Mon 2nd Dec
I woke up earlier than planned, but it meant my phones had plenty of time to get charged downstairs. My round 2 pin plug didn’t fit in any of the 3 sockets in my room.
I showered, packed, and went for breakfast which consisted of agatogo,omelette fruits and coffee. I declined the bread as it would make the breakfast too filling.
I said my goodbyes and went to the bus stand. Interesting thing about Rwanda is that place names can be confusing. When you buy a ticket for Kibuye, you actually pay to go to Karongi. To go to Gisenyi your ticket shows Rubavu as the destination. The map shows a town called Ruhengeri, but you actually buy a ticket to Musanze, which is Rwanda’s second largest city.
Reached bus stand before 9:00. Bought a Virunga ticket for the 9:30 bus. I was in the front seat. We began moving at 9:45 but didn’t really get going for another 10 minutes.
A journey of less than 3 hours. However, I found the driving a little scary, not just because of the hills and often sharp bends and cutting corners, but the driver was on his phone a lot. Beautiful scenery with huge rolling hills. We went from banana plantations to tea estates. The lake was just too far away and there seemed to be haze over the hills, to get decent pictures. Difficult anyway from a moving vehicle and the roads are very much tree lined.
I was pleased to reach Gisenyi, and as we approached it was great to recognise places and to know where I needed to go from the bus stand. Ashton htl looked a possibility, and Happy Home where I stayed last time wasn’t far away, but I decided to check out Havana Hotel.
We discussed prices and room options. The cheaper ones didn’t have a lake view.The nicer rooms started at around 30,000 but my limit was 25,000. Anyway, we saw rooms at 40 & 50,000..VIP. Eventually Maurice dropped the 40 to 30,000, but I insisted on 25,000, plus I would stay for 4 days and pay upfront. DEAL. !!! I got a really nice room on the 3rd floor, with my own balcony and lake view (the lake is a bit of a distance away though). So I got my 40,000 room for 25,000Rwf, having reduced from £24..to £18..to £15…per night.
I paid the 100,000 for 4 nights, changed into my shorts and walked down the hill towards the lake. I stopped at Migano’s for a masala chai. The lake shore was only a few minutes away. It’s a very well maintained area…some flowering trees/bushes and lots of different types of trees.
The slight irritation was being asked if I needed a boat; I didn’t go on a boat tour last time I was here and have no intention of doing so this time. But I did take photos of boats !!! I cut up to the main road, took a pic of a surfing statue and walked back up the hill. Bought a bottle of water for the room.
I showered , changed into jeans and long sleeved shirt and went to New Arena Pub, Bar and Resto. I knew it from last year, and it has a first floor open area. I bought 2 big virungas to take up. Again, having had the big Romantic breakfast, I decided I could survive without dinner.
I stopped off at Plan B pub which is almost directly opposite Havana. I got annoyed when I thought I was overcharged by about 200, which is 10 or 15 pence, for a large bottle of Mutzig !!! I’ll find out elsewhere what the going price is. There was zero lighting for the outside seating; something else that irritated me slightly…grumpy old man syndrome kicking in..!!
Back to my room. I caught right up with my blog…Dec 1st, Kibuye..brilliant.
Tues 3rd Dec
Very comfortable bed but I didn’t sleep too well. The problem…mosquitoes. I put my net around the bed but they still got in. I got up half a dozen times to locate them and try to kill them.
Also, I happened to look at my Bank app and there was a Microsoft pending charge for £27.70 which I don’t recognise, and that preyed on my mind. The one bit of good news was that my Prem bonds came up trumps to the tune of £125.
My breakfast was brought up to the room as had been agreed, and it was better than expected. A big plate of fruits, 3 pieces of bread, an omelette, and flasks of coffee and milk.
I spoke to Gabriella; I had spoken to Tor on Monday. My route to the beach was down the hill and then bearing left. On the approach to the lake shore the road is tree lined and interspersed with hotels and guest houses. Along the beach itself are bars/restaurants such as Tam Tam, Saga Bay and Lake View. I should’ve checked first the price of my masala chai at Lake View, because it cost a surprising 4,000, whereas at Migano it was 2,000. Anyway, it was nice and relaxing sitting at the water’s edge.
I took a slightly different route up the hill and back to Havana. I found that the hot water heater for the shower wasn’t working, and when I went out again, I left the room key at reception in the hope they could get it fixed.
I took a slightly different route to the New Arena Pub; I like the upstairs open area. On the way I stopped for a chapati; there was nothing to eat with it. I wasn’t going to risk a samosa; they were consistently disgusting the last time I was in Rwanda.
After one beer, one more chapati from across the road, one small bottle of gin…it was time to revisit Plan B pub. They annoyed me again by saying they didn’t have the change for my Mutzig purchase. I drank slowly and waited and waited. I was owed about 300 but they reluctantly gave 100 back. Only 20 pence involved, but it’s the principle..!!
My room is right across the road. My water heater hadn’t been fixed but Flora had tidied and cleaned the room beautifully. I mentioned the water problem to Jean Pierre and he came with me and worked some magic and fixed it. It seems that if the water is turned on downstairs, this activates the electricity to the heater…!!
I don’t know… As long as I could have a shower and go to bed. I made sure there were no gaps in the mosquito net.
Weds 4th Dec.
Not slept that well. Up until 4pm all fine, but can’t fall asleep again after that. The hot water seemed to be available after 8pm. Breakfast came about 08:15. Exactly the same..omelette, fruits, bread, coffee.
I had been communicating with Terry in Mauritius. After breakfast I walked passed Happy House, where I stayed last year, along side streets to the lake. I kept going to and along the lake shore and must have been only 100s of metres from the border with the DRC. I took one photo towards the Rwanda side of the lake, but none towards DRC in case there was some sort of surveillance going on !!
It was a lovely walk back towards town…smart houses, lots of trees, lots of flowers and manicured hedges. I was lining up a photo when a guy asked if I was in Gisenyi before and was I English. Then I started to recognise him from the Tourist office where we had a long conversation last year.
So, that was Felix, a good coincidence because I got my personal tour guide as we walked into town and towards Havana. I relaxed for a couple of hours, and my shirt was almost dry. I did my usual and changed into my jeans and put on a long sleeve shirt.
I only had about 20,000Rwf left, so I went in the direction of the banks. I saw an ATM but there wasn’t a machine in it. A smart kid had been watching me and said, there’s an ATM over there, pointing across the road. I’d been a bit suspicious of him, but I thanked him.
Then my evening routine kicked in….I went to the upstairs deck of New Arena Pub for 1 beer. Rwanda keeps you on your toes in a strange way. I asked for the price in Swahili…chupa moja ni franc ngapi..? I got the reply in French…mille cent sept.
From there to Plan B pub; it was the evening that the name was pointed out to me behind the bar in big letters…not my fault as the place is always dimly lit.
I immediately ordered 2 x Irish potatoes (at 400Rwf each) and they were served in 5 minutes. For once I was hungry. The chilli sauce that came with it was very hot. I just had one beer, so dinner was 2,600..about £1.50
It wasn’t late..about 8ish..but I was tired and went to my room for an early night.
Thurs 5th Dec.
A comfortable sleep. I’ve definitely figured out the hot water…turn water on at the tap, press a nob, turn on the temperature gauge. Easy when you know how !! Usual big breakfast; I struggle to eat all the fruit.
Following the conversation with Felix I decided to conquer Nengo hill. It took 30 minutes to walk out if town to the starting point. Then 30 minutes to climb to the summit; I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so steep. I was panting and puffing and stopped twice for 5 minutes , but my breathing was generally pretty good.
I was met by Kesia who launched into a promotional/informative talk about the site’s camping/rest room/shop/veg garden facilities. Unfortunately I wasn’t particularly interested as I just wanted to climb to the top, take pictures, and make the descent. I hope I wasn’t too rude; I’ve found out since that it’s a relatively new venture/programme they are promoting.
Anyway, I was shown the path down the other side of the hill and along the base of the hill to the starting point of the trail.
I walked back into town…all down hill. I hoped to see Felix but the tourist office was closed. Migano was nearby for a masala chai. I visited the lake shore park briefly, before walking back to Havana. I was fairly tired and went to my room.
When it was time to think of going out, it began to rain, so I didn’t get to New Arena until after 5pm.
I had one beer then went to Plan B for their their Irish potatoes. This time I had one goat meat skewer/mshikaki…or brochette as it’s called in Rwanda. Two beers and back to my room as I needed to get going fairly early in the morning to Musanze.
But a great Gisenyi visit. Nice to have done something different…the Nengo hill climb. Otherwise, with places looking so familiar, it was a relaxing visit. Quite cloudy, could’ve done with a bit more sunshine.