My encounter with Rwanda, A travelogue by Magnus

A seed was sown this year; to go with Ann, Baho Neza Swe founder, and see her Rwanda.

All said and done - in the fall of 2023 we - Ann, Nettan and my partner Marie - signed plane tickets and accommodation for a ten-day trip to Rwanda.

With a stopover in Addis Ababa, the journey took about 12 hours and the time difference is zero, so no problems with jet lag once you landed in Kigali, Rwanda's capital.

In Kigali, we were met by Ann's partner Mudi. It was great fun getting a person to a name I've only heard before.

The first few days we took it easy, socialized and got to know each other at the incredibly nice Yambi Guesthouse.

You are used to Western standards and we were rather amused that a bamboo tree grew through the ceiling and that the toilet and shower are not so private with walls that do not go all the way up to the ceiling.

One of the days main focus was the Kigali Genocide Memorial, a visitor center commemorating the events leading up to the 1994 genocide. No one leaves that place untouched. It was incredibly strong.

Most of the time, however, was spent in Gisenyi in northwestern Rwanda, quite close to the Congolese border.

A nice bus trip of four hours from Kigali, where you soaked in the fantastic nature and people carrying things on their heads with wide eyes through the bus window.

With Mudi and Ann as cicerones, we got to experience their Rwanda from the inside.

One day acrobatics were practiced and yoga was practiced on the beach.

In the trees all around, bats hung and slept while birds of prey circled high in the sky.

Another day - for me incredibly memorable - we went up the mountains and got to meet all these people who live there and daily walk these narrow paths to get to work and school. - it could happen that you met the occasional goat as well (they are barred if you are in the way)

To keep our energy up, Mudi made sure we were given sugarcane to gnaw on!

A stone's throw from the Muhabura Mountain Lodge, where we stayed in Gisenyi, there is a market - teeming with people and most things you could need and fabrics in fantastic patterns - and which happened to also have a number of tailors quite close by.

We also had the great pleasure of meeting Karin & Camilla from Clowns without Borders and Babu - probably Rwanda's only magician. We held a small magic show at the hotel.

Babu had also learned rope tricks from a Swedish magician.

In these ten days, we managed to do an incredible amount without it feeling stressful.

The most amazing thing was getting an insight into everyday life, even if it was from a distance. There were sewing machines trampled under foot, goats being herded and taxi mopeds!

Thank you Ann and Mudi - for a memory to last a lifetime!