Gisenyi

I have just returned from a lovely weekend trip to Gisenyi, in the North of Rwanda on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Chilling in my new skirt in a hammock
 looking out onto Lake Kivu

In spite of the long bus journey (six hours from Kibungo), the weekend was very relaxed. On Saturday morning we visited Gisenyi market which is quite small considering the size of the town. It was fairly quiet so we were able to wander around at our lesiure without too much harrassment, buying fabric for my next creation (a shift dress) and purchasing a lovely maxi skirt which will be useful for moto rides as I can keep my legs covered up but still look "smart". The Rwandans always comment on how smart I look when I wear a skirt! We also visited a wonderful women's cooperative where a dozen or so women were making machine sewn products such as bags, pencil cases, cuddly toys etc. Julie, Michelle and I all supported the initiative by buying bundles of things:

Items bought from the women's cooperative in Gisenyi

After sitting on a rickety bus for nearly an hour with a couple of bump starts / people pushing, we managed to visit Rubonu, 7km out of Gisenyi, and had a lovely lunch in the garden of Paradise Malahide, next to the Lake shore. We were visited by lots of beautiful birds during our meal and particularly enjoyed watching the kingfisher swoop to catch fish from the Lake:

We then managed to get motos back into Gisenyi - much better than the bus there and only 200RWF more (20p!). As we were "on holiday" we treated ourselves to dinner at the Serena Hotel in Gisenyi after watching the sun set over the Congo from the water's edge. I enjoyed eating some delicious local fish (and less local squid!) but the highlight for me was the banana split - my first ice cream in Rwanda.

On Saturday night we found a very quiet bar where we were able to dance to music chosen by the DJ especially for us. At the beginnning of each song, he would look over at us for a sign of approval (lots of grinning and over-enthusiastic shoulder swaying) before deciding whether to leave the song on or choose another. It was refreshing being able to dance without being surrounded by locals who wanted to join in! But it was quite a surprise to find how little was going on in a place that is considered to be a major tourist town.
This morning I began my long journey home, which was quite a bit faster thanks to the erratic driver. For once, I wished I had someone to share my seat to stop me sliding around as we hurtled around the bends. Having visited the North, I can happily say that my hills in the east are much smaller by comparison and I was relieved to return home to the relatively flat land. Once again I have been surprised by the beauty of Rwanda and cannot understand why more people do not choose it as a holiday destination. Gisenyi is definitely on my list of places to take visitors....Speaking of which, less than 8 weeks to go Jesso!

Sun setting over the Congo

Can you spot the volcano?