Up to Half Way!

Day 42 (Friday)

Yesterday we collected water from the roof during a storm.  It is very dirty with sand and soil, but looks cleaner than some of the water we have had delivered to the house from the local pump.  Lunch at a local “restaurant” today.  There was not really what you would call a menu.  “You have meat?”  “Yes, we have meat.”  So we didn’t really order, but after trying to get description asked to see what they had.  They just brought everything to the table.  We had 8 plates altogether; one of maize mash, cassava plus a white gelatinous lump (made we thought from African maize flour);  one of chips and spaghetti, one of chips and rice; two of spinach like greens; one of beans and 2 of meat in a watery gravy.  The meat was ok, no real fat or gristle to talk of and a decent quantity.  We had no idea what the bill was going to be, but when it arrived it was a real shock.  £1.30 for all of the food!  So, we’ve just eaten out for less than 45p each. 

Day 43 (Saturday)

I have travelled south to a town called Kibungo to see some volunteer friends.  Kibungo is bigger and longer established than Kabarore and their house is more sophisticated with two indoor and properly equipped bathrooms!.  After an early breakfast we walk down the side of a steep valley through loads of houses and farm small holdings in which there are penned cattle.  As we move further away from the town, there are more plantations and more scrub like vegetation.  As well as loads of exotic birds ( the best sighting being Ross’s Turaco – no picture, it flew overhead too fast!) I saw only my second wild mammal – a marsh mongoose.  After 8 ½ hours we returned to the town hot and dehydrated.  After a shower and a drink we have been invited to a Rwandan teacher’s house for drinks and we think dinner.  It is a very interesting evening and my first taste of Rwandan home cooking. 

Day 44 (Sunday)

After a bit of shopping in the shops which are much better stocked than the ones in Kabarore, I return home via two buses.  Travelling is pretty easy in Rwanda, but not always comfortable, particularly when you are trying to look after a full rucksack.  As soon as you walk into a bus park, someone asks where you are going and then directs you to a waiting bus.  The only trouble is avoiding this if you want to get an express bus rather than a local bus.  When I get back to the house I am told there has been another theft.  This time it is the water storage buckets from the garden.  We are thinking we will have to hire a guard.  Nothing is safe unless it is chained down or in the house and who knows whether or not someone won’t try to break in?

Day 45 (Monday)

Back to work after an enjoyable weekend.  I phone one of my headteachers and practice my French inviting myself on a visit this morning.  My request is accepted and I spend the whole morning working through documents and records until I feel my background work is complete and I can draft my report.   When the children have left, I inspect the latrines (from a distance!) and have a look at the classrooms and the rest of the site.  I speed back to Kabarore in a private car, the driver of which has sold seats to me and other travellers to help off-set the costs of his journey.  If only I could travel that way all the time!