Day 78 (Saturday)

The light is good this morning so I go out to take some pictures to help remember Kabarore.  Some people ask to have their picture taken, others refuse.  I take a picture of our local shop, but the shopkeeper will not be in it.  Soon I will have to get my case and rucksack on the bus to Kigali. I have been told I will probably have to pay for a seat for my case.  In the past travelling with just a rucksack has been difficult enough.  The buses have very narrow aisles and usually no places to put luggage, so you sit with it on your lap.  Hence buying a seat for my suitcase!  But I still wonder whether the aisles of the bus will be wide enough for me to fit my case through.

Day 79 (Sunday)

It is interesting that there are so many more mosquitoes in Kigali than in Kabarore.  I have been bitten about 8 times since arriving here, whereas in Kabarore I was bitten probably 5 times in ten weeks.   It is obvious it is going to rain.  I can see the dark clouds sweeping in and the wind gets up.  It rains for nearly 5 hours and then by about two p.m. the clouds fade away and the sun comes out.  There is nothing for it but to wait out the rain. It is a real downpour, so there is no point in going anywhere or trying to do anything.  Something has disagreed with me and I am feeling a little delicate.  The first time for ten weeks, but it is not bad and I am just feeling tired, dehydrated with a few pains in my stomach.

Day 80 (Monday)

It is raining again, this time when I get up with no let up in sight.  After saying there were more mosquitoes in Kigali, I spent the night with one inside my net!  It woke me up every time it buzzed close to my head (which was often).  I managed to kill it at about 5.45 a.m. and then had a peaceful hour before being woken by the rain on the tin roof.  Today I want to finish all my business with VSO Rwanda.  I hope to pick up my passport, get my reference agreed, expenses claimed, collect my stuff from the safe and print out my plane ticket home.

Day 81 (Tuesday)

A bit of excitement today.  I am travelling north west towards the Volcanoes National Park; the home of the silverback gorillas.  When I get up it is raining hard, so I delay the start of the trip.  Once on the bus we pass through the most spectacular scenery I have seen in Rwanda.  A swollen river falling 30-40m over a water fall; slopes of 60-80^o being farmed and volcanoes in the distance.  The soil changes from orange to black and it starts getting cooler as we climb to over 2000m.  This is where they grow potatoes!  The guest house has spectacular views in all directions, but particularly to the north and west where the volcanoes rise another 2000m within a couple of kilometres.

Day 82 (Wednesday)

Up early to be at the reception breakfasted and ready for our excursion to the gorillas.  We are blessed with a beautifully clear, sunny morning.  We find out that we have been allocated a place in the group going to see the Sabyinyo group, which is 12 strong and one of the closest.  However, the group is led by Guhonda, who is thought to be the biggest silverback gorilla in the mountain forest and probably the world.  We have to trek through the thick bamboo forest on muddy trails until we get to the trackers who have located the group.  There are two gorillas in a nest in a tree.  One, a female, comes down when our guide calls to her.  Once down she looks around and then starts heading straight towards us.  It is as if we are invisible.  We are certainly no threat.  We are told to stand back, but there is really nowhere to go.  The female gorilla ambles past at a distance of just over a metre.  So close I cannot even focus the camera!  We watch her eating juicy thistles and listen to the sound of her passing wind (frequently and loudly!).  We see a mother and baby.  The baby can hardly balance on all four paws and tumbles around in the dirt at our feet no more than a metre away at its closest.  The trackers have located Guhonda in a nest on the ground.  It is a natural rather than a constructed nest, surrounded by thick bamboo and ground vegetation, so he is invisible.  Francois, our guide, who knows the 16 calls that gorillas make (and what they mean), reassures Guhonda that he is a friend and no threat as he cuts down the vegetation on one side of the nest.  Gohonda is quite placid as we see him with one of his mates and a baby.  The gorillas find a new nest each night so no harm has been done.  Guhonda stirs and looks straight at us; he is no more than 3m away. These habituated gorillas are unaffected by our presence.  They eat, they groom, they rest or play as if we are not there.  Guhonda probably weighs in at 220kg, but he doesn’t look that big.  Amazingly, the gorillas can climb the bamboo; it does bend under their weight, but it does not break.  On the ground they are agile and fast.  The guides find the “queen” (Guhonda’s first and oldest mate) with two other females.  As I am walking past she beats her chest and starts to run right at me.  We have been told the worst thing to do when this happens is to run away.  I run, not away, but out of her path!  We have seen 9 out of the 12 gorillas in the group.  It has been “a once in a life time experience” and one I will never forget.

Day 83 (Thursday)

Today is the start of Genocide Memorial Week and a public holiday. I am not sure what to expect, but the gorilla centre is very quiet with only nine visitors.  A group of boys we talked to yesterday have gathered to take us for a local walk.  Their English is very good and they are all studying the sciences in senior school and want to be doctors.  The boys lead us towards the forest where there is a Twa village (they refer to them as pygmies).  They live in round houses made of  various plant materials and farm the land around them, although according to the boys they would rather hunt in the forest, but this is prohibited.  In comparison to the other Rwandans we have seen they seem very poor.  The house is maybe 3m diameter and has smoke seeping through the “straw” roof.  The man outside is smoking a pipe and is friendly enough, but he does not want me to take a photograph.

Day 84 (Friday)

I leave the Volcanoes National Park to travel back to Kigali.  My tour here is almost over.  When I look back, I think it has been the most amazing experience.  Not all good of course; some of it has been a bit dreary; other bits have been challenging and the rest new and different.  This new and different has been exciting, enjoyable life-changing and is a set of experiences that I could not have had without the opportunity provided by VSO.   To live and work in a developing country in a “frontier” town as a lowly paid civil servant would do, has certainly given me a new perspective on my life in England.

Day 85 (Saturday)

I fly home tonight at 8 pm local time.  Today will be consumed by packing and if I am lucky I will be able to enjoy a bit of warmth and sunshine before heading home.  I am leaving five days early, as this is Genocide memorial week and tourist activities are not straight forward.  I feel I have seen everything I want to see and it is a good time to leave.

It is a little strange that in 12 weeks I have picked up almost nothing as souvenirs to take back.  Lots of photos, lots of memories, but there is very little here that they make to sell to tourists.  There are very few tourists and those that do come whizz in and out usually just to see the gorillas.  Overall, I think it is a small friendly country with a powerful vision for its future, to which there is real commitment from the people.  Most of the people I have met, particularly the children deserve to succeed for they have ambition and work hard.  There is a long way to go, but there is hope for the future and it lies in the ambitions of the young.

Day 73 (Monday)

My last week of proper work here.  It is a quiet start to the week.  I am mainly finishing reports and making sure that there is a proper record of the work I have done.  I have rung one of my Head Teachers to try to arrange a joint action planning session and some training for his science teachers, but no luck yet.  It could remain a quiet week!  This morning there was a thick mist over the valley at dawn, although it was bright overhead.  However, by 9.00 a.m. it was raining for the third day in a row.  Definitely the rainy season now.  The clouds had cleared by midday and we had a beautiful warm afternoon. Nothing much to do but sit on the veranda and read. It’s a hard life.

Day 74 (Tuesday)

David and Sarah are going to Kigali for a few days to sort out a visa problem.  I am finally in a situation that I might have envisaged from  England 3 months ago.  I am alone in the house, with only my own company and strangers who call out and peer over the fence.  I have a little work to do, but not enough to fully occupy me.  My meeting with the district education officer is cancelled.  I spend a little time in the market and buy plenty of passion fruit.  Making the most of their ridiculously low price (2p each).  It will be my last chance and I intend to have at least two every day before I leave Kabarore.

Day 75 (Wednesday)

My last visit to Kiziguro.  It is market day  and so the journey will be more difficult, but it really is the only opportunity to do the science teacher training and work with the head teacher.  Unfortunately the Head Teacher is not at the school, so I cannot do the action plan with him.  Luckily the science teachers are all present and very keen.  It is obvious that they have never handled any science equipment before and so the training starts at a very basic level.  They have no confidence in their ability to use the equipment properly and need constant encouragement.  They are even fascinated by the alcohol thermometer and all want to take the temperature of things around them. 

Day 76 (Thursday)

My last day of working with Rwandan teachers and head teachers.   I am training another group of science teachers and will give them all copies of my schemes of work. All my reports are written and I just have a final exit interview in Kigali on Monday.  I hope to be able to pass on electronic copies of all the reports, pro-formas and documents I have produced in such a way that they won’t just be forgotten about. Is this just a forlorn hope?  An evening walk finishes the day.  To the lake and back.  The ants are very active in wide trails across the track.  Twice I do not avoid stepping too close and within a second or so there are ants swarming on my shoe and up my leg inside my trousers causing a loud and physical reaction from me.  If you ever see anyone hitting himself violently around the legs you might now be able to guess the cause.

Day 77 (Friday)

My last full day in Kabarore; an interesting place to have lived for 10 weeks.  It has been great to explore the local countryside here. Kabarore has its own lake and just behind our house is a tranquil lily pond, so there have been plenty of places to walk.  The London Bar, with its friendly service and TV football, has both entertained me and supplied me with my ration of meat via its goat kebabs.  The town has grown noticeably since we first arrived; there are more shops and they sell more produce – we even saw cheese on sale for the first time last week.  On a different note it is dull and grey today, which means my laundry is not drying and I have to pack it tonight. Tonight I will cook my own chips with fried eggs.  Bananas for dessert.  There is almost nothing else left in the house to eat.

Day 69 (Thursday)

My intention was to work flat out today, to make a big step forward with the science schemes of work and get one or two other reports finalised.  However, something always crops up.  Today it was a phone call from VSO telling me I had to fill in a form to cancel my visa.  I was told it was on the immigration website and spent a good few minutes looking for it.  I told VSO I could not find it whereupon they told me that I had to fill in the form for a visa application even though I was cancelling mine!  I then had to download it, get to a printer and print it out, fill the forms in and then send them back to Kigali.  There is no post here but the buses act as a courier service depot to depot.  I hope they now have the forms and my visa is being cancelled, because allegedly you cannot leave the country with an active visa!

Day 70 (Friday)

I have finished the science scheme of work.  Went to print it out at the district office and after a few sheets the printer packed up.  So, I had to go down to the telecommunications centre in Kabarore and get my printing done there.  I am now ready for my final week of work in Kabarore.  My plans are to spend two days training science teachers and one day working with a Head Teacher to write an action plan to improve teaching and learning.  I will have a final meeting with the District Director of Education and add the final details to my reports.  The end is in sight!

Day 71 (Saturday)

Today, I wanted to climb the hill to the south that overlooks Kabarore and it will be best done whilst the sun is in the east, so another early start.  I set off before breakfast and once at the top, take shots of the panorama over and beyond the town.  I managed to buy some muesli when I was last in Kigali, so it’s that and a banana for breakfast.  At least Rwanda produces good coffee to go with it.  For lunch we have bought samosas from the market, accompanied by tomatoes and avocados.  Papaya to follow.  We also managed to stock up with passion fruit which are about 2p each here.  There were none available at the market on Tuesday, but they will be a treat in our last week here.

Day 72 (Sunday)

We are expecting visitors.  Bert and his family are coming over for the day.  Kabarore makes a good day out if you live in Kigali.  It is a two hour bus ride each way, but there are good walks into the countryside from our front door and that is something you cannot do in the city.  Later in the afternoon  I walk up to the bus station with them and there is a lorry being fixed by the side of the road.  This is no small repair; the engine is in pieces and there are new pistons and big ends being fitted.  The mechanics seem to know what they are doing and everything is laid out carefully on cardboard spread on the mud (it rained very heavily this morning).  Picture attached. 

Day 57 (Saturday)

We are up just after 4.00 a.m. to breakfast before our 4x4 arrives at 5.00a.m. to take us to the park by 6.00.  We arrive as dawn breaks and the gloom lifts over the park.  We see a zebra before we are in the park proper.  We go in at the north entrance and the farm land outside is transformed to scrub with small herds of  zebras, impala and topi around every corner of the trail. We wind our way down to the plain where there is a long straggling herd of cape buffalo.  They watch us carefully as we park about 40m away and take pictures.  Later we see giraffe, elephants, crocodiles, hippos (largely submerged) warthogs, vervet monkeys, waterbuck, bush bucks and baboons.  Our drive through the park takes 11 hours and I have taken over 500 photos.  I need some time for editing. 

Day 58 (Sunday)

Disaster strikes again.  A power cut at 9.00 a.m. lasts all day and into the night.  No power for the laptop so no blog entries.  No power to cook and no lights in the evening.  My mobile phone needs recharging and so does my ipod.  The power cut lasts for six days; hence I am behind with my blog.  The power comes back on just as I leave for Nyungwe National Park on Friday afternoon.  So no time to make up my blog entries until the middle of next week.

Day 59 (Monday)

I am busy preparing for the Head Teacher training that I am delivering with David and Sarah.  The lack of power is a real nuisance.  Lots of charts, activity cards, document templates have to be done by hand and then copied by hand again.  Unfortunately none of us brought a ruler with us that was  longer than six inches, so long straight lines are a problem.  After a candle lit dinner cooked on a kerosene stove, there is not much more to do than go to bed.  Reading by candlelight is a strain on my eyes.

Day 60 (Tuesday)

More preparation work and I practise my “good” maths lesson on Sarah and David.  It involves two practical of activities one of which is a plenary.  It is meant to last about 20 minutes and demonstrate a lot of areas of good practice.  The maths is not too challenging, but I am not sure of the starting point of my students (the headteachers) so I want to be flexible and differentiate the level of difficulty, so all learn something new.  Not easy.  I think the sun should be directly overhead today in Kabarore, just a few minutes after midday.  I forget and go out to see at about 12.10 p.m.  The shadow of my approximately vertical stick is as small as it has ever been.  I take a picture of it!

Day 61 (Wednesday)

Kelti comes over to complete the team working on the Head Teacher training.  There could be more trainers than Heads!  We are resigned to the lack of power, but it is now back on the other side of the main road.  At least we can get some photocopying done.  It is cloudy today at midday, so I cannot check the position of the sun in the sky.   In the early evening I go for a walk at the back of the house (the safer part- I hope).  To my surprise I hear a commotion and there I see a pair of Ross’s Turacot in plain sight feeding on avocados in a tree. They are more spectacular in flight and luckily they oblige by flying to a nearby tree.

Day 62 (Thursday)

A frustrating start.  Whilst we are waiting for the Head Teachers to arrive for their training we hear that they have all been called to a meeting at the District Office.  Maybe the meeting will be finished in a couple of hours so we wait hoping they will arrive.  At 1.30 p.m. we get a telephone call saying the meeting is likely to go on until at least 3.30 p.m. so we give up. Well actually we try to make sure everyone is committed to coming tomorrow instead. 

Day 63 (Friday)

We deliver the training to about half the Head Teachers we were hoping would come.  It seems to go down well and the messages are well-received.  At least it is something we have achieved.  The training covered aspects of lesson observation to improve teaching; schemes of work and touched on strategic  planning.  We delivered most of, but not all of, the original 7 hours of training material in 4 ½ hours.  I dash back to the house to pick up my rucksack and a bite of lunch.  At the bus station there is no 1.50 bus and I have to wait for the 2.20 bus which is late!  I arrive in Kigali with a few minutes to spare.  I need to get to the VSO safe to get some $ for the Nyungwe National Park.

Day 64 (Saturday)

Another early start to get the bus to Cyangugu.  The journey takes 5 hours and we find out this is the only bus journey in Rwanda where you buy a booked seat.  There are no seats on the first bus so we buy seats on the 8.00 a.m. bus and have to sit and wait.  The bus is full with every fold down aisle seat occupied. My rucksack is on my lap and it is difficult to move, but at least I have a seat.  When we get to the national park the road is very potholed and swings round hairpin bends every few seconds.  The driver keeps up a good pace and people are sick out of the windows.  The forest is very atmospheric.  The peaks up to 3000m are completely covered in trees; below there is mist and cloud. Steep walls of rock rise up above and fall away below the road.  It gets cooler as we get to the top of the pass and the climate and vegetation is reminiscent of England’s wettest places.

Day 65 (Sunday)

The Giskura Guest House is very comfortable.  They provide a packed breakfast so one can get an early start in the forest.  We cadge a lift and are at the park office (Uwinka) in the heart of the forest by 6.00 a.m.  You are not free to walk on the trails in the park.  You have to buy a “licence” and a guide.  Prices are not cheap.  We pay $45 to see Colobus Monkeys.  The trek there takes only 30 minutes, but we are able to stay and watch for almost 2 hours.  There are probably more than 200 of the monkeys in the group.  Some are high up in the canopy; others are lower down feeding.  We move off the trail and climb a slope through thick vegetation to get closer.  One monkey gets in a squabble with another, loses its grip and falls 35m to the ground.  The guide says it will be ok.  After a couple of minutes we see it rise out of the vegetation and slowly it climbs a tree.  When it is about 5m up, another monkeys antics break a large branch off a tree above and the shaken monkey has to jump to safety.  It is a dangerous life being a colobus monkey.

Day 66 (Monday)

We decide to take a proper breakfast at 7.00 a.m. and risk a later journey to the park.  The breakfast is coffee, omelette, bread, honey and bananas.  The journey to Uwinka (the centre of the park) is about 18 km and takes about 40 minutes.  There is no organised transport except for a bus every hour and a half, which is usually full. We are in luck and get a lift after just a few minutes. I have decided to do the red trail, which is the hardest in the park and ascends over 700m and covers 10 km.  It is supposed to take 6 hours and passes spectacular viewing points and waterfalls.  It is great to be 4 km into the rain forest.  There are huge mahogany trees, ferns, and creepers growing everywhere and covered in moss and lichens.  Disappointingly there are almost no animals or birds to be seen.  You can hear them in the canopy, but they are too well hidden. Apart from the lack of wildlife the walk is as you would imagine.  Dark tunnels through the vegetation take you to high points where there are views over the canopy and out towards the distant mountain tops swathed in cloud and mist.  There is not a patch of bare soil anywhere.  We manage to catch a bus back to the guest house after only a few minutes wait.  It has been much easier to get to and from Uwinka (from the guest house) than we thought, but the trails are much more expensive.  The red trail cost $40 (both prices quoted are for foreign residents; tourists pay more).

Day 67 (Tuesday)

Another early start to get the bus back to Kigali.  The park guides have rung and booked us seats on the bus, so we know it will stop and pick us up.  In Kigali I take a small bus out to the VSO office and start to catch up with emails and my blog. I have been out of touch for ten days firstly because of the power cut and then because of my travels.  I am staying the night with friends and setting of on the remainder of the journey to Kabarore tomorrow after a bit of food shopping.

Day 68 (Wednesday)

Back to Kabarore where I have loads of work to do.  I have less than eight days left to finish all my work (science scheme of work, training of science teachers, reports and an action plan for one of my schools).  I have brought my flight home forward by five days (so it is now 85 days in Rwanda).  I feel this is the best thing to do given that my last 5 days were in Genocide Memorial week and by then I will have done the gorillas, so I would just be stuck in Kigali with not much to do.  Head down and back to work.  Probably short reports from now on.