I am so happy I don’t have to work this weekend. Numerien told me to rest as we have a big week ahead. I said sure with a big wink. My ecotourism guide arrived at the hotel this morning with the mountain bikes as promised. I had negotiated in my touring package that I would get the Nile Congo Trail ride for free. Today was the day! It was a bit chilly outside but as soon as we hit those hills I had the feeling it was 40 degrees outside. Those steep hills are tough, never ending and a real killer. The guide asked me if I was in shape. I told him that I was a Belgian Rowing Champion with the juniors and had a track & cross country scholarship NCAA div 1 in the USA but I hadn’t worked out in about 10 years. I didn’t want to bring shame on myself so I told him not to go easy on me. Why oh why am I so competitive ? The guide has completed the 91km Congo Nile Trail over 200 times in 1 day and has seen 5 tourist finish it in 2 days. This trail is no joke! I understood online that I would be riding next to the Nile Congo river but that is not true. It is called Nile Congo because the river at the end of Lake Kivu ends in Victoria lake in Congo. The mountains in Rwanda on Congo border are called Congo Crescent and the other side it mouths somehow in the Nile but there is no such thing as the actual Congo Nile river. The information online is incorrect. The Congo Nile Trail takes you to Kibuye. I had half a bottle of water with me and drank little by little because I saw there were no stores in this mountain area. People have to walk miles to the town. Half way I asked the guide why he wasn’t drinking. He said he forgot his bottle. Oh nooo ! I decided to take one for the team and gave him the rest of all my water. Now we were half way both without water. This was going to be one hell of a ride. The thought crossed my mind many times to drink from the well or from the Lake. Lake Kivu looks like an ocean and many new hotels are under construction. The hilly dirt roads are so steep that if you don’t watch and ride over a rock, the entire bike flips backwards. Going downhill isn’t a joke either you have to keep your eyes closely on the road and make sure you aren’t going to fast. On this trail you barely get a break. At one point we had gone up a few steep hills but were send down because there was a marine training. The special trainings aren’t allowed to be seen; which makes sense. On the trail we passed by an old German man who had been walking next to his bike for three days already. He asked me where I was going. I said nowhere just relaxing on the trail. He said relaxing ? You are drenched in sweat that’s not relaxing! I said I just passed some steep hills. He said oh the worst part is coming now. I got scared! Out of breath I stopped at a water well to rinse my arms and legs. My entire body was itching, red bumps everywhere. I think the repellent was giving me an allergic reaction. The silver lining was that I got to pump from a local well, which was very entertaining. The children chanted muzungu and screamed good morning all the time. Besides trying to focus on the road, I had to constantly give hi5 and yell hello or good morning back. Sometimes children would scream but they were hidden in the banana bushes so I wouldn’t even know where the noise was coming from. Occasionally goats ran on the road and the guide kept on saying look brochettes. So the brochettes I have been eating is goat meat? I didn’t know. The taste is very good though. I saw children swimming in Lake Kivu and decided to jump in with my clothes on. I was already wet from sweat anyway. It was so much fun. The water was clean and I thought the children how to float. I swam for a good hour trying not to think about the way back on the trail. The kids were joyful and some of them spoke English very well. One of the kids, named Eric wanted to become a professional swimmer. He swims in Lake Kivu about 5 hours a day. I hope he will become an Olympian one day.
Around 15:00 I was hungry but I was scared to eat. If I ate heavy I would not be able to reach back to the hotel. So we stopped at Inzu lounge. I had read about it online but decided not to stay there as you can only sleep in tents. When we got there I realised it is actually a beautiful place and this is where all the foreigners stay. The area on the shores of Lake Kivu is the muzungu zone. I have been wondering were the tourists were. They had yoga and a lot of alcohol was being consumed my mostly women only. I bet in the night there is a lot of noise of drunk women. It reminded me of a scene of the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love women in search for themselves but the place is nice. The food is great and the service is excellent. The Canadian owner is a darling as well. We are now almost 6 hours into biking and it’s becoming tough luckily we found bottled water. We had to stop more frequent but made it home before the nightfall and rain. When I arrived at the hotel I was craving fast food and ordered a burger with fries. I urgently needed carbs. The bike ride was fantastic ! The blackouts were worth every second. This day belongs to one of the best days of my life!
Night night for now - tomorrow I will be up at 6 AM for another adventure! I forgot to mention today is National Clean up day! Every last Saturday of the month everyone between age 18 and 55 has to help clean the streets. Bravo Kagame !