Mon 6th. A comfortable sleep in my cheap room. I got up relatively early, and as no hot water was forthcoming, I had a cold shower. I went to Miganos for tea and use of WiFi, then to the bus park. I presumably had just missed a bus and thought I would have to wait 45 mins for the next one. However, someone from the same bus company said there was one waiting and I could go in that one. As it was almost empty I climbed onto seat no. 2 at the front even though my ticket said no. 37. !!
I had learned from 2 days earlier…first come, first served..!! We left just gone 9:30 and arrived in Gisenyi an hour and a half later. Good steady trip with some nice hill scenery. And it was the right time to move on as there was a lot of cloud and the volcanoes weren’t visible from Musanze anyway.
I got off at the stand and meandered my way down to the lake/water front, stopping off at guest houses and hotels along the way checking out prices. I walked along a big main road then along the beach for a bit. Eventually I saw a sign saying ‘ Tourist office’ and ended up getting lots of useful information from Pacific, incl helping me decide that my next stop around the Lake would be Kibuye…sounded interesting.
There was a Miganos just up the road so I stopped off for a Tea. In the time I was there, there was a torrential downpour. After the rain stopped I walked up the hill and checked into Happy Home where I had called into earlier. Nice enough room with a little balcony, looking towards the lake and across to DRC. 20,000Rwf incl breakfast.
It was already mid afternoon. After a shower I wandered around the vicinity of the lodging. I thought it about time I experienced the Murtig beer. It also comes in large bottles and about the same price as Primus. Pretty good, more hoppy. I treated myself to a buffet dinner for 2,500 ..about £1.70…because I realised I hadn’t been eating well.
Interesting to see the locals enjoying themselves. An older guy came in banging a stick and rattling bells, for his supper. He did okay…getting some drink and a little food. But when he looked at me and said..’Money’..hmmm… he got the message from my tone of voice !! Then back to my room.
Tues 7th. My breakfast involved omelette, bread rolls, bananas and tea…all very tasty. In fact it was to be the same every day. One floor up from my room is a large hall with a small kitchen; I think anything more than an omelette has to be preordered.
Then it was time to explore. I walked to the main road and down to the lake shore. Basically at the bottom I turned left instead of right. The frontage is nicely laid out with restaurants. First Tam Tam, then Saga Bay where I sat in the sun for a bit as I hadn’t seen much sun for a week. I checked out a guest house called Beach Garden…very cosy and with a lovely garden…but 40,000 for a single compared to my 20,000. The last spot was Lake View, right by the water, where I had a very nice cappuccino. And it was nice to relax in my shorts and be able to take my shirt off.
After an hour or so, it was back up the hill, and I found a place to eat a couple of samosas. There were lots of bars to choose from, but I settled on one on the high street with an open upstairs deck from where you could people watch. I was there until dark, then popped into the closest bar to my lodging for a nightcap.
Wed 8th. After breakfast I sat on my balcony for about half an hour. By the way. I’m almost getting used to the cold showers!!! By yesterday I was getting to know my way about and was feeling very relaxed. I walked down to Lake View again for a cappuccino. But this time I actually had a swim in the lake. I didn’t duck my head in the water as the water looked a bit dirty…there were a couple of little streams nearby that emptied into the lake. But the exciting thing is that I’ve managed to swim in another Rift Valley Great Lake. Lake Kivu is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift…that’s good enough for me. !!! There were people taking lots of photos around the place, and it turned out it was publicity related as Lake View only opened in July.
I decided to venture in the opposite direction, calling in at the tourist information to thank Pacific for his help 2 days earlier. By then you are at a wider beach area flanked by very carefully maintained gardens. Lots of trees and bushes made for a pleasant walk.
I got back onto a larger road with Colibri Taverne as my destination. I passed a sign saying…DRC 1.3kms ; I knew it wasn’t far, but at the same time didn’t realise the DRC was that close. Some beautiful private gardens around there. Colibri was too expensive so I just followed the road to the Bus stand which is then not far from my lodging .
I took it easy. Had my quota of 2 soggy samosas. Showered, changed into my jeans and went to the same bar with the upstairs deck. I hadn’t looked downstairs, but even that was nice and spacious. I bought a chapati for 500 and ate it sitting by the side of the road. I was only a few metres from my local bar; had one beer then went back to my room. I did a bit of preparation for the next leg of my Rwanda journey…to Kibuye.
I had really enjoyed Gisenyi. I liked the relative proximity of the waterfront to the town. Unlike the Kigoma waterfront which seemed to be a long way from the town and a bit more tedious going to and from.