Altitude: 3,470m
Country: Rwanda
Song of the Day: Lake of Fire - Nirvana
I had one of the worst nights of my life up on the volcano. Even with my long-johns and wool shirt I was cold. Beyond that I am coming to think that I actually broke my rib going over Rohija, not just bruised it. My wrist sprain feels fine now, but my rib still hurts about the same. Maybe it was the thin atmosphere, or maybe it was sleeping on a little pad, but every time I moved that rib was killing me.
I got up and had the food I brought for breakfast. The Congolese kids were nice and gave me a cheese sandwich and some warm tea. On a cold morning, that tea really helped. I also got my first look at the volcano crater in the daylight. The clouds had passed and you could see right down into it. It is still more impressive at night when the orange glow against the darkness is so captivating. Getting to see the details of the crate was quite impressive though. It was probably 400 meters down to the bottom. The lava lake itself was contained in a little ring of solid rock a meter or two higher than the bottom of the crater. It was kind of like a very h
ot above ground swimming pool. We couldn't stay that long though, and frankly after the night I had, I was looking forward to getting off the mountain.The trip down wasn't really any better than the hike up. Because of the loose rocks you were constantly on guard for falling on your ass. I saw two backpacks that were dropped and go rolling down the mountain. You couldn't enjoy the view either. I was spending most of my time just picking a path.
I was happy to get back to the ranger's camp at the bottom. I was met by my guide and we heading back into Goma. I did get a better view of the town. I saw and area where in 2002 a river of lava from the volcano had flowed into the town. The rock had been cleared from the road but you could still see the lava flows on either side of it. I saw even more of the UN camps as well. They all seemed to be made the same way. A ring of shipping containers draped in lots of razor wire. Ever hundred meters or so was a guard tower. (I didn't take any pictures because nothing says "don't film here" like a Uruguayan man in a blue helmet with a machine gun.)
M
y guide did take me to a place for lunch. The DRC was celebrating 50 years since independence. So almost everyone was decked out in fabric commemorating that. The lady who ran the restaurant had a particularly nice ensemble.I got back to Rwanda, and was happy to get back. I headed to Trude's place and took a nap. I was dead.
-Dravis
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