Wednesday May 18th – Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum

6:00 wake-up call – we actually got to sleep in a bit today!  We had a nice breakfast at the hotel and I had my very favorite - passion fruit.  (One of the best treats when we visit Africa) this morning the fruit was peeled and the wonderful juice and meat was in a big bowl… oh boy was that good… someone else did all the hard work and I got to enjoy!  Happy birthday to me!!! :^)

Davis was picking us up at 8:00 to start our day.  First thing he did was give me a birthday card from himself, Far Horizons and Swain tours.  It was very sweet and made my eyes watery.  :^)

What a tragic event, that started in April 1994… 22 years ago.  It is amazing that Rwanda has rebuilt economically and they are trying to rebuild emotionally, but for the survivors it must be truly difficult.  Before the genocide in Rwanda there were three tribes: Tutsi, Hutu and Twa.  Through propaganda Hutu’s were led to believe the Tutsi’s were evil and should be killed.  The Hutu’s went on a mass killing spree.  It was incredibly brutal and nothing any person should go through.  What they did to the women and children is unspeakable.   

An extremely touching quote from the museum:

“If you knew me, and really knew yourself, you would not have killed me”

Davis brought us to the airport and we said good-bye to the best driver/guide ever!  Super great guy!  He took great care of us and made sure we had a memorable trip. 

Kigali International Airport is a small, fairly modern and secure international airport.  First check point was canine patrol… we were asked to put all of our bags on a mat… they called a big German Shepard dog over and gave him the command to search.  The dog meticulously sniffed all of our bags, picked up some things with his mouth so he could turn them to get a better sniff.   (or maybe he wanted to play with our stuff) Boy are we going to get in trouble when we get home… not only have we been gone for two weeks… now our bags smell like another dog!

Next check point – all bags through security scanners, shoes off, computers out and us through metal detectors.  We all set off the detectors and were each patted down and then cleared to continue.  Next stop check-in for our flight to Nairobi… all good.  Next stop passport control… all good. Now onto the 3^rd security check point… shoes off, computers out, carry-on bags through security scanners… us through metal detectors… this time we all made it through.  Cheryl’s camera bag was searched and everything came out one at a time. :^(  Now we wait for our flight!

Our 35 hour journey home has begun!

Now we are in Nairobi – flight one of three is complete… 7 hour layover then our flight to Dubai.   Was interesting getting off RwandAir flight and transferring to Emirates… had to go through passport control even though we are not staying in Kenya… get our bags and then go to another terminal… outside we go and attempt to maneuver the busy traffic circles surrounding the different terminals.  We made it!  Check-in and now we wait.

Now we are in Dubai… short layover then 16 hour flight to SFO!

Fun facts:

• Kigali (Capital of Rwanda) – 2.5 million people
• Kampala (Capital of Uganda) – 8 million people