Kisoro to Gisenyi - Day 312

Date: June 26th, 2010
Distance: 103km
Country: Rwanda

I left Kisoro and began battling more dusty roads and a strong headwind. It was only 10km or so to the border, but it wasn't all that fun. At the border I didn't have any real problems though. Everything was efficient and organized. I thought I got away without paying for a visa, but it turns out that as an American you don't need to pay anything. Yay. So I am now in Rwanda, country 25.

At least on the Rwanda side the roads were paved. I was still heading against the wind, but the good roads make everything so much easier. I stopped in Ruhengeri for some lunch and got in touch with Trude, another girl I met on couch surfing. She offered me a place to stay and even invited me to watch some world cup action (U.S. vs. Ghana).

The road out of Ruhengeri was quite steep. I spent the next four hours climbing over a series of hills. It was pretty though. It did provide for some excellent vistas.

I have noticed that the people here aren't amazingly friendly. It isn't that they are hostile, they just aren't that nearly as welcoming as the people I met in west Africa. Anytime I stopped a crowd would gather, but no-one would say hello. They would just stare silently at whatever I was doing. The children aren't any better either. They chase after you asking for money. One little boy ran up with a big smile on his face and threw a rock at me. Then he and his friends laughed about it. Thanks kids. I did give up the idea of stick beatings for children though. (I am still open to that idea for white tourists who give kids money.) For a while I pondered using a tazer on a few of them, but decided that the cost of doing so would be prohibitive. I finally settled on pepper spray. It would be cheap, non-leathal, able to hit multiple targets and provide a satisfying negative reinforcement for bad behavior. Then again, maybe I am using too much time to think about it...

The last 20km into Gisenyi was amazing. All the work I had done climbing the hills finally paid off. I was screaming down the road. Keeping up with the cars ahead of me most of the time. It only took about 40 minutes too. For those of you who aren't good at maths, that is an average speed of 30kph. I am not looking forward to doing the reverse though...

In Gisenyi I met up with Trude and her friend Ian. We walked around the city for a bit before heading back to Trude's place. We met her roommate, Portia there. All four of us ended up over at the house of one of Trude's co-workers for some dinner and to watch the World Cup. After the match Ian, Trude and I sat up late talking.

-Dravis