Where do I even start? What a trip to say the least! This week has been a rollercoaster of a ride with broken vans, cockroach-infested vehicles, mouthwatering food, and exploring Rwanda! However, I honestly think this is the messiest trip I've ever been on. We started the morning and left Kasese around 9, but not even 1.5 hours into our drive, the problems began. One of our vans decided to call it quits, leaving us stranded on the roadside for over 2 hours as mechanics and our driver attempted to fix the radiator. In the meantime, we listened to music, melted in the sun, and caught grasshoppers. Eventually, we drove to a place to get lunch while waiting for the new vehicle to arrive. After what felt like an eternity, we got back on the road at 4 in the afternoon. But wait for it - the new van turned out to be a surprise package with a cockroach infestation! … oh my goodness. By 9 pm, we reached the border to Rwanda. We hoped this would be simple, but the lady at the counter refused to let us in. We did get in though, with the help of our good friend, Kule. Just when we thought things couldn't get any crazier, one of our group members managed to get her card swallowed by the ATM. After a brief panic, she eventually retrieved it. Wow, what a day. Anyway, we did make it to our hostel, Mamba Club, around 1 am.
While in Rwanda, we did quite a bit of exploring. On our first full day, we visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial. I learned so much about the atrocities committed in Rwanda in 1994. It was very educational, horrific, and heartbreaking to see the images and artifacts of the victims of the genocide.
We got to do some sightseeing in Kigali, as well as walk through the Kimironko Market, the largest street market in Rwanda. They sold everything from clothes, jewelry, decorative items, and food. I bought some coasters, postcards, a much needed fan, and other gifts. This was honestly such an overwhelming experience. It felt like navigating through a maze because you never quite realized where you were. It was also because people constantly tried to get you to buy something from them. On the positive side, I got lots of practice bargaining. In the evenings, we enjoyed ourselves at the hostel, which had a pool table, ping pong, swimming pool, bar, and even a bowling alley.
Before returning home, we spent one night at Lake Bunyonyi. This is back in Uganda, close to the border with Rwanda. Some fun facts: It is also the deepest lake in Uganda, second deepest lake in Africa, and the third deepest in the world. Here, we enjoyed traveling around by boat and lots of swimming (both with and without clothes). Lake Bunyonyi consists of 29 islands, but one highlight is Punishment Island because of its history. In the 1940’s getting pregnant before marriage was a taboo in the culture of the people living around this lake, and because of this, the women who became pregnant before marriage would be taken to this island to die of starvation, or as a result of drowning as they were trying to swim. During our stay, we had the pleasure of meeting a survivor, Maudah Kyitaragabirwe, who is now around 97 years old. As soon as her family discovered she was pregnant, they sent her away to Punishment Island. She managed to survive here for four nights. It was incredibly interesting to hear what she had experienced. The only reason she survived was because a fisherman in a boat came along and picked her up to be his "free" wife. Maudah said she was grateful she was saved and she has also forgiven her family.
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