Up at sparrows after a great sleep. Pack our lunch as we won't have time to stop for that today as we hit the road for a couple of hours and then stop at the border to complete our formalities to exit Uganda. That was only half an hour of queuing, but just as we completed the heavens opened and a huge rainstorm hit, small rivulets turned into ever increasing rivers it seemed and we were forced to crouch under cover till a lull allowed us to make a run for it. The road and pathway, although not muddy (yet) were just rivers of red water as we splashed our way through no-mans-land to get to the truck. Of course none of us had raincoats with us did we!
And so we continued for a little bit then came to the Rwanda immigration and customs, we had our passports and entry visa applications all checked, and entered into their database, passports handed back with a deposit slip and instructions to walk 200 metres up the road to the bank and pay our $US30, get a receipt, go back and present the receipt and our passport again and get our entry stamp. That done, we then walked another 500 metres to the Rwandan gate, where our passport was again checked. So, we are now in Rwanda.
We have gained an hour, so set our watches back and started driving on the right (wrong) side of the road, a remnant from their German then Belgian 'colonisation'.
A drive of 2 hours sees us in Kigali, Rwanda's capital, and home of the Genocide Museum which we visited.
I have a recollection of the fighting between Hutu and Tutsis in 1994 but certainly don't recall the genocide that took place in Kigali and surrounds, claiming the lives of over 1 million people.
We spent an emotional and disbelieving hour and a half in the memorial museum.
A couple of hours drive and we arrived at Rehengeri. The noticeable difference between this town in Rwanda and others in Uganda and Kenya, is that it is extremely clean and every shop is coated in clean fresh looking paint! Quite a contrast where other towns appear run down and buildings not maintained at all.
We arrive at our lodgings for the next 3 nights. No more tents for 3 nights, but a dorm with all 8 of us and shared facilities.
I decided to treat myself to an upgrade and got myself a room with facilities. Nice to have room to spread out and a bathroom. I took myself off to the internet room to upload some photos to my blog, but the speed is very poor and in 90 minutes I had only succeeded in uploading 5 photos. Probably doesn't help that each photo is so big. I may need to wait until I get somewhere there is better speed and try again.