Spitting Hot Fire

The Virunga Volcanoes



Seven volcanoes create natural borders between northern Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC. Five out of the seven are sliced down the middle and shared between two countries. The exceptions are Sabyinyo - which is half Rwandan, a quarter Congolese, and a quarter Ugandan - and Mikeno, which sits entirely inside the DRC. In Rwanda, the land around the base of the peaks is called the Volcanoes National Park. These tall, stony cones are responsible for the majority of tourism in Rwanda: in their forests dwell half of the world's mountain gorillas.

A Post-conflict Palette

The Colors of Gisenyi

Gisenyi is a town of flowers. Its buildings may be crumbly, but its landscaping is extravagant.

The northernmost town on Lake Kivu, Gisenyi has a climate that made the early European colonists rejoice - every breezy, sunny day is followed by a deliciously chilly evening - and an azure lake landscape that attracts Kigali tourists by the Land Cruiser load.

Blue is the primary color in Gisenyi's palette because the lake dominates the background, but the picture is also dotted with the pink, yellow, red, orange, and purple of flowers. Some blossoms quietly line the walks; some droop over barbed wire fences; and some perch high up in the trees. Irises greet you in the morning. Night-blooming jasmine sends you off to bed. Bougainvillea vines are cheerful afternoon companions.

Holding the flowerbeds in place are piles of black pebbles, fragments of the volcanic rock that lies beneath the northern region. Whenever a dirt road is worn down, jagged peaks of pumice stone peek through the taught red surface. Volcanic rock is frequently quarried, and it is the foundation of many homes and hotels.

The lakeside avenues of Gisenyi are tattered but beautiful. Nature has begun to reclaim the once wealthy parts of town. Palm trees sagging with fruit bats line the front walks of abandoned mansions. Broken windows are guarded by overgrown yucca plants. The avenue's potholes are filled with fallen blossoms from flowering trees. Apart from the bustle of a few hotels, the children swimming in the lake, and the odd soldier on patrol, the area is thick with vegetation and silence.

Roadsights

While driving in Rwanda, I saw...

...two pure white rabbits in holes carved into the side of a mountain.
...bundles of eggs wrapped in banana leaves.
...orange t-shirts being sold underneath orange trees.
...women carrying baskets on their heads.
...women carrying chairs on their heads.
...men carrying bundles of cattails on their heads.
...men carrying church pews on their heads.
...men tilling the fields wearing flapper hats that West Village swingers would kill to find in a thrift shop.
...men dressed like English aristocrats -- tweed hats, rubber Welly boots, navy blazers, and walking canes.
...people of all ages walking for miles with yellow jerry cans full of water.
...bicycles decorated with sparkles, spangles, and stickers.
...a black and white brindled duck.
...a goat that had been killed by a car.
...distressed, lowing cattle being led to market.
...a cow squeezing through a gate into the yard of a nice house.
...chickens tied to stakes to prevent wandering.
...children playing soccer with balls made from plastic bags and string.
...a child standing on a table and being switched by his mother.
...children tossing rocks into the road as cars approached.
...children sitting on the shoulder of the road.
...children sitting on the road.
...children pushing each other into oncoming traffic.
...a group of children beating up a boy.