There are plenty of stories to tell of adventures and new friends. Today I'll start with two; one old, one new.
Ups and downs
It started out with a hike. I love hiking. Stupidly, however, I didn't know a hike was planned and had only packed thongs for what I thought was a weekend a the lake. Bad move. We set out for an island on Lake Kivu near Kibuye, called Napoleon's Hat. As you can see, an island of that name is narrow, long and goes straight up and straight down on the other side. Glad I had those all-terrain thongs on.
The island is known for the bats that live there, so as we walked up the hill our guide clapped incessantly, rousing the bats from their comfy branches. There were so many and they must have hated us. But, it was incredible to get see them up so close.
Steep as it was, we made it to the top and took in the magnificent views that I've been all too spoilt with here. After that, all we needed was to get down again. And down I went, gracefully, I might add. I managed to fall in one of the only soft, grassy parts that wasn't covered with jagged rocks and cow poo (It's still beyond me how they get cows on that island in those rickety wooden boats).
So we made it down. Well not all of us, two girls got lost, then the guide went looking for them and managed to somehow make it to the top again without passing them. All the while we were waiting in the boat joking around.
It all happened too fast. I tilted my head back (full, mouth-open belly laugh) and they were in the water. My much-loved Wayfarers were in the lake. So, of course, I jumped in after them. Fun fact about Lake Kivu: it is one of the deepest lakes in the world and goes down 480m at its deepest point. Fun fact about Ray Bans: they sink bloody fast. I had no chance.I swam back to shore. By that stage the girls had made it back to the boat and were wondering why I was in the lake fully clothed, laughing (hysterically, at my own stupidity).
Eventually we headed back to shore just as the skies opened. I was freezing! A Welsh friend kept offering me a dry Wales t-shirt but I just couldn't do it. The Wallabies were set to play Wales that night. They later beat them 15-6 as we watched on from a lakeside sports bar. Lucky I didn't take the t-shirt.
Lost and found
It still doesn't beat an ocean breeze, but living at Lake Kivu is spectacular. I try to get down to the lake for a swim as often as possible. On one of the many public holidays over Christmas, I decided to do just that and stroll down through the back streets of Kamembe to go for a dip.
Not long after I had started into the village, off the main road, a man stumbled into me in a drunken manner. The whole situation was odd. He'd crossed the path and bumped into me right on the edge of the hill. In Rwanda almost everywhere is the edge of a hill. I had to grab hold of him so that he wouldn't fall down.
In a daze, I stared back at him as he walked away. By that stage everyone else around us had stopped to look too. They were yelling loudly to each other and then to me, "Ifoni" "Telephone". And then one guy says, "Excuse me, that man just stole your phone."
That little bugger! Then the same guy says, "Come with me. Don't worry, he is our local thief. We will catch him." Next thing I knew, ten or so kids had spread out in different directions, everyone shouting things to one another along the hillside, presumably about who they were looking for and which way he went. If only I had had my phone with me, I could have filmed it!
Ten minutes later, the man responsible for village security approaches me, "Is this yours?"
And off I went for a swim. Unbelievable. I love Rwanda.
