Journey from Kigali to Kayonza

We had a later start to our journey today at 2pm, so it was lovely to have a restful and relaxing morning at the hostel catching up with social media and the highlights of the Liverpool football games I'd missed. The times for rest and recuperation have been few and far between on this trip, so it was very welcome to have a morning's break. A big, rumbling thunderstorm rolled around Kigali as we said our sad farewells to four members of our trip, Linda, her daughter Heather, and 'English' Sam. The other Sam from Dubai was also leaving the trip today but said his goodbyes last night as he was off to a pottery course today. On the truck we mused about the very unusual amount of rain we have been getting on this trip so far which makes the camping far more challenging for our morale. It will be nice to be journeying towards the summer season when we head down to the southern hemisphere in Namibia and South Africa - although we may have the excessive heat to complain about then! We drove through more lush green countryside with many banana plants which seemed to be the staple crop of this region. We arrived at our next stop, the Urugo Women's Opportunity Center near Kayonza. This women's centre has been set up to give local women the opportunity to develop their talents and to make some income. There was a roadside cafe and two craft shops with lovely handmade produce such as woven baskets, paintings formed out of dried banana leaves, small animal sculptures, bracelets, necklaces, and many other craft pieces all fashioned by local women. They also had camping and accommodation as another source of revenue. None of us fancied putting up our wet tents in the rain so we all upgraded to dorm rooms and safari tents. I booked a large safari tent which was the very definition of the term 'glamping' although the cold en suite shower didn't feel quite so luxurious. A women's choir sang a beautiful and evocative African melody on the site as part of their choir practice, some of which I managed to record on my phone. We had some dinner and got an early night for an early start at 6am tomorrow and a very long drive across the Tanzanian border.Read more