the jungle and the congo

I recently took a road trip that landed me in the dense Nyungwe jungle, which is presumably what all of Rwanda looked like prior to cultivation (nearly every inch is now farmland). The jungle had an almost eerie feeling; even as you drive through it feels quiet, dark and isolated. I’m pretty sure I would believe anything about its potential inhabitants and would not have been surprised by wild mythical creatures if they had crossed the road in front of us. I’m even a little creeped out by the monkey man on the entrance sign – what is that? It also adds to the intrigue that all of the park rangers carry AK-47s and that we were just a stone’s throw from the Congo.

Jungle flower that I fear could eat me, jungle monkey that is hopefully harmless, and just-outside-the-jungle accommodations that were actually quite lovely...












Speaking of the Congo, we thought it would be fun to cross the border, despite the travel warning and unrest that currently characterize the country. I’m a sucker for cool passport stamps. I’ll say very little about this venture other than there may or may not have been a skirmish and nearly some actual trouble with the Congolese border mafia. The alleged incident may have been a photography issue that I am choosing to blame entirely on the Indiana Jones characters you see below. Seriously, guys?


This foot bridge is the official border cross from Cyangugu.


And here we are immigrating or emigrating (?) back into Rwanda.