Trip Home from Cyangugu

A couple of weeks ago Rob and I, along with his team returned from our road trip to Cyangugu. They were there checking out the progression of the Savings and Credit Association groups and I was there on assignment from World Relief to check out a community health training session that was happening in neighboring Nyamasheke.

Cyangugu is in the far Southwestern side of Rwanda nestled along beautiful Lake Kivu and overlooking the borders of Congo and Burundi. The whole time we were in Cyangugu, however, I was really looking forward to the trip home. In order to get to and from Cyangugu, you have to travel through the national forest. On the way in it was raining so hard I couldn't take in the change of scenery, but we left on a cool clear day. The total trip time home takes 6 hours. 1 hour to the forest, 2 hours in the forest, and 3 hours out of the forest. Rwanda is approximately only the size of Maryland; the roads are just in poor condition outside the city.

The national forest is filled with all kinds of wildlife and hiking trails. The most common form of wildlife: monkeys. All different kinds of species. They are so used to local traffic that they aren't scared away by cars and I was able to snap a few photos.




Rob is really interested in going back one weekend and doing some of the hiking trails. The forest is beautiful, with cliffs, hills, waterfalls, and tropical vegetation. I really hope he is able to fit it in.

We stopped for lunch during the 3 hours out of the forest segment at a small cafe. We were served a traditional Rwandan buffet meal. I decided on the chicken after seeing these tasty specimens outside the front entrance.


Bon Appetit!