The day we left Kigali was a Saturday andas we left the hotel we were told that the last Saturday in every month was cleaning day. The whole city was deserted, there was no traffic on the road whatsoever only groups of people sweeing the roads orweeding grassy areas either public places or in front of their homes. Mini buses and other public transport was being cleaned by the drivers and all businesses were closed whilst the premises were given the once over. We thought it seemed like a brilliant idea and explained why there was not a scrap of litter anywhere in Rwanda it is the most pristine country we have visited to far and has obviously come a long way since the genocide.

As we got further into the interior we could see why Rwanda is know as the land of a thousand hills as it is a lush country of endless mountains and the most stunning scenery we have seen and the most stunning scenery we have seen anywhere in the world. Everywhere is cultivated with many different crops, the most popular being coffee and cotton and the terraced hillsides are filled with locals tending their land it truly is a spectacular place.

On the way to Lake Kivu we paid a visist to Gikangoro the location of another genocide memorial. The memorial was a technical college before the war and the army persuaded about 50,000 tutsis from the surrounding areas to gather at the college where they told them they would be protected from the killers They lied to them and the Interhamwe (Hutu malitia) came and within a few days they were all dead having been brutually murdered. This is one of the most graphic of all the many memorials as hundreds of bodies have been preserved with powdered lime and left exactly as they looked when the killers struck. Wanding around the rooms the scene becomes more macabre beginning with the contorted bodies of adults and continuing with toddlers and babies, slashes from the machetes still visible on the shrivelled boodies. What made it more upsetting was the fact that the guy showing us around had lost his mother, 3 brothers and 2 sisters there was was obviouslly still distubed by the whole experience and had tears in his eyes as he told us the story. He did not go into the rooms with us merely unlocked the doors for us to enter. He told us that our of those 50,000 people roughly about 7 survived.

Heading on the the lake the road deteriorated badly into massive pot holes and it started to rain heavily. We realised we would not make our destination before it became dark at about 6 p.m. and so just made it to a village called Cyangugu which clings to the sourthern tip of the lake overlooking the DR Congo. The hotel had a fabulous position overlooking the lake but despite the beautiful views it was by no means palatial. Neither of us would use the shower and we were both afraid of being bitten by bed bugs..what do you expect for GBP 15. Still we had a decent meal and a couple of beers and watched Arsenal v Newcastle with the locals again!