An early morning gym session followed by a leisurely breakfast, outside in the sunshine, overlooking Lake Kivu was a great start to the day.
The final reminder of the Defence Minister was seeing a motor boat - which turned out to be a small gun boat flashing past. The fact Lake Kivu is shared with the Congo means lake border patrols are a necessary part of ensuring the security of the state.
We left the hotel around 10 and headed North East to Ruhengeri and our lodge for the next 5 days - Mountain Gorilla Lodge.
We settled into our spacious individual lodge ( number 3 - Weaver) and unpacked. As the rain disappeared and the clouds lifted we had great views of an extinct volcano and the Virunga Mountains.
After lunch and a relaxing afternoon we watched the traditional dancers who come daily to dance for the tourists and raise funds for their education - the group came from a local school and put on an excellent show.
The boys wore long wigs which they whipped around very skilfully making different patterns and getting, momentarily, their pseudo hair to stand straight up on top of their heads. See one of the dancers in today's photo as he leapt high into the air.
The girls sang, drummed and performed their own dances - one with papyrus vases strapped to their heads.
It was an excellent introduction to their traditional dancing - and most of us put tips in their tip basket.
When it concluded we went back to the lodge to enjoy sitting by the fire we had had lit before going out. This was followed by dinner and early bed as we are up at 0530 tomorrow to track the gorillas - not as early as chimpanzees but early enough!