Westward to Kibuye (and other assorted pictures)

Since we've gotten our stuff, life at the house has been pretty busy - unpacking, breaking down boxes, wearing capes. The usual. Ryder has made a special effort in the last month to understand gravity... and hard surfaces. At school, he opened up a nice gash on his left eyebrow by falling down on a brick path, then followed it up with another one just next to his eye. This time, a concrete step right in front of our door was the culprit. A Dad can only be so fast. Thankfully, he forgot about them both after 15 minutes and life rolled on. Time for coloring!

Oh, and he's learning how to use the potty. Sometimes breakfast becomes mobile...

...and so do clothes.







We also spruced up the driveway with a new plumeria tree (with flowers) and a guava tree sapling riding sidecar.

Then, just this past weekend, we made a break for the western border. Out west (about 80 miles - love this place), there's a great big lake, Lake Kivu. Right about at the midpoint of the lake (on the Rwanda side) sits Kibuye. It's a fairly small town, and with the mountains dropping dramatically into the lake, it's simply breathtaking all around. You can sit on the shore and look across to the Dem. Republic of the Congo and wonder what that's all about. On this trip, we didn't venture into the lake, but it's on the list for next time.

The drive to Kibuye was fun, in and of itself. Leaving the bustling streets of Kigali on a Friday afternoon, we marveled at the landscape. It's gorgeous. It's also simply incredible how nearly every single strip of land is used for agriculture. Hillside after hillside, pitched steeper than a 45 degree angle, all growing something, anything.

Ryder manned the maps and Ginger took the wheel as I sat shotgun and took in the views.

We even caught a wedding march in progress on the road (below - the bride is right about center, with the flower girls in front of her). We passed the whole wedding party on the road - they were making their way to the next town.

Eventually, the endless mountain curves give way to the lake vistas. Nice.









Some friends recommended a great place to stay, complete with its own little beach, which was a hit.









The views were fantastic!









The drive home wore out the navigator, but thankfully, the driver stayed awake. We'll be back, Kibuye!