Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone,

I just want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year's celebration. Tomorrow I head off on the adventure of a lifetime. I'll be touring East Africa over the holidays and although it'll be amazing and unforgettable, I miss everyone at home very much and wish I could share this experience with you. I'm lucky enough to spend the holidays with some of the most loving and amazing friends I've ever made though and feel very fortunate.

I start my journey on the island of Zanzibar. Rumour has it, there's wifi in some of the hostels I'll be staying at so I'll try my best to post pictures while I'm there. I then venture off to Nairobi to ring in the New Year Kenyan style. My adventure finishes with the hardest (and most exciting) part - I will climb to the highest peak in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro. I then return to Kigali to spend 9 more weeks in this beautiful country. Can't believe how fast time is passing.

I leave you all with my favourite little guy in the whole world, who I miss beyond words...

ho ho ho :)

Happy holidays everyone!

f

The Craziest Thing I've Ever done...

Climbing Nyiragongo Volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo this past weekend was a combination of crazy, exhilarating, exhausting, and well, kind of stupid (but totally worth it). 

As most people know, the DRC is not really a safe place to go. Norah and I debated this trip for a while but in the end we went with it. DRC has just had presidential elections and the results were to be released on December 6th. Little did we know that in fact, they'd be delayed and released on December 9th (the night before our journey to Goma). We had contacts in Goma and the situation seemed stable so  we went with it. It all worked out great in the end but yes, I know it may not have been the wisest choice!

But anyways, the night before the climb, we enjoyed some tasty seafood and burgers at the Serena Hotel in Gisenyi (border town, on the Rwandese side). We watched some fabulous traditional Rwandese dancing as we ate....

 Beautiful Rwandese Dancers

The next morning, we woke up early and got ready for the big day. From what we knew, things were still quiet in Goma and so the trip was a go. We got to the border, crossed, and everything went smoothly - well except for the roads. It's pretty incredible but as soon as you cross the border from Rwanda into Congo, everything changes. In Rwanda, roads are smooth and paved. In Goma, they were bumpy dirt roads. The lack of development here is scary....and the UN presence was huge. I couldn't believe that in a matter of a few kilometers, I had entered a whole different Africa.

 UN Troops

Although I didn't spend much time in the actual city of Goma, I could still sense the level of poverty. It's tough...these are some houses in Goma. In Rwanda, you rarely see houses made of wood but in Goma, they seem to be very common. 

As we got closer to Virunga National Park, we also got closer to the ominous Nyiragongo volcano. It didn't look so high from here but believe me, it was one tough climb.

 One of the most active volcanoes in Africa 

As we drove towards the park and the volcano, we could see the lava left over from the most recent eruption in Goma in 2002. A lot of Goma was destroyed by this eruption and the black volcanic rock is everywhere in the city. When we arrived to the park, we were greeted by this sign....

 Comforting, isn'it it?

But we didn't let those bullet holes get the best of us! We had two armed guards with us the whole time and tourists regularly visit this national park so we comfortable everything would go well.

We started the climb in the jungle. It was lush, beautiful, and green. The home of many monkey species, birds and gorillas. As we got higher, the landscape changed dramatically and so did the trail. We went from mud to volcanic rocks, which were very difficult to climb. They crumble and are very unsteady. It was a challenging climb.

We could see the lava flow (in the form of solidified volcanic rock) and evidence of the most recent eruption. In the picture below, the lava engulfed a tree and left behind this rock. You can actually see an imprint of the tree bark in the volcanic rock.

As we got higher, the climb got tougher. Both steeper, less steady terrain, and lower air pressure. I was breathing pretty heavily at times. It felt like we'd never reach the top....

5 hours and 8km later, we made it - 3400m above sea level. We stared into a link to the core of the Earth...

 Nyiragongo Lava Lake - one of the largest lava lakes in the world

The view was even more spectacular at night:

 Me - super excited!

The lava lake was unbelievable. It was so bright and powerful. The gases coming off it were pretty potent though - sulfurous gases. The summit was SO cold and gusty. We managed to catch some heat off of the lava but certainly not enough to stay warm. The sound of the lava bubbling was pretty incredible too. It sounds like a very fast moving river. 

We had a bright full moon above us, and a thunderstorm below us. Sometimes, some clouds above would descend and if you looked up, it appeared like the cloud was coming down to eat you alive. It was all very surreal.

The next morning, I woke up before sunrise to get a few more shots. The lava seemed angrier and more radiant than the night before!

 Giant Lava Lake

As the sun rose, we got a clear glimpse of two neighbouring volcanoes that border with Rwanda and I believe Uganda (not totally sure). The clouds looked like little hats on these volcanoes. 

We were literally above the clouds. The night before, we could see lightning flashes below us. It was wild. Here I am, trying my best not to blow away:

Our guide Roger brewed some warm tea and Norah and I stayed close and drank it to stay warm. We were both exhausted - it's tough to sleep at altitude. My ears were ringing the night before and my heart was beating a little faster than normal. But we were both so excited and happy to be on top of Nyiragongo!

The sunrise was unbelievable. So beautiful. I felt like I was on a plane...

We began our descent at around 6:30AM. The climb down was very very tough. It felt like a vertical drop with volcanic rocks sliding everywhere. One of the most physically challenging things I've ever done. The way up is tough because you are breathless and your muscles are working hard. The way down for me was tougher because you have to think about every step you take so as to prevent falling and sliding on some very sharp volcanic rock. The view was glorious though!!!

We were all so happy to make it to the final part of the descent - the jungle. Took us three hours to get down. It was really hot and our quads and knees were exhausted at this point.

We decided to end our time in the DRC at a local restaurant called Snack Food Zenith.

We enjoyed cold Fantas and some traditional Congolese food - Foufou made with corn, chicken, and some vegetables. It was pretty tasty!

Overall, the wildest thing I've ever done. It was challenging, scary, and amazing. Good practice for Mt. Kilimanjaro. An experience I'll never, ever forget.

Kigali Life

Marta made a very good point last time we spoke. I've posted pictures and stories about all the places I've visited but have severely neglected Kigali. So here are a few pics I've taken recently of my new home:

 The view once I reach the top of the hill I run in the mornings in Nyamirambo - yes those are clouds!

 This is my form of public transport - a minibus crammed with people and sometimes loud music!

 Nyamirambo - this area is about a 10 min walk from where I live

 Nyamirambo

 I've almost fallen in those gutters you see on the left a few times at night - scary!

 Kigali 

 Tropical skies

 Another view of the city

Roaming the mean streets of Kigali - as you can tell, it's very developed here

Hope you've enjoyed :)

Bujumbura Baby

Sorry it's been so long since I posted! I've just been relaxing these past couple of weeks in Kigali and so I've had nothing really exciting enough to post about. But this past weekend, I got pretty restless and decided it was time to leave Rwanda for the first time since I arrived. So we hopped on a bus and took the 6 hour journey to Bujumbura, Burundi!

Upon arriving in Buja, we quickly saw the differences between this capital and Kigali. Apart from the topography and climate (Buja is much flatter and hotter than Kigali), the city as a whole is less developed and has a lot less going on. But what it does have is the beach. And I love the beach!

We started our first day by going for a run (c'mon, are you surprised?)...

But seriously, it's such a great way to explore a new city while getting a workout. Running in Bujumbura is much easier too as it is generally flatter. The heat was a little tough to deal with but I was distracted by the new sites. Many people ride bicycles here (unlike Rwanda) and there are bicycle taxis! The city is surrounded by mountains and hills making it quite pretty.

 Hanging out at the hotel after running and before heading to the beach!

After our hot run, we ventured out to the beach. The beach in Buja is on the longest lake in the world - Lake Tanganyika. It's a nice, sandy beach and the water was really warm. Norah and I were pretty happy...

 Loving the beach

 The beach is surrounded by Congolese Mountains and hills

We went swimming and played in the sand like kids. It was awesome.

We even did some yoga on the beach. Sand is pretty hard to maintain balance on but nice and soft for a wobbly headstand....

 Trying my best not to fall over...

The water is really shallow so we managed to do a lot of dancing and singing while we splashed around. I think the locals thought we were crazy. Actually we got some funny looks from the tourists too...

I got all buff on the beach too. "The beach is that way"...Marta you know this pic was solely for you!

Sunday was really rainy so we decided to use the day to explore the city a bit. There were a few really pretty old trees in Bujumbura. This one was my favourite:

 Looks enchanted

A traditional Burundian meal is Mochopo - basically it's this really greasy goat meat with onions and this salty powder stuff and you squeeze some lime on it. 3 months ago, if you told me to eat at this establishment, I would have laughed at you and walked away. But my standards have dramatically changed and I'll try just about anything now. This restaurant is literally a shack. There are dirt floors and and just pieces of wood for tables. The goats are roaming IN the 'restaurant' - I don't even think I can call it a restaurant. Food hut? Anyways, this mochopo was actually pretty tasty. Grossed me out to eat it with my hands but in the end, I didn't get sick so that was pretty awesome :)

 Digging in...

 Some people cycling

Bujumbura was a cool city. Not sure that I'd go back as it was somewhat boring but it was nice to see something outside of Rwanda and to get a taste of another African country. Plus it was great to be a beach bum for a few days. Being in Burundi also made me appreciate just how developed Kigali is relative to Bujumbura. Burundi hasn't quite reached the stability of Rwanda and you could definitely feel it.

The drive home was really pretty. In the picture above, you can see the lake on the left hand side of the photo. In terms of natural beauty, East Africa is definitely the place to be!

Kigali Genocide Memorial

I wasn't going to write a post about my visit to the memorial because I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it. But it's important to take the bad with the good so I'll say a few words and share a few pictures about this experience.

Just less than a month ago, my friend Nancy came to visit me from Nairobi and we went to the memorial together. The place itself is beautiful...but it holds a lot of pain and feelings I still can't put into words. The names of some of some of the victims (those that have been identified - the identities of many victims remains a mystery) as well as pictures of some of the murdered children are posted on walls.  There are many stories here - of both survivors and victims - and at times it was extremely difficult to read them...

I couldn't take any pictures of the inside of the memorial (and I wouldn't really want to as there are some very personal items and stories in there) but I did take some photos outside. They've dedicated gardens and have described the strength and memory of the victims symbolically through trees and beautiful plants.

 This sculpture is a gorilla on a cell phone - telling the world what happened here in Rwanda so that it does not happen again...

There are many graves here. Too many. But at least these people are now resting in peace in a place of beauty..

The hallway leading to the graves

Nearly a million lives were lost in Rwanda in 1994. The genocide is a dark reflection of how humanity can go so wrong. In the years preceding the genocide, there were indicators, signs, warnings of what was about to happen in Rwanda. But it was not prevented. The saddest part is that historically, Rwandans lived in peace but it is colonialism that brought about separation between the Rwandese people. Europeans created animosity between the ethnic tribes through favouritism and just general ridiculousness and in the end, it led to disaster. It's pretty unbelievable that all the UN had to do was send 5,000 troops and over 800,000 lives could have been saved....

I won't get into the history of the genocide but I will say that reading the stories and watching videos of survivors recounting what happened to them in '94 made me question how people can be so evil. It's a very dark and almost unbelievable story. Almost. Until you meet the people who were here in April of '94 and hear their stories and see their pain. 

The thing that hit me the most though was just how far Rwanda has come. Seeing how horrible things were nearly 18 years ago made me realize how resilient these people are. Here they are, living in peace and unity, smiling, dancing, singing and moving on. Reconciliation will not happen in just 18 years. It will take generations but this tiny African nation is well on its way to healing. I struggled emotionally with this experience but in the end, it just made me love Rwanda and the people here more...

Hash from Hell

It's taken me a few days to write this post because I'm still coming to grips with the events of the past weekend. So maybe "Hell" is a strong word....but it was literally one hell of a weekend. Maybe 'absurd' is a better way to describe it. Absurd. It was completely and utterly absurd. Adventurous and almost surreal. So I'll get to the story...

From the beginning, things were going wrong. We were supposed to meet the other hashers who needed a lift out to Cyangugu (where the has was taking place - Southwestern part of Rwanda) at 12:30 on Friday afternoon. When we showed up, no one was there. Eventually, an hour later, some people began arriving but we quickly realized (Norah and I) that we were leftovers - we had no rides. But luckily, a bus of Ugandans and Kenyans joining us for the East African Interhash were still in Kigali and made room for 2. So Norah and I hopped on and at first it was fun. Singing and lots of energy. But then my stomach decided 1) it was sick of the food I was giving it; 2) it was sick of the winding road; 3) it was sick of the heat. And you can guess the result - thank god I was sitting by the window. But it was a 7 hour trip so although I got sick 3 hours in, I still had 4 more hours to endure. Thank god I carry Gravol everywhere I go. So I took 3 and hoped for the best. Ugandans love to chat but I was in no mood so by the end of the 7 hour trip, I definitely was not the favourite Muzungo....

So we get to the hotel. Little tiny smelly room. But my standards have dramatically decreased since I embarked on this trip. Basically, as long as I don't see cockroaches in the bed or fecal matter on the floor, I'll sleep in a room. I managed to eat some rice and then I passed out (I took too many Gravols haha...)

The next morning, I was SO excited. I mean, who gets to run in the jungle?! And breakfast was delicious - lots of fruit and bread. The two things I've decided I'm going to live off for the next 3 months  after Friday's vomiting extravaganza. We were set to hit the road by 10:30AM. But of course, everything here is delayed - African Time they call it. Turns out there weren't enough vehicles, so we had to hire 2 additional trucks for our crowd of 50 Muzungos and East Africans. As we were waiting outside our hotel for the trucks to arrive, a crowd of 50+ villagers surrounds us and stares. It's literally like being a celebrity without all the perks! It was so uncomfortable...

Finally the trucks arrive. We depart 2 hours later than anticipated. But it's okay, I'm still trying to be positive. Until we reach the jungle...

The drive to the hash (running trail) was supposed to be 2 hours. But it quickly turned into 5. We started with 7 cars and arrived with 4. The road through the rainforest was mud, hills, curves, and cliffs. Cars got stuck about 3 times and at one point, a beast of a construction vehicle was stuck blocking the road. 2 cars turned back and eventually one car broke down 3/4 of the way in and had to get towed the rest of the way. As cars were dropping like flies, so were available spaces in cars. So half of us ended up just piling into the back of the pickup trucks. Let me tell you, I was ready to jump off the pickup a few times as I was fairly sure it was going to fall off the cliff.

But Nyungwe jungle is BEAUTIFUL. And all that was worth it.

About 8km from the Burundian border, I got fed up with the whole situation and jumped out of the truck. I decided to run the rest of the way. And run I did. Fighting my still very unhappy stomach and mild altitude sickness (2000m above sea level). Legs felt like concrete but I did it. And so did Norah. And as she puts it, it all felt like an enchanted dream.

Vegetation began to change as we got closer to Burundi

We ran into the village around 4:45pm (nearly 2 hours late). Many of the villagers had never seen white people. So it was something out of a movie. A crowd of white people in trucks and on feet enter this tiny village. People were mesmerized. We were supposed to reach the border at 3pm. But by the time we ACTUALLY made it, it was nearly 5pm and the border closes at 6pm. We tried desperately to negotiate crossing the border into Burundi. From Burundi, we could drive back and avoid the jungle and be back in Cyangugu within 2 hours. We could also get food across the border as there were restaurants in the Burundian border town. Our hash leader had prearranged for us to cross the border but on this day, when we REALLY needed to get to our neighbouring country, we couldn't. Border officers refused. We tried money, vodka, calling the Burundian military, Burundian Police, Rwandan Immigration - NOTHING worked. As we waited, a small group of us turned on some Phoenix on my iPhone and danced in the dark. We looked nuts but it served to warm us up and lift our spirits.

So here we were, this group of East Africans and Muzungos in this tiny village on the border of Burundi. No electricity, no food, no where to sleep. It was freezing - like actually probably no warmer than 8 degrees. The africans found this room that was selling used clothing and they bought jackets and pants. People stayed in a tiny bar, someone's family home with a single bed, their cars, in the clothes of the 'clothing store', and at the municipal office. I was huddled on a bench in a room at the office with Norah and my new American friend Mike. We were still in a our sweaty running gear, and we shivered our way through the very very long night. The guards took down the curtains in the room and we used them as blankets. The mosquitoes ate me alive. It was definitely not one of my greatest moments.

We didn't really sleep but we made it through the night. And the sunrise was gorgeous.

The border opens at 6am so we quickly began working on the authorities to try to negotiate our way into Burundi. We found some tea (which is actually just sugar water - it tasted like watered down table syrup) and managed to warm up a bit. We weren't even hungry at this point. Just wanted to get back. We tried for 3 hours. Negotiated, bargained, and in the end begged. But for no reason, Burundi said no. It seemed they were intimidated by the number of Muzungos trying to get across.

Burundi, LET ME IN!!

By 9am the Kenyans lost their cool. They had traveled 36 hours for this hash and were beyond fed up. So they decided to risk it and face the jungle and head back on the 4 hour drive to the hotel. Everyone agreed. But we were short vehicles and so we all had to pile in the back of 3 pick up trucks. We were lucky in that we made it out of the jungle fast and alive. Bruised due to the bumps and the fact that I was in a back of a pickup for hours. But alive. And the view was amazing on the way back. Tea plantations everywhere!! I even saw some quicksand. Wild.

I was COVERED in dust at this point but we had fun!

When we got back to Cyangugu (4 hours later), all we could do is pack our bags and hit the road back to Kigali (another 6.5 hour drive home). We got home at 8:30, without a meal for 36 hours and simply proceeded to shower and crash...

So it was epic. Adventurous. Absurd. And in a strange way, Awesome. There were points we weren't sure we'd ever get back to Kigali and moments were it was all to surreal to be happening. But we managed to spend the night in a real African rural village and ride in the back of pickup trucks. We made new friends and had good laughs. I guess to REALLY experience Africa, you've got to take the good with the bad. Have the full experience. And that we did...