And Bill makes Three--The Adventure continues

Dear Friends

Sheba, our trusty Tour Guide (and by now our friend, as well) picked Carol and I up from beautiful Lake Mutanda, to begin the next part of our adventure: RWANDA!

It was to be my first time to enter Rwanda, though the border is only a few miles away from Kisoro. The first thing we noticed when crossing the country line, was the difference in the roads: Rwandan roads are smooth and black tarred while Ugandan roads are full of potholes and volcanic rocks mixed with dirt..
Especially for you Mrs. Balderree (Carol's mother in law) smile

Rwanda is really quite a beautiful country, especially approaching the city skyline in early morning or sunset. We settled into our hotel, had a bite to eat and were off to the Kigale Airport to pick up my friend Bill Northrup, who was to arrive via Nashville, Tenn., NYC and a two day layover in South Africa. The circuitous route enabled Bill to use his frequent flyer miles, and besides some temporarily lost luggage, he enjoyed the trip.

Carol kept questioning the airport, as besides being quite small had virtually no activity going on to anticipate the imminent arrival of an International Flight,.Yet, it all turned out well , as you can see from the photo’s of Sheba and I greeting Bill at the gate.

Following sufficient time for Bill to admire my beautiful hair (Thanks Robina for the hair trim and L’Oreal for turning grey locks into clusters of gold , and svelte body (Thanks to Uganda for lacking the carbohydrates I so enjoy) and last, but certainly not least, my outfit (part of the bounty Carol brought me.), we were off to our “Giraffe Hotel: which was quite inexpensive and perfect for our needs.

-----View of Kigale from Hotel Rwanda--

We all wanted to see the hotel where the movie Hotel Rwanda was made, but it was beyond our budget, so we opted to breakfast there, which was a perfect choice as since Rwanda was a French colony , their buffet breakfast was full of croissants , real butter and jams. So many yummy things, Carol doubted I could eat all that was on my plate, but I cleaned that plate and got another-Ha.

The temperature outside was perfect and in the companionship of two of my dearest friends, Carol and Bill (and now new friend Sheba) I was not just in Rwanda, I was in heaven!.

Next Blog we travel to the Genocide Memorial, which commemorates the loss of so many lives in 1994, but for now I am enjoying the memory of friends from afar, in a country that none of us may have ever seen without my being called to be a medical missionary in Uganda *.( Thanks to God, Lay Mission Helpers and Bishop Callist).

------Blessings--

---------------Marie

* Feel like I’m accepting an Academy Award (smile)
. .

.OK, you are in Rwanda and all you have for transport is a bike(you are one of the lucky ones!). What else to do but, hitch a ride from a delivery truck, of course.