22nd of February, 2018.
It’s been a long time since I walked for over an hour. The King’s Palace Museum it is not far from the road to Butare but with the bag everything took me more time.
After just a few minutes waiting, Didier Mahayo picks me up. He is going to Butare so he drops me in front of the Ethnographic Museum. It is a quickly ride but I appreciate the conversation and the time with him. Thank you my friend for your help!
The museum looks huge by outside. Actually there is this kind of “garden” which ended being a small forest, and make a good look also. But the outside view looks something greater than what it is inside. Do not misunderstand me, it is quite a historical place inside but the fancy facade just do not fit.
So have you paid for the visit? Nope! I talked to them and while they were waiting for the supervisor, a group of tourist came and they simply thought it would be better just let me go. So I got in!
I liked. There are a lot of information about Rwanda. I honestly just do not understand the location. No, I do not think it should be in Kigali. People probably would never go in there. But maybe, in a town somewhere near to a boarder and not exactly in the middle of the country. Should be a interest place to visit when you arrive and not in the middle of your travel.
When I was leaving Butare, I decide just cook my lunch (green beans and carrots plus some oat flakes) in a hidden place. At the middle of the cooking the gas finishes! That is OK because I have another one brand new, right? Bang! Wrong! Guess what? The gas I bought from my enchanted Fatima, in her hard ware shop, called Pyramide, it was not compatible with my camping stove. How could I be so stupid?
Well, I ate the food anyway, also an orange, and walk just a bit more until a gas station and tried to leave the empty recipient over there. Unfortunately, the workers did not speak English very well and they did not let me so I move out, and I have to say, a little pissed off. I was just trying to be a good citizen and not throw it the thing on the streets, where some kid could find and once starting to play, get in some dangerous trouble. The good thing it is that after a few minutes, one of the girls attendant come to me with the manager and once I explained to him, he understood and kept the recipient with him.
But then, other thing pissed me of: so many people came to me and ask me what I was doing. The tourist are that dumb? I mean, that should be the reason why they think I always do not know what I am doing and need some help. But the problem is that also sometimes they are just curious. Ugh! You know when I am hungry I can be transformed…
Thank Loki after twenty minutes a local stopped. He was going to his home town, just after Nyungwe Forest National Park, so he could drop me there.
He help to run an Institution which help kids and take some volunteers. Unfortunately they just take people from Peace Corps and something like that, so the volunteers can stay for something around a year.
I was wondering if they would let me go inside the Park for free. Once he had worked in there for a while a few years before, he assure me they could not. But I had to ask. He drove me at the entrance and while he went to talk with old friends I tried to get my information. Sadly, the guys said no. There was not a supervisor I could talk about it but the guards were pretty nice in explaining to me why and even giving me other options. When we were leaving the place, I saw some beautiful monkeys, but I was at the phone with Divine so I could not take a picture. Shame.
I decided not take more risk and just make camping somewhere outside the Park and leave to Kibuye next morning.
You know what? Sometimes I cannot decide if asking for information about a place to stay is a good alternative. Maybe I should just walk around and find something. You never know what can happen. What happened to me? I will tell you in the next chapter.