Morning Walk

 Three or four mornings each week, we enjoy a 40 minute walk to the nearby town. The road is very hilly and affords wonderful vistas. Across the valley, we can see the hospital, Lake Kivu, and even the Congo in the distance. At 7 AM, the sidewalks are filled with students in their various uniforms, headed to several nearby schools.  Vendors and stores are mostly closed at that hour but construction projects have begun. Men carry heavy bags of concrete on the back of their bicycles, pushing the bikes up the steep hills – amazing!!

On Saturdays, we walk a bit later and have been able to visit the small “supermarket” which is more like a small 7/11 as well as a pharmacy where drugs are sold over the counter without a prescription – we picked up some inexpensive doxycycline which we will use on future trips for malaria prevention! The highlight of Saturday’s walk is the market with many covered booths selling produce and fruit of all kinds, beans and rice, and many types of flipflop shoes that seem to be very popular here.

The people here are very friendly, especially the children who greet us as we walk.

   

                                                                                  

  

  We pass by two or three schools and each has its own uniform. The children are delightful and call out "Good morning" to practice their English!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Saturday market day is a flurry of activity. The vendors were reluctant to have their pictures taken so we had to be subtle!!

This is a vegetarian and fruit lovers paradise!!!

       

Motorcycles are lined up just outside of the market in case anyone needs a lift!

We see many partially completed construction projects along the way. We don't know if there are building codes and inspectors!!

.... uphill on a one speed bike!!!!
                                                                                                                                                   

The walk home is a long steep uphill that leaves us huffing and puffing if we take it quickly. Kibogora is at 5000 feet above sea level which is about the same as Denver, Colorado!