Weekend in Ruhengeri

This past Saturday morning we arranged for Jacques, who has become our tour guide and driver for our longer journeys in the country, to pick us up and take us to Ruhengeri and Parc National Des Volcans.  The trip is not long, only about 2 hours, because the roads are pretty good.  The park is the location for mountain gorillas (yes, those "Gorillas in the Mist" guys) trekking and some very costly hiking trips.

On Saturday, Jacques took us first to see Lake Burera, a very large lake with a dirt road that goes up and down the steep hills and around the lakes' perimeter of beautiful coves and farm land.  The day was cloudy and the threat of rain was always present but the clouds and rain really made for a more enchanting visual over the lake. 

Lake Burera

Jacques brought us to a lovely spot to picnic and he very nicely chased away the ever present children interested in the Muzungus.  We wanted to walk or hike but having a crowd of children chasing after us made it difficult.  In the end we drove further on the road and then Jacques dropped us off so we could get a bit of a stroll at least just back up to the car.  Along the way we were rewarded by spotting two crown cranes, one in flight.  These are huge and amazing birds!

Jacques drove us up to see the Virunga Lodge http://www.volcanoessafaris.com/safari-lodges/virunga-safari-lodge/.  Earlier I called to inquire about the cost per night to stay at this fancy and famous safari lodge, and what a bargain it is at $600 per person per night (Nava's stay would have been discounted a bit).  We drove up because I just wanted to see the amazing views and perhaps have a drink.  We were rewarded with $3 sodas and coffees on the lodge porch and some truly amazing views.  The lodge is situated on a very high mountain between Lake Burera and Lake Ruhondo.  We walked a bit around the lodge.  Of course as we got to the edge of the short lodge trails a group of children came running over to...see the Muzungus (by the way I now charge 500RWF a minute for viewings and extra if Nava talks).  Then the first rains came and we sat on the porch watching the storm clouds roll in and out.  As they rolled out we got some great glimpses of the volcanoes.

Volcanoes

Saadya trying to look like a rich Muzungu on the porch of Virunga Lodge

Rains coming in

From the Virunga Lodge we traveled toward the entrance to the park to try to get another small walk and this time we were succesful as Saadya and Nava chose to stay at the car and Patricia and I walked a bit along the road as dusk was approaching.  Not only did the movement feel good (and needed) we both agreed that traveling along the road by foot gave such a different feel.  In the evening we stayed at a hotel in Ruhengeri, and no, we did not stay in the "Dian Fossey" room.

Sunday morning we rose early, had a good breakfast and went to the park headquarters to purchase our Golden Monkey treking passes (at $100 each, much cheaper than the $500 gorilla passes).  Just as we were ready to take off on our trek it started to pour, we jumped in the cars to get to the trail and as we drove up to the trail the rain turned to hail.  Lucky for us, the hail stopped and we hiked in with our guide, a tracker and protection (yes, a man with a big gun.  I thought it was because we were close to the border but actually we were told it was to protect us from buffalo that might attack).  The "trail" was really now a fast running stream and the rain just kept coming.  We got to the edge of the bamboo forest where the monkeys live and the tracker and protection man went in to see what they could find while we waited, and waited, and waited in the pouring cold rain for the signal to join them.  At about this point we began to wonder if this might not be one of the reasons that people think the Muzungus are odd, here we were freezing and soaked and we paid just how much to do this?  After what seemed an interminable wait in the fields our guide got a call on the walkie talkie that they had sighted some monkeys.  We finally got to go into the bamboo forest, and after a short walk saw our first monkey.  Hard to see but we felt OK, now we've seen something.  Then our guide kept us moving and bushwhacking through the forest and as we moved we saw more and more and more monkeys.  It was really getting exciting, we saw babies, adolescents and adults.  Nava was trying to keep count (she says we saw over 200) because the guide promised us at least 20 monkey sightings.

Bamboo forest and a monkey

The guide finally led us back to the wall at the edge of the park where all the monkeys were gathered.  I have tons of photos but this one will at least let you see just how proximate we were by the end. 

Nava wanted to take one home

Wet and cold, we returned to the car, changed up and drove back to Kigali where the sun was shining and it was quite hot.

As a side note, I'm glad we immediately downloaded all of these photos from our camera.  Today, as Nava was walking home from school, she was taking some pictures of flowers on the road to our house when a man grabbed the camera from her hands and ran.  We will still post photos of our trip but the quality will probably be much lower.  Kigali is a "safe" city but like every city petty crime is rampant.