As the day dawned I heard the fishermen again this time they were rowing back to harbour and as we left Moriah Hills we passed a little cove where they had docked. It was great to see as it has probably been going on for years. (today's picture)
Our journey to Gisenyi was the longer but quicker route as the road was in excellent condition as opposed to the other route which according to the Italian girls, we met at the Canopy Walkway in Nyungwe, was one big pothole!
We seemed to pass even steeper hillsides which were terraced to allow cultivation - work on some of the slopes look to be at a precarious angle - but where crops will grow its no doubt worth it. That said you do wonder about land slips which could easily happen with heavy rain and the deforestation - even with the fresh growth of Eucalyptus trees. I noticed that even some of these were cut down to satiate the need for charcoal - in the east we did see a lot of biofuels being grown and in the west I did see a sign to a hydro electric power station - so alternative fuels are being explored.
I am still amazed not to have seen a woman riding a bike but bikes really are the new beast of burden multiple sacks on them being pushed up steep hills often by two people - I am not so sure about going downhill, control is not easy and the last thing you want is to crash and have to rescue your potatoes and carrots from the road - of course if you were in a fit state to do so. I was also surprised at the numbers of people earning a living from breaking rocks into chippings we last saw this in Madagascar.....this really is a hard life.
Escaping from the real world we arrived in a different dimension as we drove into the Serena hotel - as we were checking in an official cavalcade pulled up and someone high profile emerged which put the hotel staff into a controlled panic - it was the minister of defence with some top army officers and his ministerial support team. We had passed the special forces camp on the way in so guessed that's where they had come from for lunch & later we noted he was in the restaurant for dinner. After our slightly interrupted check in I was now very peckish so the buffet lunch went down very well before I headed to the pool for a snooze and a swim.
In the evening we sat by the pool and watched a lovely sunset over the lake as the sun disappeared below the mountains of Congo (DRC) on the opposite shore. The air was also filled with a familiar sound, after our Zambian trip, of fruit bats in the trees albeit they left their roost in ones and twos not millions!
Lake Kivu is the 6th biggest lake in the world and we have travelled up most of its eastern shore. It really is relatively untouched and pristine - that said I did ask what a structure in the middle was and was told it was methane extraction so it may be not pristine for much longer.