Quiet weekend away
on Melissa Hipkins (Rwanda), 07/Jun/2010 06:48, 34 days ago
We have just spent a couple of nights this weekend at a hotel beside Lake Kivu a few miles outside Gisenyi in the north west of the country. Over the lake, intermittently visible are the mountains of the Democratic Republic of Congo, their heads disappearing into clouds or their bodies merging into the blue of the haze.The hotel is right by the shore; the sounds of the waves all pervading during the day with a refreshing on shore breeze taking the edge off the essentially sunny weather.Our journey on the Friday afternoon was made separately even though the bus to Gisenyi passes through Busogo and the campus of ISAE. Our buses were barely 5 minutes apart but Melissa's was full so I enjoyed a ride in a bus half empty unaware that she followed close behind.Meeting up at the bus station we took a moto each to the hotel, about 8 kilometres to the south Melissa is used to motos but I still have the feeling whenever I mount up that all is not going to go well. My crash helmet was held on by faith alone, the strap had no buckle. Exploring the hotel's garden by the lake we found a wealth of flowering shrubs and trees and an equally fascinating collection of insects reptiles and birds.Fish eagles patrolled and kingfishers hovered over the clear waters and seemed to favour one particular tree on the shore of a seemingly accessible promontory across the bay. However, time was getting on and the weather and the hour combined to signal beer time, so exploring would wait.The dining room was practically al fresco; just a roof with a gravel floor and an abundance of plants and shrubs cascading in through the window spaces and climbing the roof columns. Candles supplement the slightly harsh low energy bulbs almost universal in Rwanda but the wood fire in a pit at the centre softened the shadows. As the meal came to an end, the sound of drumming and a woman singing signalled the entrance of the intore dancers. Only the men were in costume and even though few in number they had a different more energetic repertoire than troupes we had seen previously.Saturday was just as pleasing a day and we put into action our scheme to visit the promontory and try to view the eagles closer at hand. Our route took us past the beer factory at the head of the inlet, well known now as one of the industries powered by methane recovered from the lake bed. There being no maps or guides, we had to go by first principles to gain the neck of the promontory and decide on the best way round to the tree we had seen. One of the hotel staff had said as an aside that there were hot springs nearby but it was only when we stumbled across a group of youths washing themselves, their clothes and their motorbikes that it was apparent they were doing so using water from these springs. We had supposed that there would be some exploitation of this resource, but no, it simply bubbled up by the shore and drained directly into the lake. Only after I could tear Melissa away from the bathhouse could we continue along an indistinct path through close dense vegetation. It was a relief not to attract the usual motley of kids as our progress was masked by elephant grass and bamboo. Butterflies in profusion kept Melissa busy with the camera until we emerged onto the promontory head and a grassy meadow by the shore. From here the path was easier to negotiate and the children appeared as predicted.It was a disappointment to find no nest in the tree but we were able to observe the eagles and kingfishers at closer quarters. On returning to the neck of the promontory, we passed another hot spring with no signs of any regular use whatsoever.We spent an enchanting evening having dinner on Saturday in the hotel grounds. It was very agreeable to be able to enjoy each others' company in such pleasant surroundings. Fish freshly caught from the lake accompanied by a floor show of geckos climbing the thatched awning of the table. They are made insubstantial by the candlelight and seem equally at home under or on top of the wooden surface. Humming bird moths supped at the geranium hedge. Fire flies by the shore and over the water harmonized with the lightning glittering in towering clouds 30 miles away over the Congo. Too far off to be heard a splendid adjunct in the full moon and not at all a threat.The wind has calmed under the starry sky but the wavelets still rustle on the shore 5 yards away. We allow the night's performance of the Intore dancing to remain imagined in the background. The fire they dance beside projects energetic shadows but we linger listening to the sounds of the night.It's a shame we have to leave when we do, but it is up at just gone 7 to give time for Melissa's 5 hour bus ride to Nyanza while for me Musanze is only an hour away. At least we manage to get on the same bus and admire the views on the steep climb out of Gisenyi. The hills here are unusual in that some are bare rock, the face of the cliffs too vertical to support the rich volcanic soil. Tea plantations cover some of the broader valleys though it was remarkable that no-one was picking. It was Sunday.