Parc National des Volcans

When Dian Fossey came down from the mountains, she always stayed in the Muhabura Hotel in Ruhengeri, always in the same room. Could I get any closer to this brave woman? Who killed this famous researcher has not been found out, but the motive certainly rested in her undeterred devotion in protecting her beloved gorillas.

The Muhabura was the very first hotel in town and is still an all time favorite. It has true character, a devoted staff, and an excellent view of the volcano of the same name.

The comfortable bus from Gisenye to Ruhengeri rolled through countryside very unusual for hilly Rwanda - fields full of cabbage, potatoes, beans and cassava on flat terrain.

The other novelty was the majestic volcanoes surrounding Ruhengeri. Quite a few people take to climbing the steep slopes. Efrain, an Israeli traveler I had befriended on the Lonley Planet ThornTree forum, was one of them. I did not have the heart to join him: I had to save all my energy for the gorilla trek… Especially after the accounts of two German girls who did the climb in pouring rain! They came back completely covered in mud.

They had been in Rwanda for 6 months doing volunteer work with handicapped children in a village near Kigali. Their heartbreaking stories still linger on my mind: mothers who could not afford 15 Cents for the bus ride to get their sick babies to a medical center were forced to walk for two hours - Women who earn 20 Cents a day cleaning the market.

Talking about income - on my many walks through Ruhengeri, a teenage student chatted me up in excellent English, still something rare in Rwanda. His family could afford to send him to school in Kisaro, a small Ugandan town only 15 kilometers from Ruhengeri, just across the border. A wealthy family? Depends how you look at it! His mother has a good job, cleaning rooms at the Fatima Hotel, which earns her 20 USD a month, exactly what I paid for my room at the inexpensive Muhabura Hotel for the night.