Musanze to Kigali, Rwanda

I got a good night's sleep at the Fatima Camp and felt more rested and refreshed in the morning despite the mild stomach virus I'd contracted. I went to the Diane Fossey museum in Musanze, trying out my French to ask for directions along the way. The museum was an interesting insight into the different species of gorillas that live in Africa. The Volcanoes National Park looks like a fascinating area. It also left me wanting to learn more about Diane Fossey and her legacy in Gorilla conservation. It was good to learn more about Gorilla 'society' and behaviour after seeing them in the flesh so recently. I went for a tea in a local cafe which also had a small craft shop and an artist painting African animals in the garden. This Rwandan town had a very nice vibrant and creative culture which is noticeably different to Uganda. The people seem bright and friendly so that it's hard to imagine the terrible genocide that occurred in this country 25 years ago. The volcanoes that loom over this town are huge and awe inspiring, dominating the skyline and creating their own weather of rising clouds around their summits. We continued through more beautiful mountain vistas seeing a string of volcano peaks in the far distance. Kigali eventually appeared as a city nestled awkwardly in the mountains somehow incongruous in the green surrounding landscape. We visited the Memorial to the Rwandan genocide in 1994, which was a harrowing and detailed account of the circumstances leading up to the genocide, the awful experiences of the genocide itself, the aftermath and Rwanda's attempts to come to terms with what happened. I was left feeling quite numbed by the sheer scale of a million people being killed in so short a space of time and how people can commit such atrocities on their fellow men, women and children. We arrived at the 'Discover Rwanda Kigali Hostel which was a big drop in the standard of accommodation compared to the last excellent place in Musanze. Everyone got a dorm bed as noone fancied putting up their tents in the dark and the rain. We all went out for a meal in Kigale to say goodbye to four of our fellow travellers who are ending their African journey tomorrow.Read more