Mt Kigali - Part 1

I took a moto from home to the center of town, met Claude and walked west through Kigali through markets and south through the pictured shortcut, one of the slum areas of Kigali. We walked nonchalantly through, dodging chickens, drainage ditches, and many children who announced our approach with 'umuzungu!' (white guy). As far as slums go, this isn't that bad; if you look closely at the picture, you'll see mostly concrete houses with steel roofs, and walls that separate compounds. They are still very poor, but they are sort of the 'middle class' when compared with the people who live in the more rural areas.

This being the 'land of 1000 hills,' I got a lot of exercise. The first few miles were entirely downhill, and then sharply uphill to Gilbert's house where we had breakfast. He is 30, single, and lives with his sister on a compound in west Kigali. Their home was modest, with few of the comforts we're used to (TV, stove, refrigerator, flush toilet) but consisted of three buildings on a walled-in lot that was probably close to a half acre. They had a garden where they were growing tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cabbages, and bananas. We ate toast and milk tea for breakfast.

Gilbert preparing breakfast