8/25/2018 0 Comments Time is flying!It is hard to believe that we are eight months in. Time seems to be speeding up. We have enjoyed nearly two months of dry weather with only occasional rain. The sunsets have been fantastic and we have been able to visit a new hotel by the lake that we discovered - it isn't quite finished but the grounds are lovely. I thought that travelling to schools would become easier in the dry season but I hadn't thought about the ivumbi -dust. All that thick mud has turned to dust and the motos slide around in deep powder. If you are following another vehicle then its like driving in thick fog. We arrive at the schools covered and so started to wear waterproofs to protect our clothes. Several times I have been attached by the Headteacher with a towel trying to beat the dust off me! A few weeks ago the neighbours all started to cultivate the land - an indication that the rains are coming. We have all been issued with wellington boots and these are coming in very useful - unfortunately the person who provided them seemed to think that one size fits all - Krusty the Clown size! Size 8 on a size 5 foot! I wear two or three pairs of thick socks but it is still a bit like walking in flippers. This week we visited some schools that are particularly remote. It should have taken around an hour and a half to reach them. The night before we had very heavy rain for most of the night. Thomas my moto driver was supposed to be picking me up at 6:45 but he sent a message to say the road from his house was really bad and he was 'stucked'. When he arrived he said that this road was the same one we needed to travel along to get to the school but it was too bad. Thomas is very skilled at driving through mud so if he said it was bad then it must have been very bad. Before we could leave he and Gilbert had to free up the wheels that were clogged with mud. So we went a different way - it took us over two hours and there were places where the road was still really bad. Every now again the cry would come from Thomas, "Off!" and I would hop off the moto and leave him to slither and slide through the mud. I would go on foot and meet him where the ground was more solid. We eventually got to the school and had a great time as usual with the teachers. One of the teachers was my former student from the TTC - Fredrick. It was so lovely to see him again and know that he is working as a teacher. He is also an excellent rugby player and plays for Resilience although getting to training is impossible as he is several hours away. At lunchtime (12.00) they went home and we stayed in the school. After lunch we were going to observe some lessons and meet 1-1 with the teachers. Then the rain came! The mountains disappeared as the clouds descended to the ground. It seemed as if it would never stop. The roads had been bad enough coming - goodness knows what they would be like after all this rain. At 2.30 the rain eased and the teachers reappeared. We had already decided that we were going to have to leave by 3pm rain or no rain. At 3pm we got ready to leave but there was a problem with one of the motos - it wouldn't start. It took half an hour for Thomas to work his magic and get it going and we finally set off. The journey back involved even more 'off's and the mud was definitely worse. As we travelled the sky got lighter and we had some nice views of the huge tea plantation and the rainforest in the distance. We got back safe and sound - and Thomas dropped me at the bar! I needed a Primus.
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The time went way too quickly and this morning (1st August) at 6am we said goodbye to our wonderful visitors. Its actually really hard after people leave - I remember last time Lorna and Sophie visited us in 2014 it was difficult after they left. The plan was for them to go to Kamembe by taxi and get the mornng flight to Kigali. As it only takes 25 minutes to fly they would have a full day to spend in Kigali before flying home on the 2nd. Things didn't quite go to plan. We had had huge rain storms all night and the road to our house was very muddy. I didn't think the taxi would make it and I was thinking we would have to walk down carrying the bags. But the car got most of the way up the hill and we waved goodbye. They reached Kamembe airport but the plane coming from Kigali couldn't land because of bad weather and returned to Kigali. They weren't too sure what would happen but Rwandair took all the passengers for refreshments to the hotel Emeraude while they waited. It was after 2pm before they finally got on the plane meaning their planned day in Kigali didn't happen but it was fortunate that their flight to the UK is tomorrow morning and not today. Our final full day was Lorna's birthday and we went chimp tracking in the Nyungwe rainforest. We saw 5 chimps in different locations and didn't have to have too big a trek to find them. I mentioned in the last instalment that we went to Dieudonne's wedding (dowry) but the day after we attended the actual wedding. They bride and groom looked very happy. a bit of random clothes swapping between the groomsmen and the bridesmaids? we were at a popular location for wedding photos and there were three different bridal parties having photos taken on the same bit of grass. Taking photos of the abazungus became very popular. One of the other weddings had friends of ours as guests (Emmy and Noella) and I was happy to have a cwtch of 5 week old Kunwa The wedding reception was held at the TTC and it was so lovely to meet up with all my old friends again. The hall had been beautifully decorated. And the cake suitably fiery. Lorna and Sophie did a grand job of entertaining little Robert. On Sunday morning we called to see Emmy, Noella and their family on our way back to Nyamasheke. Cariad was very interested in Glyn's motorbike. Monday we spent a quiet day at home. Lorna and Sophie set to work helping me to make resources as my team were all away in Kigali. Then in the evening we visited the local bar for their speciality - goat brochette and chips. It has been a busy and fantastic two weeks with the girls and a huge thank you to them for coming to see us. We have really loved having visitors and now our big house feels very empty - so anyone else fancy coming to see us? You are most welcome!
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December 2018
Preparing to go back to our second home
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