Bizidanny

The main Mosque in mumuji.

Wooooo hoooo! Just booked to go see the gorillas in September :op

Was a bit of a panic at the beginning of the week, tried a couple of companies who both said there weren't any permits left! Then had an e-mail reply from this guy called Danny at Bizidanny Tourist Group who had three going. Dad and M are coming out on 9th September. We want to go do that and Akagera.  This time in a comfy 4x4 rather than a rickety old bisi :)

Permits are quite expensive: $500 each ($250 for me, being a resident :op) but all is good because of the exchange rate at the moment. You have to buy a permit to enter the park because the number of visitors are rationed so as not to disturb them too much. I was really relieved that we managed to get some. Danny and his wife are absolutely lovely, based next to the Mosque in town, just down from the Post Office. We're going up to Ruhengeri on the 10th, doing a tour of lakes Bulera and Ruhondo, overnighting at the Gorilla's Nest, trekking the morning of the 11th, then heading back to Kigali. Akagera on the 16th. All paid for and sorted now, so I can relax.

I celebrated my triumph with lunch at Bourbon coffee shop, and had another minor triumph when I got home to my work station. An e-mail from the American Embassy asking a few follow-up questions on our funding application but also saying 'it's very good.' Not to get my hopes up too high just yet, but fingers crossed. It would be absolutely spiffing if we pulled this one off. The follow-up question was a tentative one about what my involvement with RNAD is. What I read from that is the concern that, often, funders like myself are brought in to help write applications, but can the organisation actually manage the funds if they get them? It's a fair question, although I may be reading too much into it. It's a question that would be on my mind in their position. I think I've answered well enough, so we'll see. It would be phenomenal if we got it.

I also received a text from Rose the other day saying that her kid is doing much better :) Phew.

So, again, everything would appear to be going rather well, but I was moaning down the phone to Mum last night. Can't shake this cold and I'm utterly drained by it. I feel like going to bed by five in the evening and I'm still wheezing and coughing away. Very tired, but not serious enough to keep me off work or warrant the doctor. I'll just twiddle my thumbs for a while and see what happens.

D has taken the role of lodger at the moment and we're getting on much better. We're watching loads of movies. We even watched Mississippi Burning, which was a bit weird as it's all about the KKK in 1964 America. He's still rather sexy, but I still want my house back. Between man or house? House. So that's the way it's got to be.