carrying around a suitcase of cash - RWF 5000 is the largest note - or going to an ATM to withdraw millions of francs is not advisable, safe or practical.
Bank wire transfers can get a tad hairy between the United States and Rwanda. We used this option but it required three telephone calls to/from Pennsylvania, a week from beginning to end with disruption due to Hurricane Matthew and the havoc it wreaked on the East Coast.
Carey, the mechanic, provides the labor; car owners provide the parts required for servicing. This is a fine relationship, keeping servicing costs low, but it requires knowledge of reputable car parts dealers. Carey pointed us in the right direction - a shop about a kilometer from our apartment - and now we know where to shop for parts.
Realize that if you maintain your vehicle well over your time in the country, you can sell it for just about what you paid for it (or so people tell us). Used cars retain their value much longer here than in the States.
​Off to Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu is a big, big, BIG freshwater lake in the western part of the country. It is one of the African Great Lakes and creates much of the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The lake bed sits on the Albertine Rift that causes lots of seismic and volcanic activity in the area. Because Lake Kivu contains large concentrations of methane gas and carbon dioxide, it has few fish species - mostly minnows (called isambaza) and small catfish. Nile tilapia is fish-farmed in some areas of the lake.
We had a choice of three major tourist areas to visit on Lake Kivu: Gisenyi (in the north), Kibuye (in the central region), and Cyangugu (in the south). Our fellow Fullbrighter, Ashley Weselak, who was going on the weekend excursion with us suggested Kibuye and even had a good recommendation for a reasonable place to stay for the two nights.
We left around 11:00 a.m. on a Friday and had arranged with Ashley who lives in Huye, south of Kigale, to meet us at the bus station in Gitarama, which was halfway to our destination. Once we left Kigali, Route 1 took us up peaks and down valleys - a surprise around every corner in this country of unending hills. The views were breathtaking - terraced hillsides, tea plantations, banana orchards, rural village scenes of people walking along the highway and dirt roads in their colorful kitenge garb, and uniformed children on their way to or from school . Leaving Route 1 in Gitarama, we traveled on Route 7 stopping at a waterfall before arriving at our hotel in Kibuye, the Home St. Jean, around 3 p.m.
The best double rooms with views had already been reserved, so we chose a single (with a large twin-sized bed - sorta comfortable!?!) on the second floor with a breathtaking view of Lake Kivu. We chilled at the hotel, had lunch, took a short tour of the area and went into town to find an ATM. After a delicious dinner of fish brochettes and chips (a growing favorite!), we hit the sack early in anticipation of a full day of sightseeing the following morning.
Some observations on our way to Lake Kivu:
Fifty shades of green is an understatement of the Rwanda countryside. The start of the October rainy season magically turns any brown in the landscape into a verdant paradise.
Bicycle taxis are more prevalent outside of Kigali and many travel down steep winding hills at death-defying speeds...with passengers on board or loaded with cargoes of any/everything from large canisters of water to heavy bags of coal. We followed breathlessly as one bicycle taxi with passenger barreled down a hill at 80 km per hour and tried to pass a loaded bus!!! We cringed in horror at such a foolish, death-defying feat!
Children in the rural areas are curious but more reticent to speak to foreigners than the city children are. We muzungus are not common off the beaten tracks, it seems.
Boat Tour With Olivier
We certainly lucked out by booking our Lake Kivu boat tour with Olivier, an extremely charismatic and industrious 23-year-old Rwandan guide who has been in the boat touring business since he was twelve. Toward the end of our tour, he told his story of losing his entire family during the 1994 genocide and being taken in and raised by Catholic clergy. He completed his secondary school education in Kibuye and had a fairly good grasp of English.
Our half-day tour included stops at two islands: Napoleon Island (shaped like the general's bicorn and home to a colony of fruit bats, also referred to as megabats) and Amahoro Island (Peace Island). We left the boat landing in front of the Golf Eden Rock Hotel shortly after 10 a.m. in an eight-seated wooden kayak with a roof made of old plastic awning and a old, small engine. The water was glass smooth as we passed small islands on our way to Napoleon Island. We briefly pulled into Istari Island (Star Island) to feed a very hungry vervet monkey who pounced on the boat and voraciously scarfed down three bananas in a matter of minutes . Olivier told us that guava and other fruits were found on the island, but they were out of season (which explained why the monkey attacked the sweet bananas). We also passed by islets with kingfishers (photo by Ashley Weselek) and cormorants resting, eating and sunning on branches.
Before arriving at Napoleon Island, Olivier directed our attention to two other small islands: Iwawa Island and Gari Island. Iwawa (click on the link for a short video news report about the island) is officially a rehabilitation center for young male drug addicts to recover and learn skills such as carpentry. Olivier told us that during the times when Rwanda was a Kingdom, girls who had sexual relations outside of marriage were brought to Gari Island and chained there. Men from the Congo would sometimes come and take them to inhabited Idjwi Island. A similar Rwandan island - Kabakobwa - is in the southern part of the lake.
About 45 minutes into our leisurely and informative ride on Lake Kivu, we reached Napoleon Island, an island with a dark history going back to the 1994 genocide. About 80 Tutsis from the Kibuye area fled here from their killers. They were pursued, murdered and the island was set ablaze. Today the island is inhabited mostly by fruit bats and cattle.
Midway up the island's hill and passing through thick woods, the bats sensed our presence and began emitting high-pitched squeaking sounds. These sounds coupled with the sounds of their wings flapping as they moved from tree to tree and flying all about us were at times deafening. A few swooped down close to us; many clustered in the trees above us hanging upside down. Others became startled and flew away darkening the blue skies. (Photos here by Ashley Weselek.)
As we trekked up the rocky hill to the summit, the noise of the bats quieted and we heard the songs of fishermen in the distance singing in their local dialect, and as Olivier explained, encouraging one another to keep rowing.
The descent from the summit was a lot easier and faster. In fact, Olivier told us that we would take the way down for "old people." We did not complain!
Next on the tour was a short visit to Amahoro Island (Peace Island) on the way back to shore. There is a sandy beach for swimming there, and although a dip in Lake Kivu can be refreshing, there is a possibility of contracting the waterborne disease, schistosomiosis. We passed on the swimming and took a 15-minute walk around the island admiring the flora and fauna.
Some observations of our Lake Kivu excursion:
It is better to make reservations ahead of time to guarantee rooms with a view.
There may be another name for a town you are visiting. For example, Kibuye is also called Karongi. Butare's new name is Huye. Gisenyi is also called Rubavu. Gitarama is often referred to as Muhanga. This gets tricky when navigating from town to town if one is not informed of the new name.
Always carry around a small pad and write down words, phrases, and facts your guide may tell you on your tour. For example, the guide told us to try Lake Kivu's sambaza, a local fish delicacy described as "small silver fish," "small fish that look like sardines but are not sardines," and "small fish that are abundant in Lake Kivu."
Visits to Genocide Memorials in Kibuye Area
On Sunday morning we checked out of the Home St. Jean and headed next door to the Iglesia St. Pierre. This beautiful church with its colorful mosaics and beautiful stained glass windows is located on a promontory overlooking Lake Kivu, about 200 meters from our hotel. Unfortunately, many churches, like this one, were scenes of the 1994 genocide. In less than three hours, over 11,000 Tutsis who had fled to the church seeking refuge from their killers, were murdered. (Photo - http://china2rwanda.blogspot.com/2011/04/genocide-memorial-church-in-kibuye.html)
On this morning of our visit, men, women, and children in their Sunday best were streaming into the church. We stood outside (not in our Sunday best) reflecting for a few moments on this dark time in Rwandan history. The rock memorial outside displaying a few of the remains of victims of the genocide contrasted sharply with the beauty and tranquility of the scene inside the church.
About a two-hour drive south of Kibuye is the small village of Bisesero. It, too, is the site of another genocide memorial called "The Hill of Resistance," so called because of the heroic resistance of the people in the area. The last six kilometers of the rutted and rocky road tested our RAV4's suspension and maneuverability. (Photo - https://www.dove.rw/gutereranwa-nabafaransa-byatumye-abacu-bashira-abanyabisesero/)
The memorial consists of nine buildings which symbolize the nine communes that make up the province of Kibuye. Four of these buildings contained rooms filled with skulls and bones. After going through two of these buildings, we were emotionally drained and decided to simply pass through the remaining two buildings. Our guide Mathias not only recounted the story of this resistance, but he gave us a detailed explanation of the architect's vision. We climbed to the top of the hill and paid our respects at the tombs of the leaders of the resistance and the 50,000 followers who lost their lives fighting the Interahamwe, the Hutu-led civilian death squads.
We were told by Mathias that there are over 24 of these memorials in the Kibuye area alone. As sad as this experience was for us, this memorial serves as a tribute to the heroism of the people of the resistance and a reminder of the need for peace and reconciliation so that these kinds of atrocities never occur again.
As Bisesero was the farthest destination on this our first road trip, we started our trip home in the early afternoon, dropped off Ashley in Gitarama, briefly visited Christine, a Fulbright English Teaching Fellow there, and headed back to Kigali. We arrived just as the skies were darkening and our tank of emotional and physical energies was nearly depleted. Time to recharge!!
The following video is ten minutes long and briefly captures the highlights of our road trip. You will undoubtedly note the sound track as it includes three versions of the ever popular African song, Malaika (Angel). The song was composed in 1945 in Swalihi by a Tanzanian, Adam Salim, and first performed in 1960 by Fadhili William and the Jambo Boys. It has since spread across Africa and the globe. The first version included here, which brought it an international following in 1974, is by the South African - Mama Africa and the Empress of African Song - Miriam Makeba. The second is the current very popular recording playing on various stations here in Kigali and performed by Yvan Buravan. The last is the 1981 version by Boney M and still a favorite everywhere. So, what is the song about, you may be wondering? Click on the Miriam Makeba link above to read a bit about Miriam's life, listen to her perform the song and read its lyrics. We hope you enjoy the soundtracks...and, of course, the video of our first road trip!
Recommended Reading
This is an enjoyable read all about Angel (coincidentally, Maliaka, in Swahili!), her home cake-baking enterprise, and her sage advice to all around her.
Some of the quotes which we have highlighted include:
"Ultimately they had concluded that the desire to make the world a better place was not something that belonged in a person's pocket. No, it belonged in a person's heart."
"I'm telling you, Angel: not all who have claws are lions."
"I know you prefer coffee, but really, when someone is upset it is only tea that can help. When someone is unhappy, tea is like a mother's embrace."
Do you have a memorable road trip you would like to share with us? Why was the experience unforgettable? Suggestions to offer about any information in this post? Please comment and click here to contact us directly and/or receive future posts.