Hiking around and my addiction to Nakumat

Last weekend I went hiking with Marta, who is one of my roommates and another Projet San Francisco intern, Jeri, who is doing a rotation for her PA degree through PSF, and Hector, one of our friends from here in Kigali. Hector wanted to show Mt. Kigali, one of the larger hills in Kigali, to Jeri soMarta and I invited ourselves along. We were in town for almost the whole hike, until the summit. Even near the summit of the hill, when we were stuggling up dirt paths and inhaling dust, there were still houses and corner stores and women carrying baskets of fruit or jugs of water on their heads. People here seem to have an amazing sense of balance and the ability to scale large hills without breaking a sweat. Neither Marta, Jeri, or I possess either of those skills as evidenced by our scratched hands and disgusting clothes. But all the dust and sweat was worth it because the view from the top of the hill is beautiful. As we ascended, almost all of Kigali was visible and seemed much larger than it does when I am in the middle of the city.


When we reached the top of the hill, it was a completely different view. Green hills, bright green river valleys, and other than the terracing on the hills, almost no evidence of people.



After resting for a few minutes and relishing being done, Hector informed us that in fact we were not done and that in fact we had not reached the summit. So even though we couldnt really see anywhere higher than where we were, we followed Hecotr down another dirt path and in a few minutes more of climbing (somehow this hill kept going up), we spilled into a pine forest that was at the top of the hill (I think it really was the top because everywhere else we went down).


It was surreal to be only a few minutes out of the city and surrounded by pines. And as soon as we left the pine forest, we wandered into a grove of eucalyptus trees and yellow flowering plants. Hector took the lead again after a few minutes of us taking pictures of every flowering plant and insect that we could get into our viewfinders and we started down a different path until we started going back up again. I think by this time we were on the other side of the hill and a little bit lost. No offense Hector!




Finally we came to meeting point of several trails and decided to go on the one that Hector thought led back to Kigali. Although we could have gone on the other one which he wasnt sure where it went, but was happy to lead us down.


On our way back, we ran into a couple relaxing in the shade, a man carrying a chair on his head, and a mother and a daughter hefting a giant basket of tubers.
Finally, we caught sight of Kigali again and started back down the hill.


After another fifteen or twenty minutes of walking, Hector suggested that we get something to eat and drink, which seemed like a wonderful idea so we ended up at the dubiously named "Piano Bar". Although they did serve alcohol, there was no evidence of any piano in the near vicinity. Originally, the waitress said that they had meat, fish, and chicken. Meat, fish, and chicken what wasnt really detailed so I passed. However, Marta and Hector asked for fish. After about ten minutes the waitress came back to say that there wasnt any fish or chicken, only meat. So ok, meat it is. Oh its meat on a stick. That took about thirty minutes to cook. In the meantime, a man brought in a couple of live chickens so I think that they took care of that particular shortage pretty quickly. After our fantas, meat kebabs, and a giant pile of fries and mayo (I had the fanta) we came back home. And ate. And slept. Pretty much for the rest of the day. All in all, despite being hot, dehydrated, and really dirty, it was a great day. The views were beautiful, the company was great, and the fanta was amazing.

Now about Nakumat. Nakumat is a store that opened the second week that I got here, so its been open about two weeks. And I have probably been there about six or seven times. That adds up to just about every other day. You see nakumat is a supermarket, a real honest to goodness supermarket. And even though their stock is different every time I am there and there is no guarantee that what I came for will be there, there is a guarantee that something wonderful will be there. Like whole wheat flour... or cheese... or BARBEQUE SAUCE. And although there are definitely aisles to avoid because the temptations and the prices are too great (the one housing barbeque sauce also has olive oil and olives and tomato sauce. All amazing foods that cost about 15 dollars each) there are other aisles that are full of wonderful products that are no temptation at all because the prices are ridiculous. So these aisles, full of blenders and toasters and microwaves are fun to just walk up and down. And when I get bored with them, there are cameras and shoes and toys to look at. Even a book stand! The book stand is pretty much exsclusively full of Harry Potter and guide books and each book costs about 30 dollars minimum, but its still amazing. I even found a vegetarian cookbook that I pawed through for recipe ideas before putting back down and stepping slowly away. Oh nakumat. Its a wonderful place. Full of magic and wonder. But I have made a solemn oath... I am cutting myself back to two times a week. Otherwise I am going to spend my whole paycheck on chocolate and three dollar heinekins!