Happened to make my way to eastern Rwanda. But before we talk about that I need to tell you that I have never seen a more significant difference between two places as I did see when moving from the eastern Congo into Rwanda. It was almost like going from one country to another. Here is a photo of the border crossing between the Congo (to the left) and Rwanda (to the right). Seems pretty neutral, but I can say that the chaos on the left side is way more significant than on the right side.
Shortly after arranging a public bus ride to Kigali, and stepping aboard that packed bus I saw some of the most beautiful snapshots of Africa that I have seen. Unfortunately, the speed of the bus and the jolting ride made all photos I took just blurs. What I can report is that there is a stunning rainforest on the top of and around some sharp and pointy mountains. To be frank, much of my focus was on the obvious conclusion that the bus would crash because of the driver's excessive speed. Clearly we did not. I am surprised. But alive I am. But I can assure you that in the mountains of eastern Rwanda there is much hope from the many gardens and tea plantations. That is in stark contrast to the jungle and ironic emptiness of the Congo. I say “ironic emptiness” because the Congo has so much potential, and did have an active economy, but that is all gone. So, this story starts at the border of the Congo and Rwanda and moves to Kigali. Here are a couple of shots to show that it is a city has it's act together. My view is that Rwanda is a beacon of hope for Africa. Sure there are problems there still. But the hope and optimism of the people there is contagious. And with hope the great achievements there will spread to other countries in Africa.
These are a couple of the first shots as I entered Parc National de l' Akagera in eastern Rwanda. The park/c bumps up against Tanzania. That means the photos you might choose to see are from the far western branch of the Serengeti, which is a few hundred kilometers to the east.I know, the east/west reference I just made is a bit confusing, but let's look at it like this: you are floating in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa; then you make it to shore and start walking west; as you walk west you pass through the magical meadows of the Serengeti; then as you continue westward you have to make a bit of a detour around Lake Victoria; but then as you continue westward you arrive at the place where these animals are hanging out.
As a former hunter my hopes were up as I took a good look at the many tracks on the road.
And sure enough, there were beautiful beasts all over the place.
And we'll end with a couple of zebras in a reflective moment.
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