Today we left Akagera and headed to Kigali for one night before heading south.
As we left the park we saw a female oribi - a small antelope but with a distinctive black spot under her ear and a grey bird which initially looked like a hawk but with binoculars and our bird book we worked out it was a common cuckoo - which isn't quite that common!
Next stop Kigali - we passed through hills and dales and watched people going about their daily business - bicycles are the modern beasts of burden loaded with hands of bananas, yellow plastic water containers, wood, doors, bags of something either bought or to sell and fodder for livestock. I realised that women didn't ride bikes, John saw one but I saw none save for a rare sight of one young girl and two boys clad in lycra going down hill on their racing bikes. Women tended to walk with commodities balanced expertly on their head or were the passengers on the back of a bicycle often with a child secured to their back.
Charles religiously observed the speed limits - 40 kph through built up areas -as there were police dotted at regular intervals with speed guns at the ready - and he didn't want the hassle or the expense of a ticket!
In Kigali we stopped at an enormous market that sold everything from smelly fish that assaulted your senses as you walked in to fruit, vegetables, beans, flour, shoes, plastic bowls, crafts and every item of hardware that you might need. It was busy but not a great deal of buying was going on! The lively lady in today's photo was one of the stall holders with a prime spot on the edge of the market. While we looked and watched at the hustle and bustle of market life John's shoes were being expertly stitched at a shoe repairers, in front of the market, for the princely sum of 500 francs or 50pence - unheard of in the UK where the skill seems to have vanished - the other shoe's stitching went at home and had to be repaired with super glue ! Next stop was a modern shopping mall to get a SIM card for my iPad - MTN seems the best mobile carrier, to visit an ATM as we are about to be 7 days without access to cash machines and lunch before heading to the hotel.
The afternoon and evening were spent in the quiet of the Serena hotel - I visited the gym before dinner which made a nice change as I needed some exercise. The next part of the trip should hopefully allow for more walking which will negate the need for a gym!