(thanks Jim)
Last real day in Rwanda – I’m going to bed sad to be leaving, but happy to be reuniting with Kat. It’s an amazing country and one I’d like to come back to.
I was up early to join the Belgians for breakfast, and then we got on the bikes. We had a lovely ride for an hour or two, initially retracing my route from yesterday, but continuing further. They had a guide, who was great about setting a good pace, while being safe on the descents. After a while, we got to my stop – a boat from the lodge was meeting me to take me back, while the Belgians continued south as part of their week long trek.
I got back to the lodge and enjoyed some reading with coffee. In the afternoon, I took a kayak out on Lake Kivu to explore a bit. There’s a small island nearby. As I got closer, I saw that there were cows on the island, but no humans or any structures. Later on, I asked Philippe to explain – apparently the cows just swim out when they feel like it, then swim back at night. Wild!
The night ended with some new guests at the lodge joining for dinner. Mostly more Belgians (friends of some of the other guests, who’d been watching the gorillas), plus a German/South African guy who’s in the midst of an 800km/5 day bike loop around Rwanda. Cars came up, and it turns out one of the Belgians is an Alfisti, owning a super rare Alfa SZ. Seriously jealous.
Tomorrow I’ll be up early to head back to Kigali. I’ll be a little nervous until I get my rental car back to the main road. As I write this, I’m watching big storms move across Lake Kivu, though it’s hard to imagine that storms could make the road worse. Hopefully I’ll catch up with a final blog post from Nairobi in a day or two!
Good luck with the return trip. Glad you had a good last day. Nice doggo — a Rwandan Molly spirit came to visit you.