swingaling

Nairobi, Kenya

I booked a half day tour of Nairobi. Instead of doing the usual city tour routine, I decided to stay close to the airport in order to maximize my time (and not risk getting stuck in traffic both ways). Luckily, Nairobi National Park is very close to the airport, so I booked a game drive followed by a visit to the nearby Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. My onward flight was from WIL (not NBO), and these activities were conveniently located very close to the airport.

The game drive was really good. Obviously it's nothing compared to a safari in more remote (and game dense) areas, but it was really good for being so convenient and inexpensive. On the ride we saw: cape buffalo, baboons, black rhinos, white rhinos, gazelles, zebras, hartebeest, hippos, lions, eland, impala, giraffe, ostrich, waterbuck, Thomson's gazelle, jackals, warthogs and numerous bird species.

It was difficult to get good photos of some of the animals, as I only had an iPhone. It would've been good to have a telephoto lens, but I prefer not to travel with all that extra weight/bulk.

Nairobi National Park



Nairobi National Park



Nairobi National Park



Nairobi National Park



Nairobi National Park



Black Rhino



Black Rhino



Black Rhino



Black Rhino



Nairobi National Park



Nairobi National Park



Nairobi National Park



Impala



Ostrich



Nairobi National Park



Nairobi National Park



Coke's hartebeest



Coke's hartebeest



Nairobi National Park



Coke's hartebeest



Coke's hartebeest & a Warthog



Eland



Eland



Eland


White Rhino Herd in distance



Two Jackals



Wildebeest, Hartebeest & Impala



Nairobi National Park



Nairobi National Park



Impala



Wildebeest



Wildebeest, Coke's Hartebeest & Impala



Thomson's Gazelle



Guineafowl



Hippos in Distance



Pelicans and Egyptian Geese



Crocs



We got lucky and spotted this fellow from several hundred yards away. When driving by, you could almost feel his eyes on you and he was easy to spot despite his distance. He didn't move a muscle as we approached.

Lion



Lion



Lion



Jackal



Giraffe



Birds



Birds



Impala



Impala



Croc



Baboon



Baboon



Baboon



Hyrax



Hyrax



Nairobi National Park



Zebra



Giraffe


Giraffe



Giraffe



Giraffe



Giraffe



Impala



Warthog



Nairobi National Park



More Lions - Females this time



Lions



Lions



Lions



After that, we made a quick stop at the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage where they were doing their daily show with the baby elephants fooling around playing in the dirt and mud. The place was absolutely jam packed with tourists.

Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage



Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage



Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage



Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage



Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage



Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage



It was then time to head to WIlson Airport for my onward flight to Zanzibar. I was very pleased with the tour; there was definitely some luck involved, as I got to see a large variety of animals. I'd highly recommend a stop at the park for those passing through Nairobi with some time to kill. Well worth it.

swingaling

Safarilink
Economy Class
F2 Economy Class Ticket
F257: WIL-ZNZ (Nairobi to Zanzibar)
23 July 2019
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 (One Class Configuration)
5Y-SLD
Seat 2A
Departure: 2:00PM
Arrival: 3:45PM

I arrived at the airport 90 minutes prior to departure and checked in after I found F2's dedicated terminal building. I had a quick lunch in the terminal before we were all taken to complete exit immigration at a nearby building. This entailed going through security in an adjacent building, then walking across the tarmac to yet another building to complete immigration formalities. After that, we went to the second building to wait for boarding to begin.

This plane was quite old, having flown for United Express in the 90s (among others). The seats were a bit tight, but it was a fairly short flight. No assigned seating on this flight, but I was on first as I had no checked baggage. One must physically identify their checked baggage on the tarmac before boarding. If not, the bag will be left behind. Since I was the only person without a checked bag, I was able to board first.

The flight was uneventful. We were on time and the immigration process in ZNZ wasn't too bad. I quickly filled in my visa on arrival application, easily beating out the rest of the plane. I was through immigration and in the parking lot by 3:35PM, so I had to wait around for 10 minutes before my taxi driver showed up at 3:45PM. Then it was off to check-in at the hotel, a 15-20 minute drive away.

Ham Sandwich



Tarmac Walk to Immigration



Safarilink



Safarilink

swingaling

Park Hyatt Zanzibar

This hotel is beyond my typical price range for my trips, as it normally just wouldn't make sense for me. However, I had a Cat 1-4 free night certificate to burn and this was an ideal use. With nightly rates around $500, this was an excellent value. The hotel itself is definitely the best in Stone Town and was a great property. Not sure if it's really worth the high price tag, but I enjoyed my stay. Thankfully, incidentals were nowhere near are pricey as the room rate.

Since I'm an Explorist with Hyatt, I received a free upgrade to a King View Room with views of the Indian Ocean.

I also received I'll just leave some photos for now and I'll show a bit more of the property in the next post.


Living Room



Room



Room



Room



Room



Room



Room



Room



Room



View



View



View



Welcome Fruit

swingaling

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for taking the time to read it!

swingaling

Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

After checking in to my room, I decided to take a short walk around Stone Town.

Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Beach near Hotel


Beach near Hotel


Stone Town


Stone Town


Fort


Food Stands at Dinner


Sunset View from Room



After an hour or two, I returned to the hotel for some dinner and went to bed early. Dinner was ok, with dessert the best course by far.

Lentil Soup


Chicken


Dessert



The next morning, I got up early and had breakfast at the buffet. PH runs a pretty good buffet here. The stand out items are really the fruit. The passionfruit were particularly good. Definitely among the best I've had. Superior to the Rwanda passionfruits, which were a bit less sweet and more astringent.


Breakfast


It was still quite early, but I went for a walk around the town. The fort wasn't open yet, but I walked to the fort then onward to the ferry terminal. From there, I went right and headed to the main market on the edge of Stone Town. Then eventually headed back toward the waterfront area and visited the fort.


Fort


Fort


Fort


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Stone Town


Navy Ship protecting against pirates?


Fort


Vendors Inside Fort


Fort


Same Cat from Before


Fort


Fort


This Doesn't Look Safe...


Fort


Stone Town


Yeah, Definitely NOT Safe


Stone Town


After seeing the fort interior, I headed back to the hotel to relax by the hotel and go swimming in the ocean.

Hotel Pool


View from Pool


After showering off the salt, I packed up and had lunch at the hotel restaurant.


Hotel Patio


Ginger Lemonade


I ordered the Urojo Soup and it was fantastic. By far the best meal I'd had to that point and one of the best meals of the trip.

Urojo Soup



After lunch, I checked out and grabbed a taxi back to the airport for my onward flight to Dar.

swingaling

Coastal Aviation
Economy Class
CQ Economy Class Ticket
CQ134: ZNZ-DAR (Zanzibar to Dar Es Salaam)
24 July 2019
Cessna 208B Caravan (One Class Configuration)
5H-SUN
Seat 2A ?
Departure: 2:30PM
Arrival: 2:50PM

I'd have preferred to not transfer at Dar, but ZNZ doesn't have nearly the number of flights as Dar. So I made the short hop to Dar before continuing onward. I considered taking the ferry, but flying made a lot more sense in terms of logistics. Braving Dar traffic prior to a flight wasn't an appealing thought. Neither was the prospect of seasickness.

After arriving at ZNZ, I checked in and was airside within 10 minutes or less. I could have arrived 30 minutes later, but I don't like to cut things too fine just in case. The departure area was filled mostly with foreigners.

ZNZ Domestic Departure Gate



Not Very Official Looking Boarding Pass


Boarding was a bit lax. I handed over my boarding pass and then pointed to my name on a printed manifest. We then boarded a bus to our plane, passing by the international terminal on the way.

Current International Terminal


New Terminal (behind fence)
Too bad the new terminal was not yet complete. The current one is pretty dire.


Cool Bare Metal EMB 120


We boarded and took off shortly thereafter. The flight took around 20-30 minutes primarily because we had to wait for some other traffic on both takeoff and landing.

Our Taxi


Tight Quarters


Goodbye Zanzibar


Last Shot of Air Taxi


We landed at DAR without much drama and I made my way through customs to the parking lot.

Short Walk to Dom Terminal


Since the terminals at DAR are nowhere near each other, I'd arranged for Coastal to provide a transfer to the International terminal; however, it wasn't totally obvious what to do. So, I went to the CQ ticket office and the ticket agent called the driver for me. He arrived a few minutes later and took me to the International terminal for my onward flight. All in all, it was pretty smooth.

swingaling

This flight originally didn't have a ground stop at JRO, but that was added to the schedule a couple months prior to departure. As a result, the flight departure from DAR was pushed forward an hour or so. Thankfully, our arrival at KGL wasn't altered.

The check-in process at DAR wasn't too bad, but immigration took the longest. Apparently, I chose the line where people couldn't figure out how to use the finger print scanner properly. I always pick the slowest line. No matter, I had time.

After I was finally airside, I headed to the rather dire lounge and sat around for 30 minutes until it was time to board.

Lounge


Weird Decor


We finally boarded by bus and I was one of two passengers in the J cabin. There were also two WB employees sitting in the J cabin: an engineer and an additional FA. The additional FA did basically zero work, so I'm not quite sure why he was there. He didn't appear to be deadheading.

The cabin itself was what I'd expect in a Q400. Decent legroom and comfortable enough seat. Fine for a relatively short hop.

J Cabin


J Cabin


Unfortunately, the pilots had a computer error during take off, so they had to abort and return to the gate stand. The engineer worked on clearing the fault and we were back on our way a few minutes later. It caused a 10-15 minute delay, but I was grateful that they could solve the issue quickly.

Once in the air, the FA did a short drinks service. I was pretty hungry by that time, as I hadn't eaten anything since lunch. The lounge food was not appealing in the least.

Drinks Service


We landed at JRO slightly late, so it was too dark to have good views of Kilimanjaro.

Mount Meru


Kilimanjaro


JRO Airport


We stopped briefly to take on some additional passengers (WB doesn't have 6th freedom rights on this route) before continuing onward to Kigali. Once we were airborne, the FA mercifully did a meal service. I don't recall the choices, but I chose the meatballs. I think the other option was fish.

Regardless, the food was quite good. Though I was very hungry, so just about anything would have tasted good.

Meatballs (Chicken perhaps?)


We landed at a remote stand and the buses were waiting. There was a dedicated bus for the J cabin, so the other passenger and I shared the bus for ourselves. It whisked quickly to immigration.

RwandAir



Unfortunately, we landed shortly after a pair of A330s, one from KL and the other SN. As a result, immigration was jammed. Thankfully, KGL has a priority lane for business class pax and a relatively streamlined immigration process. No visits to multiple counters, cashiers, etc. It was all handled by a single officer.

After immigration, I got some cash landside and caught a cab to the hotel.

swingaling

Kigali Marriott Hotel

Check-in was quick and I was in bed by 9:15PM. I had to be up at 3:00AM, as we were departing at 3:30AM for gorilla trekking in Uganda. Annoyingly, the guide called my room at 10:30PM after I'd fallen asleep to confirm the plans. I really didn't appreciate it.

Room


Room


Room


Room


Room


View from Room

gpy

Great photos, but hardly seems like a fair comparison. You visited the most touristy spots in the city. It's like comparing Paris and Times Square.

swingaling

Thanks for reading. And you make a fair point. Perhaps the oppressive humidity also colored my impression of the city. That said, I do generally prefer the food in Tokyo and Beijing. Of course I'm fully aware that the food at Myeongdong is hardly reflective of Korean cuisine.

There were certainly aspects of Seoul that I did like. Good public transport systems, walkable, lots of English signage, friendly people, etc.

Tocsin

Did you _really_ have to quote all the OP's post to make a one-line comment?

flying_blue_white_red

Really nice!
Market photos in Ethiopia are great.
Taste of passion fruit depends on sunshine and T°C. Obviously Zanzibar is warmer than Rwanda. Even fruits from central/west Tanzania might vastly differ from the coast.
A few times, regular pax were sitted next to the pilot in the cessna 208B - So assuming this is row 1, then your seat should be 3A but assigned seat on this type is not really common .
Why did not you fly/transfer from JRO with RwandAir? At least 3 airlines operate on the ZNZ-JRO route.
Good improvement to get a J pax lane for immigration at KGL, it must be really new.
On your signature, you mention LLW code, may I ask you if you are going or have you already been there?

This is supposed to be a waterfall,... during the dry season perhaps!

Looking forward to the rest
Best regards

swingaling

Kigali, Rwanda to Kisoro, Uganda

For my time in Rwanda, I decided to forgo a city tour of Kigali. Instead, I thought doing a gorilla trek would be a more rewarding and memorable experience. Gorilla trekking permits for Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda currently cost $1,500, which only enables you to access the park and do the trek. It doesn't include transport and guide services to/from the park, etc. In contrast, Uganda only charges $600 for a gorilla trekking permit to Bwindi Impenetrable or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

While Bwindi and Mgahinga are a bit farther away from Kigali than Volcanoes, the difference is not substantial (an additional 20km distance). In any event, both parks are much closer to Kigali than Entebbe or Kampala. Accordingly, I decided to stay in Kigali and do a gorilla trek in Uganda, visiting both countries in the process and saving myself a substantial amount of cash. A few months prior to the trip, I found a tour operator who offered a one day gorilla trekking tour to Bwindi from Kigali and I booked it.

Back to the story, I awoke at 3:00AM, quickly got ready and headed to the hotel lobby to meet the guide. I first picked up a bag breakfast from the concierge and we were off, though not before waiting around for 10 minutes while the concierge searched for a receipt for me to sign... We set off for Uganda at 3:30AM. Though our destination was only 140km away, the guide informed me the drive would take around 4 hours.

From everything I'd read, gorilla trek briefings occurred promptly at 8:00AM near the park entrance. Bwindi wasn't so far away, so I figured we'd easily get there before 8:00AM. My guide was Ugandan with a Ugandan vehicle (i.e. right hand drive), where they drive on the left. In Rwanda they drive on the right, so the guide was driving incredibly slowly. Though to his credit, visibility wasn't excellent and the roads are incredibly winding with substantial elevation changes. Progress was slow and I started to genuinely worry that we weren't going to make it to Bwindi in time for the briefing.




Interesting Music Choice...



After a quick stop at the bush toilet, we continued onward toward the Ugandan border.

Outskirts of Ruhengeri



We reached the city of Ruhengeri around twilight and I got my first glimpses of Mount Muhabura, which straddles the border between Rwanda and Uganda. With an elevation of 13,540 ft and a prominence of 5,020 ft, it can be seen from many parts of Rwanda and Uganda. Its dominance of the landscape is such that it's served as a guidepost for travelers in the area for thousands of years. In fact, the name Muhabura means "The Guide" in Kinyarwanda.


First Glimpse of Mt. Muhabura



The border formalities took around 30 minutes primarily because my driver had to complete customs formalities for the car with both Rwanda and Uganda. The immigration procedures weren't signed well and it wasn't entirely clear what to do. Here's how it went down:

First stop was for the driver at this blue building. He completed customs formalities here. I skipped this step and instead crossed the border on foot.

Rwandan Customs and Entry Immigration Building


I proceeded on foot to the small brick hut to obtain police clearance to depart Rwanda. A perfunctory passport check and a few itinerary questions were all that was required. Since I was departing, I skipped the temperature check at the white tent.

Police and Ebola Checkpoint


No Man's Land


Ebola Signage


I walked the short distance across the border, passing through this white tent (from the opposite direction) for a temperature check. I then informed the two uniformed border guards (below) of my plans in Uganda before proceeding to immigration.

Border Gate and Ebola Tent



Ugandan Border Building


First stop was Rwanda exit immigration formalities. Door on the right obscured by the column. The room was very bare, with an immigration officer seated behind a wooden table and a single lightbulb dangling overhead. Not super official looking... But a quick stamp later and I'd formally departed Rwanda.

Rwanda Exit Immigration


Next up was Uganda. This office was a lot more official looking and I was stamped into Uganda quickly. I had an East African Tourist Visa, so no fees were payable.

Uganda Entry Immigration



More Ebola Posters



After that, I waited for my driver to complete formalities. Before setting off, I exchanged some Rwandan Francs for Ugandan Shillings with a black market money changer in the parking lot. Cell service was spotty and I'd neglected to learn the official exchange rate in advance. So I ended up getting a really bad rate, unfortunately. He cheated me to the tune of $5 US, so not exactly a big deal. By now, it was after 7:30AM and I was concerned because I knew there was no chance we'd make our 8:00AM briefing at Bwindi. Especially since Bwindi was still at least an hour away.

We continued onward the to the nearby town of Kisoro, where we were to meet a park ranger for the trek. I thought it strange the ranger would come all the way from Bwindi to Kisoro to meet us, but the driver wasn't worried. The park ranger was running late, so we parked and waited for around an hour or so. It was at this point that I finally learned we weren't actually going to Bwindi at all. Apparently, all the permits for my date were sold out when I booked the tour, so the tour operator purchased a permit for me to go to the smaller and much less popular Mgahinga Gorilla National Park instead. It was a bit annoying that a no one had communicated this fact to me.

Regardless, the ranger eventually showed up on his motorcycle and we followed him to a place where he could park it for the day.

Kisoro


Kisoro


Kisoro Market


Kisoro



We stopped here and waited for the ranger to stow his bike nearby.

Kisoro


We then proceeded onward to the starting point of the trek in the direction of Mount Muhabura. The closer we came to the park, the worse the roads became.

Road to Mgahinga


Road to Mgahinga


We passed through some small settlements and farmland.


Road to Mgahinga


As we climbed elevation, the weather effects of the mountain became more apparent. The roads were no longer dusty, as these areas received more rain.

Road to Mgahinga


Road to Mgahinga


Road to Mgahinga


Road to Mgahinga


Road to Mgahinga



After 20-30 minutes, we arrived at the trailhead. There was no signage. We started the trek among the fields tended by local subsistence farmers.

swingaling

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Gorilla Trekking to Nyakagezi Gorilla Group

The park is pretty small and only has a single group of habituated gorillas. There are other gorillas that live in the park as well, but they stay away from people. There are also forest elephants a bit higher on Muhabura. The park borders Rwanda and the DRC, and one could easily walk to DR Congo from here, though I wouldn't really advise it as the Kivu Region (and DRC as a whole) isn't terribly safe currently.

We started off from the unmarked trailhead, walking on a small path between farm plots. The driver stayed behind and would meet me at the end of the trek. For the trek, I was with a park ranger. He informed me that the 8AM group had set off without me, as we arrived too late to join them. That group was comprised of 8 tourists in their 60s, so I'm glad I wasn't paired with them. I'd likely have found their pace a bit slow.

Despite having the wait for them to finish, I was incredibly lucky. I ended up going on the trek as the only person in the group, so there were only two of us on the trek: myself and the ranger.


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park


The Ranger


After a short time, the farm plots gave way to the secondary forest that was planted in the 90s when the park was created. It had previously been farmland. We made good time, so we stopped a few times to slow our progress. The previous group had just begun their 1 hour visit with the gorillas and they weren't very far away. Apparently, the habituated gorillas preferred to remain relatively close to human settlements, so we wouldn't have far to go to find them.


Secondary Forest


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park



The hike thus far was pretty easy. Insect activity wasn't terrible; there were no mosquitoes, tsetse flies or fire ants that I observed. However, there were chiggers, bees, etc. We also saw very few nettles, thankfully. There was a large amount of thorny bushes, so I was glad to be wearing gloves. The weather wasn't too warm and it didn't rain, so the conditions were pretty good.

We waited in a small clearing a few hundred meters from the gorillas for well over an hour. The previous group was obviously given well over an hour to visit.


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park



Eventually, we continued onward to the gorillas. The forest because substantially denser as we entered the primary forest. After a few short minutes, we neared the group. We'd heard the tourists walking away and found the gorillas fairly easily. The bush is very dense, so there's not easy to spot initially. We knew they were close when we could smell them. They have a very strong odor that smells quite similar to human underarm sweat, albeit much stronger.

When we arrived, we quietly stood around observing them. They were primarily resting and eating, though the babies played together. At the time of my visit, there were eight members of the group.

• 3 silverbacks: the late 20s leader, 32 yr former leader and one late teen we didn't see
• 1 juvenile: a 6 year old male
• 2 adult females: one 19 and the other 20 years
• 2 infant females: 1.5 years and 2 years

Shortly after we arrived, the infants came out to play.

Below, the infant (far left) walked from her mother (left center by large tree) to the three gorillas on the far right (leader silverback, other adult female and other infant). When she approached, her half-sister came out to play. The two infants share a father, shown below.

Coming Out to Play


Waiting for Sister to Come Play
Leader silverback and adult female on right


Infants


One was clearly braver than the other, but they didn't seem at all scared of us. The silverback was not asleep, though our presence didn't bother him. However, he'd have come right away of one of the infants had called out for him.

Play Time


Play Time


Investigating Me



Wanting to Touch Me


Nyakagezi Gorilla Group


Infants



They came right up to us and attempted to touch me. Contact is not permitted, as we can pass diseases along to them (and they lack immunity), so we had to move back a bit.


More Play


Rolling Around


Cuddle Time


Nyakagezi Gorilla Group


Hugs


Investigating


After a short time, they decided to start climbing the trees.

Watching Sister Climb


Nyakagezi Gorilla Group


Nyakagezi Gorilla Group


Hanging Around


Leader and Female



We then heard a commotion in the trees nearby and found one of the other silverbacks sitting down for a meal. This was the former group leader and oldest member of the group. I believe he's 32. He grunted at us to determine our intentions and the ranger replied with a grunt. From then on, he wasn't concerned by our presence.

Silverback Eating


Silverback Eating


Without much warning, the silverback walked directly toward me which was a bit startling. He grabbed a tree trunk and snapped it in half to get to its berries. Then he went back to eating. I almost retreated when he approached, but remembered I was told not to do that. It's a strange feeling when a 400lb gorilla comes right at you.

Snapping a Tree in Half


Snapped Like Nothing


Back to Eating


Eating


Lounging and Eating


Chest Thumping
One of the infants wanted to show how tough she was by chest thumping


The infants continued playing and chasing each other while the adults relaxed nearby. The male juvenile made an appearance and we had to move to get out of his way. I didn't get many photos of the juvenile, but I did capture a decent video of him. I've posted the video at the bottom of this post.

The 32 yr old tree snapping silverback followed him and walked past us.

Silverback


Silverback


Silverback


Silverback


Joining the Group
Leader silverback on left in distance.


Silverback Rolling Around


Nyakagezi Gorilla Group Shot


At this point, the female who'd been lying next to the leader decided she wanted to mate with the tree snapping silverback. The leader would have none of it, so he followed her and layed on to of her to prevent it.

Silverbacks Face to Face
Female left of and lying underneath group leader in middle. Tree snapper on right facing camera.


The tree snapper moved off shortly after and went back to eating berries. All the while, the other adult female was grooming the juvenile male.

Juvenile Male (R) and Adult Female (L)



The group started to move off and my one hour visit had come to an end, so we headed back to meet up with my driver.


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park


Mts Muhabura (L) and Gahinga (R)


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park


Mgahinga Gorilla National Park



Overall, this day was my favorite day of the trip and the gorilla trek was enormously memorable and rewarding. Gorilla trekking was absolutely my favorite activity of the trip, I'd highly it for anyone considering travel to the area.

Below is a short video of some of video footage I captured that day. It's captured primarily in 1080p60, so the quality should be quite good. Be sure to click the gear and adjust the quality to 1080p for best results. Unfortunately, I neglected to capture it in 4K.

swingaling

Kisoro to Kigali

It was time to head back to Kigali, but we first stopped off for lunch. The driver initially brought me to a tourist restaurant, but I requested local food instead. So we went to a buffet style restaurant that mainly served locals. For lunch, I had: mashed green banana, posho or ugali (white cornmeal mush), boiled Irish and African sweet potato, cooked peas, stewed red beans, yellow rice, stewed cabbage and chicken. The portion was quite large and the food was delicious. The mashed green banana was my favorite item, but I didn't love the posho or sweet potato. I'll admit the chicken was a bit tough, but everything tasted great. Lunch cost a total of 13,000 UGX per person, roughly $3.50 US, and was one of my favorite meals on the trip.

Somehow I ended up paying for lunch for the driver, even though it was supposed to be included in the tour price. The money made no difference in my life, so I didn't mention it.

Lunch



We then headed to the border to complete the same formalities in reverse. I also exchanged some more Francs for a variety of Shillings to keep as a memento. This time I knew the exchange rate, so I made out a lot better. On the way to Kigali, we witnessed a group of Rwandan people performing the gutwikurura tradition, which involves a procession of people bringing gifts to a newly married couple.

Gutwikurura


Gutwikurura


Gutwikurura


Gutwikurura



The return trip took around 3.5 hours and we made it back to the Kigali Marriott around 6:30PM. It'd been a long 15 hour day, so I was really glad to be back.