This morning the group was going to visit the Yego Project started by the Rev. Emmanuel Gatera and his wife, Athanasie. It is a program to serve the needs of children, youth and widows who are getting help to work through the trauma of the Genocide. They would get an opportunity to meet with some of the staff and families and individuals who are supported by the Yego program.
Steve and I chose not to attend this outing. We are changing rooms today. Steve needs his rest and the room assigned to us when we arrived is right over the kitchen and very noisy with the constant staff chatter and the clatter of pots, pans and dishes. So we packed our things up and were able to move down the hall to another room on the other side of the building...much better view and even has a shower curtain!
With that done, we decided to get out for a bit of a walk. Although feeling better, Steve is still quite weak...so a little exercise and fresh air would do him good! Speaking of exercise...that is one thing we really haven't gotten a lot of on this trip. It's not like you can get out for a good power walk or hike while in the wilds of Tanzania! A lot of sitting and standing...is about all we have be able to do!
We walked the two short blocks up to the main street, taking a few pictures along the way.
After walking a few blocks, we turned around and continued walking back, passing our turnoff. One of the spots folks have been walking to for happy hour is Hotel Umubano, so we thought we'd take a look. This is the first place where we have had to go through a security check to enter a hotel...interesting. Purse searched and everything out of your pockets and placed through the X Ray machine and a wave of a wand around your body.
This is the pool area...
After we had a look around, we headed back to the Guest House. Seems everyone carries everything on their heads!
Steve asked if he could take their picture but I think she was a little shy...
Once back, we sat and relaxed on the veranda with a bottle of water. A huge storm complete with thunder and lightning came through and it absolutely poured!
We went back up to our room and Steve laid down for a while. Here is a picture of the conference centre from our balcony...
Once the others returned, we all gathered in the dining room for a late lunch. Emmanuel had arranged for a city guide...so once she arrived, we all piled into the bus and off we went.
The Radisson Blu Hotel...
...and Convention Centre....(stay tuned...looks really cool at night all lit up!)
This is a huge traffic circle...
Kigali is a very modern city and the government is trying to get Rwanda to become the technology centre of Africa......
We looped around to an older and industrial section of town...
...then back into downtown...
We stopped at Hotel des Mille Collines where over a thousand Tutsi refugees were housed - Inaugurated in 1973 as the first grand hotel of the country and receiving globally a lot of attention since the Hollywood movie ’Hotel Rwanda’ in 2004 - Hôtel des Mille Collines is surely the most famous hotel in Rwanda.
We got out and were able to wander through the historic hotel.
We were even lucky enough to have an employee give us a bit more information about "Hotel Rwanda" He also recommended the book "Inside the Hotel Rwanda" written by one of the 1268 people taking refuge in the hotel and sets the record straight about the hotel manager that was depicted as a hero in the movie. I will definitely be getting it.
Artwork inside the lobby area depicting the massacre ...
Memorial outside of the hotel for the six employees massacred...
Next, we stopped at a market...lots of vendors selling their wares...
I picked up a couple of souvenirs...
The traffic here is crazy with taxi motorcycles between you and the curb, you and the car next to you, and you and the oncoming traffic!
Before we knew it, it was dark...and we drove to the Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre for a closer look. It just opened last July. Well, it turned out we were able to get a tour...so at the gate, we all had to get off the bus and go through an airport style security check...they even ran a mirror under the bus. We then got back on the bus so we could drive closer to the centre.
This is one of the restaurants...
Outdoor dining area...
All set up for for the above program...
We saw this on the news the week before we left on our trip...
Uncle Gord playing it up...
The light display changes constantly...
Another outdoor area that even has some partially covered seating...
The hotel...
Hotel lobby...
One last view as we head off...
It was late by the time we got back to the Guest House. We had a dinner, Joan gave Steve another Reiki treatment (she even gave me one to help my knee which has been acting up...likely due to lack of regular exercise!)...then it was bed time.
Steve and I chose not to attend this outing. We are changing rooms today. Steve needs his rest and the room assigned to us when we arrived is right over the kitchen and very noisy with the constant staff chatter and the clatter of pots, pans and dishes. So we packed our things up and were able to move down the hall to another room on the other side of the building...much better view and even has a shower curtain!
With that done, we decided to get out for a bit of a walk. Although feeling better, Steve is still quite weak...so a little exercise and fresh air would do him good! Speaking of exercise...that is one thing we really haven't gotten a lot of on this trip. It's not like you can get out for a good power walk or hike while in the wilds of Tanzania! A lot of sitting and standing...is about all we have be able to do!
We walked the two short blocks up to the main street, taking a few pictures along the way.
This is the pool area...
The Radisson Blu Hotel......and Convention Centre....(stay tuned...looks really cool at night all lit up!)
We stopped at Hotel des Mille Collines where over a thousand Tutsi refugees were housed - Inaugurated in 1973 as the first grand hotel of the country and receiving globally a lot of attention since the Hollywood movie ’Hotel Rwanda’ in 2004 - Hôtel des Mille Collines is surely the most famous hotel in Rwanda.We got out and were able to wander through the historic hotel.
It was late by the time we got back to the Guest House. We had a dinner, Joan gave Steve another Reiki treatment (she even gave me one to help my knee which has been acting up...likely due to lack of regular exercise!)...then it was bed time.
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