Club Circle Sportif, a run-down francophone country-club-in-the-city with a decent grassy field and one of the few remaining relics of a long gone colonial era, played host to a not-so-epic game between two thoroughly mismatched teams of middle and high schoolers (yep, that’s a bad sign right there – on the one hand, you had…
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Just because I’m in that kind of mood (what mood is that, exactly? I haven’t a clue) and because I have absolutely nothing else on tap that’s even remotely worth posting: here’s what the private parts of a 29’er singlespeed bike look like after it’s been trashed across 30 miles of Rwandan singletrack and back…
When we last heard from the intrepid L clan they were in Nyungwe National Forest in Southwestern Rwanda. Here is the second part of their sordid tale, complete with car chases (not really), explosions (lame ones at best) and romantic dining in the dark (nope). Nyungwe National Forest is no day trip. You need somewhere…
It is October 5th – even here in Africa – and we’re way overdue for a general update. We’ve been in Rwanda for about 80 days (okay, 76 to be exact) bringing us close to the halfway point for our time here. The obligatory countdown commenced as we started the final 100 days a few…
[Editor’s note: I wrote this little piece for our local paper, the Norwich Times, waaay back in late August. Feels like a lifetime ago. For those of you who don’t get the Norwich Times — and why don’t you, it’s a great little paper? — it might be a worthwhile read if only to get…
Nyungwe Forest is touted as one of Rwanda’s top three “must see” tourist destinations, second only to Virunga National Park up north (aka the gorilla petting zoo), and Akagera National Park out east (see more here). Since we’re probably not doing the gorillas (kids under 15 are not allowed, and the latest price hike to…
I realize I’ve ranted and raved lately, gone off the deep end about dust and urban planning and perhaps come across as the developing world’s equivalent of a grumpy old man yelling at an empty chair. So, to make amends, this. Just because the kids around here are incredible in their own right — even…
It’s weird — even with the (smaller) wet season well underway here (viz. this sort of nonsense every afternoon), it’s still the fine red clay dust that dominates. It’s everywhere, in everything, on everything. Every self-respecting store in town starts the day by methodically wiping down the shelves, every can of beans, every bag of rice,…
Watching a soldier watch the hordes watching the 2012 Mountain Gorilla Rally outside Kigali. More from the rally here.
“C’est interdit,” declares the clearly bored and substantially overweight guard as she slithers up to me in front of Simba Plaza. This architectural equivalent of a cold sore is the latest skyscraper to afflict downtown Kigali. It stands, pointless and grotesque, overlooking a mess of parking spaces and wasted opportunities. I assume the Uniformed One…
