Fri 6th Dec. Musanze

I packed to be ready to leave immediately after breakfast. Breakfast arrived at 08:00 like they said. After 08:30, having said goodbye to Maurice, I walked the 10 mins to the bus stand. I straight away got into a Ritco big bus (as opposed to minibus), and paid my my 1,900Rwf (£1.15) and we were away.
Big hills, very cloudy…not spectacular scenery. At one bus stand there was a man pushing a deformed child in a wheelchair. I tried not to look but eventually I relented and opened my window and handed out 500Rwf. Very little really,  and its not something I would normally do, but the kid nearly had me in tears.

Less than 2 hours to Musanze. Collins, who I first met last year, was there to meet me. We went to Migano for an African tea. From there we found a guest house at the second attempt…Facebook Motel. Apparently they wanted 30,000 but because I was with Collins I got the room for 20,000 (£12) without breakfast .
We went for a walkabout around town and ended up at his house which is still in the process of completion.

We went to Gravity bar which is on top of the Equity building. Along the way we stopped at a place where I could buy Banana wine/beer; I really like it. In fact I drank one (only small) in the shop and took one to my room. He went home and I went to my room. But I felt peckish and asked for the nearest Isombe restaurant…it was literally up the road. I had an Isombe and 2 chapatis for 3,500…very tasty, but not quite as good as the one last year…couldn’t really taste the peanut butter.

Isombe is a typical Rwandan stew made from mashed casava leaves and other ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, coriander, garlic, Maggi seasoning and peanut butter, and stock from boiled beef bones.
So, back to my room and an early night. A great first day in Musanze.

Sat 7th Dec

A comfortable nights sleep. I used the mosquito net to good effect, so that if there were any mosquitoes, I didn’t hear them. I steeled myself for a cold shower.

I returned an empty little bottle of banana wine to the shop so I could get my 500Rwf refunded. I continued slowly, as I was a bit early for meeting Collins at 10:00 at Migano. Stopped to ask the room price at Snow Hotel…40,000 but negotiable…then stopped for a tea and a small doughnut.

Collins arrived on time and we caught a bus from the Stand to Kinigi at the centre of the arc of 5 volcano mountains. We walked for about half an hour to the Park entrance, all the time looking at 3 of the volcanoes as the clouds came and went.

2 of the volcanoes were on the border of Rwanda and Uganda. 2 were on the border of Rwanda and Congo.  I suppose, the middle one had the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and Congo running through it. I got a good view of them in spite of intermittent cloud. Actually I was lucky to be that close at all as tourists have to be accompanied by a guide. Well, of course Collins is a guide and everyone knows him, and the normal charge is about 50Usd to be taken to the entrance gate to the Volcanoes.

Just before we started on our way down to Kinigi, I checked out the gigantic gorilla structure made of bamboo which is used in September for the baby gorilla naming ceremony. This is attended by all sorts of celebrities e.g. from sports or films or politics. Collins is very senior/well known in the tour guide business.
Another half an hour walk…but at least all downhill.  We stopped at a cafe at a Kinigi petrol station for an African tea. Then to the Stand, and priority boarding on the minibus…again because Collins is well known…before going back to Musanze.

We walked quite a while looking for agatogo to eat. We failed in the quest until we reached Lasienda. We had to wait nearly an hour, but they did warn us. It wasn’t like a stew like at Romantic, more a soup with a little potato and meat, so very tasty.
We decided to vary the venue and went to Gravity to watch the 5pm EPL. We left after one drink because they weren’t showing the football, despite having lots of screens. Back to Lasienda to catch some 1st half EPL action, before the local derby (played in Kigali) kicked off at 6pm. The pub was jam packed and noisy. Good atmosphere with the rivalry; probably just as well it was a nil nil draw in the end. I also paid a little fee to watch the match, but instead of taking the change Collins and I shared a plate of Irish potatoes and a brochette.
That was it for the day…action packed. I had bought a large bottle of banana wine for my room and drank 2/3rds of it.
Day 2 in Musanze..getting to really like the second largest city/town in Rwanda.

Sun 8th Dec

Had a very good sleep. Had a cold shower. Tried to return the empty banana wine bottle to get my deposit back, but the guys in the shop just laughed and made excuses and refused. I was annoyed as I went to meet Collins at 10:00 at Migano.

We immediately headed for our kiti moto as planned. That was earlier than I expected, but I was feeling very hungry. It was a 20 minute walk out of town. It looked like a newish suburb with many new houses. We arrived at Aman’s restaurant with its outside cooking area using natural wood to provide extra flavour. Collins says Aman is the top man in the area for Agabenze, providing most of Musanze restaurants with their pork from his 300 strong pig farm.
We relaxed in the garden behind the kitchen before being called inside to eat. What can I say…of course the ‘kiti moto’ looked different, with the pork, banana and potato all mixed together in a very tasty sauce. No other vegetables except for rings of raw onion. No fat or bones…absolutely superb…and on a par with Mamka’s. I would’ve liked a squeeze of lemon for a bit of tang.
I paid 10,000Rwf..or £6..for everything…a kilo of meat, my wine/beer, and Collins’ small bottle of beer. That seemed good value considering the high quality of the meal.

We walked back, feeling very satisfied,  passing by a car that had driven over a bridge being hoisted up…hope the driver wasn’t too hurt. Collins was to meet me at Facebook at 15:30, so I had over 3 hours to kill.

My shirt was dry. I put out a pair of socks and they dried quickly. It had been sunny all day. I chilled; certainly chilled under the shower. Went to the Bank and drew out 200,00 which I knew was too much, but better to be safe than sorry.  I had a latte from a coffee bar and returned to Facebook Motel to meet Collins.

We went to Lasienda to watch the 16:00 Luton vs Arsenal game. I only had 1 drink in the space of 2 hours. Collins disappeared for an hour to do some business. We opted to go somewhere different for the Spurs vs Chelsea…in which Spurs started off brightly but ended up losing 3:4. But where we went, the Mars Hotel was nice. Spacious, 
only a few people, wooden sofas but with cushions, a club actually. 

We didn’t watch the game to the end, but went a few minutes walk away for an isombe. It wasn’t great but I was hungry. We walked back up my road and Collins gave the people in the shop that refused to give me my refund, a hard time. I got my 1,000..60pence..!!
Collins went to his house and I went to my room. I wasn’t in there long, but went out again to the alcohol shop around the corner where I went once or twice last year. The lady, who spoke good Swahili,  remembered me. She even rembered that I was going to Zanzibar… Anyway, I had one small bottle of banana wine and went back to my room.

Mon 9th Dec. Kigali

It was just a matter of washing, last minute packing, tidying, dropping off the room key and heading to the bus stand. I reached there by 08:00; bought my Kigali ticket for 2,820Rwf..under £2.. The International bus arrived, I took a window seat right at the back, and after 08:30 we were on our way.

The scenery was stunning…huge/high hills. At what height does a hill become a mountain  ?? I would’ve been better off for views on the other side of the bus, but it was still pretty good. There were a couple of very brief stops, but the main one was about half way for 10 minutes.Only 2 hours Musanze to Kigali.

Straight to Kaizen to check in. I chose 204 because the balcony was a lot more open and I hoped to relax in the sun. I paid for one night until I could be sure of my travel plans.
I went to the bus stand, only to find that Collins’ recommendation Trinity, didn’t go to Arusha. I found Taqwa Classic, or Taqwa found me, and to Arusha was 50,000 but the bus left at 02:30 a.m. Ouch. I said I’d think about it.

I went back to Kaizen and told the receptionist my dilemma of possibly paying for a room for a second night and hardly using it. She said I could have the room if I paid 15,000 (half price).
Brilliant, decision made. I relaxed a bit then went back to the bus stand and bought my 50,000Rwf (£30) ticket to Arusha for the early hours of the morning on Wed 11th.

I went just around the corner to Akwara for lunch. On the menu was pork, which in my head meant agabenze -kiti moto- but I was wrong. I got some pork with Irish potatoes and a little banana…it was ok with some chilli sauce. I lingered over a Virunga then at around 15:30 I wandered across the road and walked up the difficult steps (very high for some reason) to Isheme bar. There’s a nice view of the city from there.

From there to Vision Petit restaurant, and no sign of Prince who I had a good chat with 2 weeks ago, as apparently he had quit. So l went down to Akwara for a Virunga, then to my room via the off licence for a large water and a small vodka.

Tues 10th Dec

A comfortable sleep. I woke after midnight and there was loud music coming from somewhere; at least I had slept through it, and it wasn’t long before it was turned off altogether. Breakfast arrived after 07:30 despite me ordering it for 08:15..!!
I put my table and chair on the balcony and ate breakfast outside. All good apart from the slightly stale, dry bread. I tidied my room and embarked on my mission to explore the inside of the Resident hotel that Terry keeps on about.

It’s only 10 minutes away. I found some stairs and found my way in. Lots and lots of little shops selling fruit n veg. I worked my way through to the front of the building, not seeing the bar that Terry remembered,  but finding a restaurant where I had a nice tea for a 1,000.

I made my way back, stopping at another,smarter market where I engaged in some conversation and took a couple of pics. Back to my room. The sun was coming out and as I was taking it easy anyway, I sunbathed on my balcony for a couple of hours.
Of course I’m never doing nothing. There’s always my blog to update, and some messages to respond to. My timing was excellent, because I had a shower and at about 15:00 it started to rain.

I bought a bottle of water. I resolved a possible problem with my room booking. I was told that I hadn’t paid enough,  but I said I paid an extra 15,000 and was told that was enough. I was prepared to pay the extra, but after a couple of phone calls it seemed I was okay. I had the extra money anyway, and I was as feeling very happy..!!

I walked up the hill to Isheme bar intending to have an Agabenze but they were refurbishing the kitchen area. The meat wasn’t covered and I wondered how much dust and masonry had collected on the meat, and I went off the idea of eating there.

I finished my murtzig and walked over to Vision Petit. They cooked agabenze so I placed my order for a half kilo costing 3,000 (under £1). It was served with bananas and some veg, and was quite tasty.
I went down the hill to Akwara where I had a virunga, then back to Kaizen to pack and get as much sleep in advance of having to wake up at 1:00 a.m. to get to the bus stand for my 2:00 a.m. reporting time.

The end of 2 and a half weeks in Rwanda. Very interesting. Very different to Kenya and Tanzania; the society/community really seem to work together, and as a result the country is developing fast. But control is there from the top, and unwavering support is demanded of the citizens.