Virunga - Take Two

This week I’m delighted to introduce Diana Hristova – friend, Johannes’ work colleague, loyal blog reader, and recent Rwanda visitor – as guest blogger. Enjoy her take on our visit to the mountain gorillas!

Steffi and I arrived in Kigali on a Thursday night to spend a long weekend with Johannes and Ginger on our way from Bujumbura to Dar-es-Salaam, and to go see the mountain gorillas. In “the country of a thousand hills” almost every spot offers a gorgeous view, and Kigali reminded me of San Francisco… ok, maybe the San Francisco of Africa. We started the weekend the way Johannes and Ginger usually do, with a stop in Bourbon for café lattes and crepes. For regular readers of Ginger’s blog, expectations for the drive to Ruhengeri were very high: “spectacular views, drastic drops into river valleys below and luscious green rolling hills as far as the eye can see”. However, as soon as we left Kigali, the rain was so heavy and the fog so dense that we could barely see a few meters in front of the car. We pulled up by the side of the road and played 20 questions until it slowed down. Luckily, the weather on the way back was gorgeous and the views were indeed magnificent.

We arrived at the lodge just before dinner. The place was beautiful, strangely quiet and empty, and very cold. The dining room and bar were heated with small individual size fire-pits, placed next to whoever is coldest, and the rooms had fireplaces. We kept the fire going with some World Bank reports that we no longer needed. 

Mt. Sabyinyo - the gorilla group we saw bears the same name

Mt. Gahinga and Mt. Muhabura from the Gorilla Mountain View Lodge

The next morning we showed up at the Park’s headquarters at seven, armed with power bars, water and cameras. I was half-way through Dian Fossey’s book “Gorillas in the Mist” and I was ready to dispense practical advice: Do not try and cuddle with the baby gorillas! Apparently that’s when things could become unpleasant. There are 56 permits sold every day, and seven groups of gorillas, so in the morning of the trek everyone is split into seven groups. We picked the Sabyinyo group, which has the largest silverback ever recorded (220 kilos), and the youngest baby in the park (2 months old). Our guides were both incredibly nice and knowledgeable, “equipped with a natural GPS”, as one of them said. We had a journalist from Radio France International in our group, so they spoke in both English and French the entire time. 

Guhondo, the Sabyinyo group's dominant male and the heaviest gorilla ever measured!

At the other end of the spectrum, a two-month-old baby goriilla

We had to drive about 15-20 minutes to the entrance of the park on a road that can’t fairly be called a road at all… “Rwandan massage” as Johannes put it. Once we were there, we hired a porter to carry our water, and we each got a walking stick engraved with the name of the Sabyinyo group. The first 15 minutes of the hike were through a field, but once we got into the Volcanoes Park it became a little more challenging – the vegetation was so thick that we had a guide walking in front of us with a machete to clear the way. We found the group within another 15-20 minutes. The park rules permit exactly one hour with the gorillas once you find them, and we were incredibly lucky because they had stopped for a break. So for the next hour we could just hang out with them, five meters away, take pictures, watch them curiously, and have them watch us curiously. All gorillas congregate around the silverback for comfort and protection. He was lounging in the middle of the group, first on his back, then on his stomach, then on his back… and scratching, in a very familiar human manner. The little baby was playing in its mother’s lap, an incredibly adorable tiny black ball of fluff! Luckily no one tried to cuddle with it, and after awhile the gorillas were ready to move on. We followed them for a bit, and watched one of them very skillfully peel and eat bamboo.

Look at those massive hands!

Enjoying the sunshine!

Steffi, Diana, Ginger, and Johannes with gorillas in the background

Sadly our time was up. We walked back to the Park headquarters to collect our certificates, and then headed back to the lodge. We spent the rest of the day looking through our pictures, relaxing by the fire, and planning our next adventures!

Zanzibar At Last

Ironically, several years ago, on Johannes’ first-ever trip to Africa and his first overseas trip with the World Bank, he was sent straight to Zanzibar for a staff retreat – not too shabby! He told me of white sand beaches, the turquoise water of the Indian Ocean, palm trees as far as the eye can see, and mouth-watering seafood – I couldn’t wait to go myself! And finally, earlier this month Johannes and I headed to the tropical island for 9 days of rest and relaxation.

We spent the first five days at the Ras Nungwi Resort on the northern end of the island, and it was honestly like paradise. We spent our days lying on the beach, reading, swimming, and eating delicious fish or seafood for every meal (except breakfast). It was my first time swimming in the Indian Ocean, and the water was so warm. We even saw a beautiful red starfish! The bed in our room was massive and oh so comfortable – this was a treat in itself given our five-foot long, hard-as-a-rock bed in Kigali! After a few days here, we had forgotten work stress completely and were beyond relaxed. On our last evening, we had a romantic candle-lit dinner on the beach under a breath-taking starry sky.

The view from Johannes' hammock on the beach

The swimming pool at the resort

During the last four days of our vacation, we were based in Stone Town, staying at the new and charming Kisiwa House. Most of our days were booked with tours, but we were also able to squeeze in some shopping and delicious meals. On our first full day in town, we spent the morning on a city tour, learning all about the unique wooden doors sprinkled throughout the city, the slave trade which played a big role in Zanzibar’s history, and the House of Wonders which was the first building to boast electricity and an elevator. In the afternoon, we took a boat out to Prison Island, which is home to massive land turtles – originally a gift from the Seychelles, where they are now extinct. They were so adorable!

Traditional Zanzibari door

Stone Town and the tower of the House of Wonders

Hungry, hungry turtles on Prison Island

The next day we spent the morning on a spice tour – a popular excursion for tourists to Zanzibar. We were able to smell, touch, and taste a variety of spices, herbs, and fruits – everything from cloves and cinnamon to jackfruit and custard apples. I was especially excited to see the ginger, of course – it’s called tangawizi in the Kiswahili language. In fact, whenever I told locals what my name is, they couldn’t help but giggle! That afternoon we ventured into Jozani Forest to see the endangered red colobus monkeys. They are very comfortable around human visitors and were so fun to watch, especially the babies!

The tourists decorated in coconut palm "artwork" from the spice tour

Red colobus monkey posing for the camera

On our last full day, we went on the Safari Blue tour – a must-do for tourists. It’s an all-day adventure that includes a boat ride to an uninhabited island, dolphin-sightings, snorkeling, a decadent seafood lunch, and sailing on a dhow (a traditional Zanzibari sailboat). We topped it off with a romantic dinner at the Serena – enjoying a four-course meal under the stars with the waves crashing along the beach below and relishing every last bite – from the lobster tail to the dark chocolate mousse with lemongrass custard. We knew that soon enough we would be back to the more bland Rwandan diet! ; )

Humpback dolphins off the coast of Zanzibar

Virunga - Take One

To celebrate Johannes’ birthday, we decided to spend the weekend at Virunga Lodge in northern Rwanda near the town of Ruhengeri and Volcanoes National Park. We left last Friday morning after our usual stop at Bourbon for café lattes and fruit crepes. The drive to Ruhengeri is quick – just two hours from Kigali – despite being one of the worst roads in Rwanda (embarrassingly sponsored by the World Bank), which is unfortunate because it is one of the most-traveled, particularly by tourists on their way to see the mountain gorillas. That said, the views are spectacular – drastic drops into river valleys below and luscious green rolling hills as far as the eye can see.

After driving the last 30 minutes up a steep hill on a disastrous dirt road, we finally reached Virunga Lodge. Its location is unbeatable – situated on a hill between Lake Bulera and Lake Ruhondo with impressive views of the five big volcanoes in the park. Many famous folks have stayed at the lodge, including Rahm Emanuel, Hillary Clinton, Don Cheadle, and Bill Gates, but they all probably arrived by helicopter! : )

Virunga Lodge

Mt. Muhabura

The breathtaking view from the lodge

Our main goal for the weekend was to relax since we have plans to come again and see the mountain gorillas in late November with some friends. On our first evening we watched some of the local villagers put on a traditional Intore dance and then Johannes went off to get a massage while I settled in with a good book. For dinner, we managed to avoid the group table in the dining room by requesting our own special table for two in the bar area with a warm fire nearby (it gets COLD up there!) and enjoyed a delicious meal, complete with some whiskey for Johannes and a glass of Amarula (a South African cream liqueur that is made from the fruit of the elephant tree and tastes like caramel) for me.

Intore dancers

On Saturday we ate a late breakfast with fresh mango and then set off with our guides for the village walk down to Lake Bulera. The whole time children from the village waved at us, yelled “muzungus!”, or even walked along with us for awhile. After a couple hours we reached the lake and went for a canoe ride where, interestingly, the village women were in charge of paddling and steering the boat. We continued on our way with sightings of many interesting birds and even a chameleon! Following a quick stop at the local hydropower plant and a sampling of banana beer in another village, we got a ride back to the lodge.

Johannes and his new friends

While Virunga Lodge was pretty amazing, Johannes and I couldn’t help but compare it to Nyungwe, which we both liked a lot more. Virunga has more of a “rustic” flare – the public toilets are more like outhouses, there is not always hot water for a shower, there are no fancy bath products in the bathrooms, etc. As Johannes said, “Do you think Hillary brought her own shampoo?” We, of course, hadn’t – honestly, at that price, we were expecting more. Man, do we sound spoiled! ; )