I just slept ten hours straight. It was one hell of a journey back. I had to be at the bus park by 2:30am, so I didn't sleep. Instead, D took me for a drink at a bar in Kabalagala, then we returned to G8 to make the most of our last few hours. He'd booked a taxi to get us to the buses. There were quite a few people hanging around the bus park and few people sleeping on the ground waiting for their rides.
The bus that pulled up was a much older version of the one we came in on. I soon realised just how old. The suspension was non-existent, you felt every single bump in that road, and the roads are really not good after years of money squandering regimes. Also, the window latches were all broken so each time we hit a bump they'd open. It was freeeeezing cold. Thankfully the TV remained off, so no Swahili soap torture. Yet so were the lights, so no reading either. D had booked me a window seat, thinking it would be more comfortable. He could never have known about the cold. After a couple of hours we were all changing seats anyway. I settled for the back row. It meant physically leaving my seat each time we manoeuvred a pothole, but at least I could still feel my fingers and toes as it was out of the draft.
Time did go quite quickly, though. I was drifting in and out of snooze mode. The sky became light after about three hours. We stopped at a rest place five hours in, where I braved the conveniences. I'm now a squat-hole master. I almost wore a skirt for just this reason, but I can now pee correctly even in trousers. Glad I'd packed some bog roll though.
By the time we arrived at the border, I had bags under my eyes that I could have carried shopping in. It wasn't so bad this time. I manoeuvred the crowds and started talking to another passenger, Yvonne, as we walked from the Ugandan check-out to Rwandan check-in. She's Rwandese, but living in Uganda as she prefers the lifestyle in Kampala.
We stood around forever whilst customs searched our bags. They were more worried about plastic bags (illegal in Rwanda) than hard drugs lol Finally, got back on board. This gentleman sat down next to me. "Hello," he says. Oh dear, I'm thinking. I've already had one middle-aged gent try and make me sit next to him when I first boarded, I could do without another. "Do you know me?" he asks. Strange question, I shake my head for enlightenment. It turned out he worked for Ezra, D's boss. Aaaah. A few minutes after departure he made a quick phone call. I had a rising suspicion that this was another of D's chaperones, but he later denied it lol
The moment we hit Rwandan soil, I sparked out. I slept the whole two hours to Nyabugogo. There was this amazing sense of relief that washed over me at seeing home turf. I still find it amazing that, in the space of crossing one hill, the entire landscape can change so dramatically. Uganda: land of straight roads and flat plains. Rwanda: land of forest and a thousand hills. It really feels like home now. I know Rwanda. I know its places, enough of its language to hook a moto, how much things should cost, and all those little things that make you feel at home. I took a taxi from the bus park to my door. It had been about nine and a half hours point-to-point. D called just as the taxi was pulling up to our house.
Karzai was in the yard, gardening. The kittens had grown into cats in my ten day absence. I gave him some cash for looking after them and also gave him the day off. I just wanted to be alone to recover.
I hooked up the internet to find dozens of e-mails awaiting me, including some very sad news from Jo. She had two cats: Mweru (mother of my kittens) and Kabibi, their uncle. Turned out that Kabibi had caught a poisoned mouse a few days ago. They didn't realise it was poisoning, they just thought it was a dicky tummy like mine had. He was really ill for two days. The vet was useless, and eventually he died. :(
It's soooo sad. My overriding memory of Kabibi was when I went to collect the kits that first time. The moment we put Mao in the carry basket Kabibi came up and stuck his head under the lid as if he knew what was about to happen. Mao really takes after Kabibi. I'm glad they got to spend some time there when I went on research with work. He was a lovely lad-about-town cat. Now Mweru has stopped eating. So sad. :(
I'm going to do sweet FA for the rest of the day. I'm listening continuously to a song that makes me think of D, even though he takes the piss out of it ;) It's Shaggy's Bonafide Girl ft Rick Rock. In between hitting the 'play' button, I'm rescuing lizards from my cats. Must be open season or something. They've dragged two in already. I managed to save one, couldn't get through the ball of fangs and fluff to the second one though. Bit sad, they're beautiful lizards - babies of that big one that used to live in my tree. When they die they go deep blue :o/
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