Day 105: Bwindi NP (Uganda) – Ruhengeri (Ruanda)
This morning, the fog hangs in the valleys again, and as the vehicles carrying the guests set off for the trek, we turn around for a good half hour :-)
From the mountains, we head back to Kisoro for filling up, a second breakfast, and a few small errands with the remaining cash. It's quiet – Sunday morning mood.
Then it's only 10 km to the border to Cyanika. And actually, the border crossing is comparatively easy and quick.
In detail:
- In Uganda, stamp the CdP at Customs and get a gate pass across the street.
- Cross the border, open the car – no, we don't have a drone.
- Get the stamp at Immigration Uganda; around the corner at Customs Rwanda, pay our entry fee (50 US dollars pp) and get the CdP stamped right away.
- Then go to Immigration Rwanda and get our passport stamped. It takes a while here because the officer, a trainee, wants to know everything in detail.
After an hour, we're in Rwanda, the 25th country of our African explorations. And today, the last free page in Brigitte's passport is being filled. (It's a good thing we applied for second passports.)
The roads on the stretch from the border to Ruhengeri (Musanze) are full of pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycle riders, and even private cars. It's Sunday, but really, really crowded and densely populated. When all these young people start families of their own...
In Ruhengeri, the first thing to do is take care of the obligatory things: get some cash and a SIM card. How nice that the MTN shop is open on Sundays, too.
The Susa Garden Guesthouse and camping area is run by a Dutch teacher who uses the proceeds to finance his school project. A very pleasant stopover. And: Between lunch and dinner, the first thing we do is devour a pizza.
By the way: We're back in German summer time, a French-speaking country with right-hand traffic! But all of this will remain singular…