Thursday, August 29, 2013

Snapshots from the road: Land of a Thousand Hills

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Recently I traveled to the stunningly beautiful country of Rwanda.

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It was my first time and I was just in awe of its stunning beauty in the landscape.

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The capital, Kigali.

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It's nickname, land of a thousand hills, was an understatement and well deserved.
The landscape is a never ending up and down, of gorgeous drops and curving roads.
The mountain lover in me was so ecstatic.

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While driving, we passed at least three brides in the bridal march within an hour.  
It was such a joyous scene (although she looks kind of nervous in my shot!).

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On a sobering note, heading east, toward the border with Congo-Kinshasa, we passed the Nkamira Transit Camp.

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The camp--not too far from the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its infamous city of Goma---
is a transit camp for refugees fleeing the violence in the DRC.

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A football match.  In 2012, the UN reported that the camp's population had surpassed 11,000 refugees.

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It was sobering to see so many lives impacted by the M23 rebels in the DRC.
It was a sobering thing to see the day after visiting several sites in Rwanda in which thousands lost their lives in the genocide.



For more information on the fighting in the Congo.



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