July 23, 2007 –
I probably mentioned this before but I find driving to the corners of Rwanda to be one of the best aspects of being here. I see so many fascinating things when we’re going through the countryside. Even at 4:30 in the morning I saw people (lots of people) walking in the darkness with huge bags of goods on their heads to set up their shops in Kigali for the day.
Speaking of people who carry stuff on their heads, I think it’s awesome how they do it but I also love nothing some of the more bizarre things we’ve seen. Meagan and I are trying to keep up a mental list, which I will now write here:
– the common baskets of fruit and laundry
– groceries, in their brown bags
– big stack of grass, banana leaves, hay, etc
– SEVEN baskets all at the same time
– a whole tree
– planks of wood
– water jugs and tanks
– the best one so far… a backpack (!?)
– a whole trunk – what could be inside?
Rwanda is a small country. I think most must-see locations aren’t that far from Kigali. It’s less than 200 km, so really it shouldn’t be more than 2 hours drive to get anywhere right? Wrong. Because the roads wind around hills, up and down valleys. The car hardly ever reaches 60 km/h because there aren’t many straightaways.
Also the landscape is always something to stare at. I can’t believe how the farmers are able to plant crops almost to the tops of the giant hills. It really is a beautiful sight. And the children wave, which is cute… until they chase after the car asking for our water bottles.
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