It’s been challenging years for everyone since the pandemic began. We had thought we might be able to return to travel earlier (with precautions) but we were further interrupted with unrelated health issues. After experiencing debilitating symptoms for some time I was diagnosed in December 2021 with very large fibroids - non-cancerous uterine tumours. With the diagnosis, coping with ongoing symptoms, waiting for a surgery date (and avoiding Covid-19 to not interrupt it), tumour shrinking injections and a long post hysterectomy recovery, we only recently felt it would be reasonable to embark on an overseas trip. I also share this bit of my story as I think many folks suffer in silence with these types of conditions. I think it is important to talk about it - know your body and follow up with your doctor if you see things that are out of sort. I am grateful I feel so much better now!
So here we are, after two days of travel, in Kigali Rwanda to trek & see wild mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, plus some other side quests. (Then we stop in Brussels, Belgium for 5 days on the way back to wander the streets, go to museums, galleries and check out the food scene!) We had initial interruptions and had to rebook our flights but once it got going it was generally smooth. Since the pandemic began we take some enhanced infection control measures while travelling including kn95 masks on the plane as much as possible (we did have to remove to eat), nose spray and mouthwash that is supposed to reduce respiratory infections, and used our co2 monitor in the airport and plane to gauge air quality. It was disappointing how many were flying without masks while obviously sick and coughing. I do wish infection prevention did not become so polarizing and we could agree on basics like cleaner air and masking while sick. No one wants to get sick and certainly not on a much anticipated trip - we also are not permitted to trek to see the gorillas if we are sick, so crossing fingers we stay healthy!
Again to manage the ongoing travel challenges we booked some buffer days in Kigali to avoid missing our pre-booked jungle trek days, which need permits and guides. With the extra time we are taking things slow. We arrived late Friday night and essentially went to bed when we got to our hotel. The first morning we started with breakfast at our hotel and then we walked from our hotel about 1.5 kms to explore the area around the Imbuga City Walk. The streets of Kigali are sparkling clean, with lush plants along the sides and very friendly people milling about. For dinner, we walked to a nearby Indian restaurant, Khana Khazana.
Our second day we spent at the Nyandungu Eco Park. It was about 9kms of walking checking out the lush plants, trees and wetlands. We got absolutely soaked by a big rain storm but it was still warm so we persevered. We were lucky to see a large variety of birds. Some bird highlights include African openbill, grey back fiscal (shrike), ibis, gray crowned crane among many many others. Although it is a maintained walk way we should have worn our hiking boots as the bricks are very slippery. And of course we hauled our umbrellas all the way from Canada but decided to only bring one on the walk which just got in the way so we embraced getting soaked. We stopped at the onsite restaurant, looking like drowned rats, and had some local chocolate, espresso and mango juice. We had a late lunch when we returned to the hotel and laid down for what was supposed to be a nap. Unfortunately that was a fail and we are now wide awake at 3:30 am and hungry from missing supper.
