After seeing Rwanda’s past, it was exciting to experience it’s present. In the short time that I was there, everyone I spoke to managed a curiously peaceful outlook on what the genocide meant in the context of their daily lives. It seems to be an evil that they learned from and that’s that. Forgiveness over animosity, bitterness and hatred. But, beyond the cultural implications, it made the rest of the trip feel like an interactive history lesson. When we left the big city for Lake Kivu, we noticed that most places where mass killings happened were turned into museums, memorials or learning centers. It was amazing, but truthfully, we went to Kivu for a completely different vibe.
We spent an afternoon getting lost in countryside in a cramped, sparsely cushioned bus. Tucked back into the nooks and crannies of Rwanda, we found Lake Kivu with a dozen steel blue fingers stretching into that patchwork landscape I loved so much. Despite the sudden downpours we had become accustomed to, we decided to hire a boat for a day trip around one of the many islands dotting the water. Amohoro or “Peace Island” they called it. It was pimped out with a restaurant, lodging, a private beach and even monkeys. So we saved our appetites for fresh tilapia and gathered our books and swim suits for a relaxing day on a deserted island.
Upon arrival, we quickly learned that the restaurant was abandoned, the lodging was destroyed, and the ONE monkey we saw terrorized us by baring his teeth and then, proceeded to masturbate in front of us. I guess he either hated us or really liked us. It got weird, but at least it didn’t rain. In the end, we managed to scare off our predator and relax in the sun for a few hours, so it's all good.
In a few days, Lake Kivu shrunk in the rearview mirror of another crowded bus as we crossed back into Uganda to visit "the place of little birds", or Lake Bunyonyi. A boat picked us up in the graying evening and took us to Byoona Amagara, our little bird paradise. Every time I turn over a new stone in this world, I swear it’s the most beautiful one I’ve seen. But, this one will be difficult to top. It lived up to its name with colorful gems of birds flitting about, filling the otherwise silent air with their lovely layers of song. Our first day was spent rowing a dug out log canoe between islands splayed out before us as if a handful of rocks was accidentally tossed into this giant pool and left there to grow wild. Perfectly reckless, as only nature can be. And on the second day, we hiked all over those wild islands, through hills terraced with banana groves and visited the massive families that tended to them.
I left this land of lakes with a head full of golden silence. I could have lived out the rest of my days hopping around those islands, but instead I’ll keep them with me and relive it when real life gets too loud.
Photos:
1. Kibuye Genocide Memorial Church where 11,000 Tutsi's were killed in 1994
2. A lone fisherman on Lake Kivu
3. Rwandan shores
4. Kat on Peace Island
5. Monkey on a boat
6. Buns and a braid
7. Monkey in a tree
8. First impressions of Bunyonyi
9. The good life
10. Fellow rowers
11. Exploring a far off island
12. Our view for breakfast, lunch, dinner and beers
13. The other side of our island
14. Into the bananas
15. Under the bananas
16. Hey, Mom
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