Musanze

I didn’t really get a chance to explore Kigali. We arrived in the capital at 7pm after ten hours on the bus. Food, shower, bed was the order of play.

(View from the motel this morning)

This morning after brekkie UC and I headed back to the bus station to head for the mountains.

We boarded a small mini bus headed for Musanze a small town and break point before you head up towards Kinigi. There is no accommodation in the national park and overnighting camping is illegal. Some people opt to stay here or further out of town.

Musanze reminds me of the chaos in some of the taxi parks of Kampala. Someone is always trying to flog you something and trying to ‘squeeze’ money or business out of you. Before you can even get off the bus there is a crowd of young men gathering.

You can’t blame them, but when they escort you for a good 20mins playing the same tune it begins to wear thin. Pack an abundance to patience, anywhere that encourages tourism also breeds opportunists. Smile and take a business card, there’s little point trying to shake them off, they are persistent. Remember you are a cash cow to them

We have stopped at a small hotel to eat and check emails before getting on another mini bus to Kinigi. The first eatery we went into looked dodgy as hell and I’d have put money of it that bushmeat would have been available.

We’re getting closer to the gorillas and achieving a goal I honestly never thought would come true so quickly. In 2010 before I had even begun studying at university I read Dian Fossey’s autobiography. I am sure like millions of other primatologists she inspired me to enrol in my masters. She confessed to not being academic but had achieved so much and made me think that anything is possible as long as you have heart and passion.

This time tomorrow I hope to have sat with some of the world’s rarest creatures on the planet.