On Saturday Theo and Rose and I had a lovely walk down into Mugonero from Theo’s house near Kibingo. On the way we were serenaded by a man who was taking his hand-made traditional instruments to Kigali to try to sell them. We hope to buy some for our entertainment for tourists some day! It’s in our Action Plan!
We met up with Emma and Lindsay who had driven down to Mugonero from Kigali to come and visit the village with us. The boat was waiting and we enjoyed the breeze as we glided along the lake surrounded by mountains, blue sky and fresh air. We arrived at at the landing stage after what seemed like a very short half hour. We were greeted by my old and dear friend Alexis who I haven’t seen for about four years. It was lovely to see his happy smiling face.
Climbing through the banana trees and noticing the coffee, avocado and mango trees we arrived at the village.This was the first visit for all of my friends and we were all overwhelmed by the welcome from people of all ages. It was so good to see Mama looking well because last year she was very poorly and had to go to Zimbabwe for treatment. But now she is her usual cheerful self again.
We had a treat in the afternoon! We were issued with a Rwandan hoe and told to get to work digging! The women farmers are strong and have good muscles, they lift the hoe way above their heads, striking the earth with some force in order to till the ground. I probably lifted mine about two feet from the ground so my technique needs working on. The women do this in bare feet and have never had an accident. Yikes! Having planted some sweet potato plants we then harvested others that were ready to eat. A competitive element emerged amongst the rest of the team as to who could find the most potatoes. Rose impressed us with her ability to carry a basket of sweet potatoes on her head all the way back to the guesthouse. We prepared and cooked what we had just taken out of the ground and along with other delicious food we had a shared meal outside sitting on grass mats near the fire.
Needless to say, we all slept well on Saturday night.
Sleep well too everyone. Love Tricia
We met up with Emma and Lindsay who had driven down to Mugonero from Kigali to come and visit the village with us. The boat was waiting and we enjoyed the breeze as we glided along the lake surrounded by mountains, blue sky and fresh air. We arrived at at the landing stage after what seemed like a very short half hour. We were greeted by my old and dear friend Alexis who I haven’t seen for about four years. It was lovely to see his happy smiling face.
Climbing through the banana trees and noticing the coffee, avocado and mango trees we arrived at the village.This was the first visit for all of my friends and we were all overwhelmed by the welcome from people of all ages. It was so good to see Mama looking well because last year she was very poorly and had to go to Zimbabwe for treatment. But now she is her usual cheerful self again.
We had a treat in the afternoon! We were issued with a Rwandan hoe and told to get to work digging! The women farmers are strong and have good muscles, they lift the hoe way above their heads, striking the earth with some force in order to till the ground. I probably lifted mine about two feet from the ground so my technique needs working on. The women do this in bare feet and have never had an accident. Yikes! Having planted some sweet potato plants we then harvested others that were ready to eat. A competitive element emerged amongst the rest of the team as to who could find the most potatoes. Rose impressed us with her ability to carry a basket of sweet potatoes on her head all the way back to the guesthouse. We prepared and cooked what we had just taken out of the ground and along with other delicious food we had a shared meal outside sitting on grass mats near the fire.
Needless to say, we all slept well on Saturday night.
Sleep well too everyone. Love Tricia
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