Holla From Kampala: Land of 1,000 Hills

I have returned from an incredible trip to Rwanda – by far, one of my favorite countries that I have visited. Known as the land of 1,000 hills, Rwanda is made up of lush, rolling green hills and it is one of the cleanest countries. There is not a single piece of trash to be seen and non-biodegradable plastic bags are illegal. Theo, our Safari driver, told us that the last Saturday of every month is a compulsory “cleaning day” in Kigali; everyone takes part, including the president. Rwanda was so beautiful; it was hard to imagine that 18 years ago it was the site of one of the world’s biggest atrocities that took over 800,000 lives.

My trip did not get off to the greatest start due to a little mishap with Rwanda Air. I love your country, Rwanda, but I do not like your airline. Joey, Michelle, and I had an 11:00 am flight, but we arrived at the airport at 9:00am to learn the flight did not exist. We were informed that the 11:00am flight has not been running since February, and we were actually on the 9:30am flight. Funny, since I booked my flight in February and Joey booked her flight in March. All of our confirmation emails said 11:00 am and Rwanda Air never informed us of the change – typical. The next flight was not until 7:00pm, so we had to hang out at the airport for the next 10 hours. We got Rwanda Air to pay for our overpriced airport food, which was a small feat – my grilled cheese was more like grilled bread and our burgers were questionable. At least there was a TV and we could enjoy the Olympics until we were able to check-in. In addition, Joey shared her care package from her awesome dad – chocolate, granola bars, and chips from Trader Joe’s. Thanks Papa Daniels!

We arrived in Rwanda without a hitch and made our way to Peace Corps Rwanda. PC Rwanda has an awesome place to stay for volunteers traveling through Kigali – beds, sheets, towels, hot showers, and a kitchen! Joey, Michelle, and I were in heaven and kept saying, “Why didn’t we get placed in Rwanda?” The place was really nice, clean and best of all, free. We hung out with some of the PC Rwanda volunteers that were in Kigali and then passed out after our long day at Entebbe Airport.

Our first day in Kigali, we went to the churches of Nyamata and Ntarama, which are two memorial sites for the 1994 Genocide. During the 1992 Genocide, these churches were used as a place of refuge. In 1994, people went to the churches for safety, again, but this time the churches were raided. First, we went to the Church of Ntarama, which was really powerful. Over 5,000 people sought refuge at the church, and most of them were killed. The church has been left as is – so you can see the holes left by the grenades and the bullet holes in the bricks. The bones, skulls, and belongings of the dead remain in the church. Clothes were hung from the ceiling and piled everywhere, which was truly inconceivable. We went over to the building where Sunday school was held, and you could still see the bloodstains from where the murdered children were smashed against the wall. We were all at a loss of words and it was hard to take it all in. Next, we went to the Church of Nyamata, where over 2,5000 people killed in or around the church. You can see where a grenade blew in the door to the church and hundreds of thousands of bullet holes litter the ceiling and walls. All of the clothes are stacked on the pews and the bloodstained altar cloth is still hanging. Outside, there are two mass graves with the remains of over 40,000 genocide victims. Visitors are able to go inside to pay their respects, which was one of the most heart wrenching experiences. There are coffins as well as piles of bones and skulls. The sight of all those bones and the smell did us all in and we had to leave. There really are no words for these two memorial sites – they were extremely sad and difficult to stomach, but I think we were all glad we went to see them. It was a moving experience and we were all left speechless. While we can never know the true feeling of the carnage that ravaged Rwanda in 1994, I think these memorials were a good representation. Genocide memorials are erected as constant reminders – Cambodia, Poland, Armenia, Germany and many more countries have memorial sites to commemorate the many lives lost. All of which make it a little more disheartening when one thinks of the genocides and crimes against humanity that continue to occur throughout the world today.

After the churches, we decided we needed a break and needed to do something a little more uplifting. We went over to Hotel Des Mille Collines, the real Hotel Rwanda, for food and drinks. The hotel is beautiful and it was weird to be sitting by the famous pool where those seeking refuge got their water. There are no plaques or memorials commemorating the genocide in the hotel – they tried to steer away from their fame and attract business because before the genocide, it was an extremely popular hotel.

The next day, I left Joey and Michelle, and went to the airport to meet Lauren and her family. If you know me, then you know Lauren has been my best friend since middle school and I was so excited to see her and her family. Primate Safaris picked us up and we met our fabulous driver, Theo. We drove three hours up in the mountains to Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, which is in Volcanoes National Park. We could not believe how cold it was up in the mountains. It did not help that the rooms were huge and bare, so they did little for containing heat. There were not heaters, but there was a small fireplace for warmth. The hotel is run on a generator, but only at certain times of the day. Of course, the generator was having problems when we got there, so it was turned on two hours late. TIA. Otherwise, the lodge was really nice and the staff was great.

We woke up early the next day to head out for gorilla trekking. Lauren and I were smart and slept with our clothes in our bed so we wouldn’t be freezing. We requested Francois for a guide because a family friend of the Cutlers recommended him. He used to be a poacher, but then became a porter for Dian Fossey. As a result, he has been around the gorillas for over 30 years. He was honestly like a gorilla himself and he was a riot. We trekked to see the group Amahoro, which means “peace.” We hiked for an hour and a half until we reached the gorillas. At that point, Francois and the other guides used machetes to hack through the forest so we could reach the gorillas. I cannot believe how close we got to the gorillas. I did not even need a zoom on my camera. We constantly had to move out of the way when the gorillas would choose to get up and move over to another bush. At one point, we were ushered away from a huge silverback that was moving towards us. One of the guides fell and dropped his machete – he started scrambling, his eyes got huge, and his face had a sheer look of terror. Francois told him to keep calm and he eventually got up – but the rest of us kept thinking, um, should we be scared? We spent an hour with the gorillas, taking tons of pictures and videos. The gorillas were seriously incredible – no amount of words can describe the experience.

We went trekking again the next day, and we had Ferdinand as a guide (Francois was not working). We trekked the group Hirwa, which means lucky. Lucky they were because we only had to trek for about 15 minutes. They were outside of the National Park, enjoying the eucalyptus forest. There were 17 gorillas, all spread out munching on the trees. This was even better because we could move all around to admire them and did not have to hack away at the forest with a machete. There were a ton of babies, including twins, and it was so cute to watch them play. The gorillas eventually moved from the eucalyptus forest and back into the National Park. They moved into this bamboo forest in order to sleep, but the guides cut through the brush so we could take more photos and video. The babies were playing and it was so much fun to watch them. This group only has one silverback and it is one of the biggest. He was seriously massive. He was sleeping the whole time, and I am kind of glad. We learned he is the only silverback in the Hirwa group because he killed all the others. (Lovely). We also learned that this silverback tore through the leg of a veterinarian while he was treating one of the other gorillas. I am so glad we were told this after trekking. We probably would have been a little more wary.

After trekking, we went back to the lodge for lunch and to pack up. A travel agent had convinced Mary, Lauren’s mom, that we had to visit and stay at the Iby’Iwacu cultural village. We were all dreading it because we knew we were staying in mud huts and there was no running water or electricity. At lunch, we were cracking jokes about staying there and talking about snuggling with the pygmies. All of a sudden, Nathan, Lauren’s little brother, shouts, “Wait, we are staying with little people?!” Mary gave him the look of death for shouting so loud in the restaurant, especially because he probably offended someone. The rest of us, however, could not stop laughing. Then we started to discuss the issue of the latrine. As a village pro, I told them that it was probably going to just be a hole in the ground. Jason, Lauren’s older brother, was a little perturbed by this concept. He asked, “How do you poop standing up?” I told him that you have to squat over the hole. He asked, “Wait, like P90x? Do you squat or do you do it like lunges?” He proceeded to demonstrate, and said that he thought that he would do it with his left foot forward. Obviously, we were all pretty much dying with laughter and I think the other patrons wanted to kill the six of us. Regardless, Jason is considering the idea of creating a “latrine version” of P90x.

We arrived at Iby’Iwacu and all looked at each other with looks of apprehension. Nothing could have prepared me for this village stay. We were all expecting to be put up with a host family and to learn about life in the village. Wrong. Iby’Iwacu is actually a place for tourists to learn about life in the village back in the 1900s. We were each put in these mud huts that were heated by coal fires in the middle, so they smelled awful. I was choking on the smoke. We started out with some activities. First we visited the medicine man, who showed us how villagers used to get medicine. After, we took two steps over to the “blacksmith,” who was also the medicine man. Then we went to the women’s section, where the women learned to grind seeds. Then the men got their turn at “hunting,” where they tried to hit an “antelope” (aka, banana leaf) with a wooden bow and arrow. Jason, Lauren, Mary and I were the only ones to hit it. Then there was a drumming and dancing ceremony – where we all participated. Lauren and I kept looking at each other with looks of fear saying, “Oh my god, why do we have to stay here?” This definitely could have been a good day activity, but the thought of having to sleep there kind of ruined the experience. Mary kept saying, “I am going to kill our travel agent.”

Lastly, we went over to the king’s hut. We had to vote on a king and do a little roleplaying. This part really did us all in. Jason and Mary had to get dressed up in costumes (Jason was king, and Mary was the King’s mother). We went inside the king’s hut that smelled from the coal fumes. Mary had an asthma attack within 5-minutes and started saying, “I cannot sleep here, I cannot sleep here!” She went out for fresh air, while the rest of us had to continue with 2 hours of roleplaying. At one point, Lauren and I had to pretend we were Jason’s women and seek permission to sleep with him. Creepy? Yes. We were all trying not to laugh and by the end, I think we were all about to pass out from the carbon monoxide – we were getting a little woozy. After an awkward silence, Jason said, “As king, I think we should all go outside for fresh air.”

We hung out with some of the kids, played soccer, and then went on a “culture walk”. It was much better to be outside. We also learned that we would not be sleeping there, but instead drive to the main town and get a hotel. Phew. Hence, we were able to enjoy the rest of the day outside. We ate dinner that they prepared, which was delicious. The meat was a little chewy, so I had to finish Nathan’s (I’m a pro at eating the overcooked meat). The Iby’Iwacu staff was all very nice and welcoming, so I feel a little bad bashing the place. However, this was not a place you would want to sleep – especially if you have allergies. I was choking on the smoke and my eyes were burning, and I do not even have allergies. For a day activity, it was pretty fun. Theo, our driver, actually stayed with us because he was pretty sure we were going to bail. He has taken three families there; all three decided to stay elsewhere. That, plus us cracking jokes, he probably knew we were not cut out for the adventure. We were all so happy and relieved when we reached the hotel – best shower ever.

The next day, we drove to Kigali and went to the Kigali Memorial Center. The museum was very informative and moving. Afterward, we went to Hotel des Mille Collines for a drink and to hang out before our flight. Theo came with us and he told us that his wife was one of the 1,500 people that sought refuge in the Hotel during the genocide. She managed to get a hold of $250 and bribed her way into the hotel. She was in a room with ten people, she drank from the pool, and there was no power or running water. It was pretty incredible to hear him tell the story. He was in Kenya during the time of the genocide working in tourism and met his wife after the genocide.

Now I am back home from a great vacation and it is a little sad. Especially because I came home to a dead, rotting rat in my latrine. Nothing says “Welcome Home” quite like that. It was great to see the Cutlers and I am so glad that I was able to meet up with them. Plus, the gorillas were an awesome experience. The permits are expensive, but it all goes to the park. Most of the porters and trackers of the gorillas used to be poachers, but now they make their living protecting the gorillas. Trackers are always following gorillas to ensure their safety and health, so there is a 100% guarantee you will see gorillas. Great experience and great trip!

Now for the best part...tons of photos and two videos.