First Days

Kigali Airport

Well, these posts - as they are numerous - shall be blissfully brief (you'll be pleased to know) and backdated lol

Ghislain did manage to finish. I left him with the key when I went to the airport and he was gone by the time we got back. Although I now have running water throughout the house, the pipe outside is leaking, so I shall have to call him back when I can be bothered.

The plane was about an hour late landing in Kigali, although much of that was the slow baggage system. Dad and Marilyn arrived looking surprisingly well. It's only when I said so that they explained they had been poisoned by Ethiopian Airways' food! Being perhaps the only vegetarians on the plane they were served distinctly dubious re-heated rice and, by the time they arrived in Addis, it was all they could do to stem the vomiting and get their connecting flight!

I piled them into a taxi and got them straight back to the house for some R&R.

They were feeling much better after some rehydration fluids and a rest in my cool and tranquil grounds. We took a very gentle stroll up the road to VSO so that they could see one of my two offices and meet my Programme Manager, Emilienne. Then we went over the road to High Noon, where Dad had perked up enough to tackle a Mutzig.

We opted for light snacks from Ndoli's rather than a meal that night as their tummies weren't up for it. Much sleep was required to make sure they were fit for the rest of the week.

Today we had a really relaxed, lazy morning. After getting to grips with my water system, we braved public transport with a bisi into town. We headed to the Mille Collines (Hotel Rwanda) for the obligatory tour and marakuja juice by the pool, then took a taxi up the hill to Gisozi Genocide Memorial Centre. I wanted to get that bit done first. My intention being to show the extremes of Rwanda (best and worst) over the holiday. We recuperated at Bourbon with coffee and food afterwards, then headed back home before a leisurely meal at SoleLuna in the evening, in all its panoramic splendour.