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Towards the westerly edge of this very green country is the greenest piece of all: Nyungwe National Park. Edged by Lake Kivu on its western side and not so far off from Nyanza, home of Rwanda’s last kings, Nyungwe is an ancient, verdant paradise, home to waterfalls, hundreds of species of trees and birds, and most famously 13 species of primates. The park is a five to six hour drive along well paved national highways from Kigali and traffic coming into the city will often add two hours onto the return trip. But I wouldn’t trade a second of travel for the wet and beautiful experience. 

Our first weekend in Nyungwe was with Jenna and a friend Emma (who Liberty knows from work in Mexico, and now here in Rwanda) and was the first time Liberty joined Jenna and I on a national park adventure. We headed out in a little rented Rav4 SUV and enjoyed the views of the countryside from our 6 a.m start time for our 1 pm trek start in Nyungwe. 

Our car, and its concerningly mediocre brakes, made it into the park with time for lunch, and as we drove the winding road into Nyungwe we caught our first glimpses of the primate species that make the park famous - a large groups of baboons. They were sunning themselves on the warmth of the roadway in the afternoon sun, their bright pink butts welcoming us into our new adventure. Not far forward we were also pleasantly surprised by a troop of mutton-chopped Colobus monkeys, whose Dickensian white sideburns stand out against their black fur and give them an 1800s professorial aire. The trek we would soon begin is called Cyinzobe and would feature 25 kilometers of up and down hiking over three days and two nights. 

We signed in at Uwinka visitors center and our crew for the weekend added in a fifth member - Tim, or Timu, our guide for the next three days. Tim grew up near the park and has a unique set of skills. He hails from a lineage of forest experts: his father is a professional botanist for the state and leads reforesting projects across the country, and his grandfather also passed down an immense amount of knowledge to the family about the forests trees, plants, and animals, and the medicines that can be found there. Tim is a lively, smiling, and joking man, with a great spirit about him, and a reverence for the forest and all it provides. 

Our first day took us up hill, on beautifully manicured paths, where thousands of cuts of 4 x 1 thin eucalyptus tree trunks and limbs framed unending steps cut into the forest floor. Our steps were softened by leaflitter, grey and orange clay, and decomposing wood. Above us were unending varieties of trees larger than any I’d seen anywhere save for Redwoods National park. Trees with canopies arched like umbrellas, trees with trunks that spread like veins, arching and spreading out for strength in the forever wettened soil. Some trees covered in spines, some with three inch discs protruding out of their trunks. Trees used for a million different purposes - for boat building, whose red flowers would be thrown to welcome the king, whose sap was used as glue to make handles for machetes. 

Tim would pause often, leading our group of four, to listen for the sound of a bird, and then use his phone to share a picture and play back its call to try to get it to come closer. He’d hold up a plant or point out a tree and share about its use to cure stomach ailments, or to clear eczema, or to help with period pain. He would pause to show us a print in the dirt and tell us about how the trail cams don’t see the jaguars, but the guides see their prints. He told us about the chokevine that dominates sections of the forest and about how it takes fifteen years for it to bloom and die, and how in that time chokes away the life of the plants it covers. He told us about the last of the forest elephants who had died in the park fifteen years before, and about how they’ll reintroduce forest elephants from Volcanoes National Park in the north in the next few years, and hopefully they’ll do the forest a service and eat away at the chokevine. 

Nyungwe, like the rest of the country is full of blooming flowers. Flashes of pink, blue, purple, white and red pop against the green carpet of the forest. Tree varieties change from bright light green to dark rich hues, and vines of varying length, and thickness hang from the limbs and bows of the trees and from the canopy above. Mosses, thick, soft and colorful blanket the mother trees, stumps, and hillsides of the trailways, adding other tones of verdant life to our trek. Varieties of fruits, medicinal plants and  ferns - one variety, Igishigishigi,  are eight feet tall, also added spice to the path. 

Clearings gave sight of the seemingly unending sea of life gave context to just how tall and diverse the world was around us. Hundreds of feet above us and stretching for miles, we'd pause together, often inspired to take the same photographs of the deep beauty around us in collective moments of joyful awe. 

We talked amongst ourselves, we asked Tim to share when we had questions, and we strolled quietly, listening for animals, and birds, and basking in the sound of the wind through the millions of leaves surrounding us. 

Daily thunderstorms would grow and threaten at intervals of their own choosing. The sun would show blue and then be replaced by wind and grey, and sometimes the whole forest would fall into a kind of darkness before a storm would arrive. It was a daily theater I won't forget. Listening to the sound of the thunder roaring harder than any I recall in recent memory, the crack of lightning striking closer than was comfortable, and with it the heavy raindrops of the little rainy season coming down in torrents. Croaking, crashing storms, the sound of the thick droplets making it impossible to talk, making steps slicker, these Deluges cleansing the forest, soaking the ground, bringing in deep mist and cloud cover, creating a new perspective of the rainforest, so alive for this very reason. Being utterly soaked, but elated brought me back to 11 years old evening soccer practice, sliding joyfully with my team in the rain. We were sopping, but beaming, not cold or uncomfortable at all, but joyful, aware and grateful of being intertwined for a moment with the forest.

Each night we shed our wet clothes, were given hot ginger tea, to get settled into great little A frames as Robert the cook prepared us dinner. We had warm beds, fires to dry our wet clothes, and even waterbottles to warm our feet and accompany us to bed. We hung our clothes on racks and sat by the fireside and played cards. Tim joined us and learned new games. It was lovely to be dry and warm and to be taken care of, a luxurious difference from the backpacking i’m used to. Less weight, no work to do besides hiking, and hot showers! I could get used to more nature trips like this. 

After this first weekend was over we had seen two gorgeous forest waterfalls, snakes, frogs, beetles, and more. Of the thirteen species of primate, we’d seen six! The first day, towards the end of the hike we saw two silver monkeys, fifteen feet in the trees above us jumping back and forth and calling to one another. We sat and watched and captured these beautiful graceful monkeys. On the second day we came upon mountain monkeys right as we made into our camp. They only gave us a moment, before running up into the brush. The final day gave us a sighting of grey cheeked monkeys (which are crazy looking) moving on the path near us and finally a Mona monkey that nearly peed on me, that just Liberty and I got to see. 

By the end of the weekend, we were all sore and tired, and Liberty had really tested her injured ankle on the downhill, but we’d had a lovely time. It was so fun to get to spend time with both Jenna and Liberty together (and Emma too) and I was blown away by Nyungwe National Park and its amazing rainforest. 

As we left the park we had a really bizarre experience where our car was revving randomly and flashing warnings about brakes. Jenna, who was driving, pulled over, and turned the car off. We let it sit for a minute and turned it back on, only to have it rev on its own, with the car still in park. Worrying as this was, we called the rental car guy, prepared to need a rescue. However, about two minutes later, a local guy pull over and ask us if we needed help. He offered to try to see if he could get the car to start. 

The girls had gotten out, and I agreed to let him try. Somehow the car started (maybe it just needed to sit for a few minutes and let the sensor reset) and the man suggested that maybe he drive it for a second to see if he could identify what was going on. While in the US, this would be potentially weird, letting someone get behind the wheel and drive your car, Liberty and I have a rule in this country to generally “Trust Rwandans” and so suddenly, there I was, riding with this man I had never met. Not only did he want to see if the car would run for one or two minutes, he insisted that he drive the car out of the park to ensure it was working well. 

“I always pull over when someone is in trouble, because I’d want someone to do the same for me” he told me as he drove our rental car down the winding highway. Meanwhile, Liberty had been conscripted into driving their car behind us, with his business partner in their operation growing and selling chia products. Both were very nice people, but it was an odd reminder of the way that people trust and help one another in this country, and a challenging test of our trust in strangers. After 35 or 40 minutes we were out of the park and the man agreed to let us drive our own car again. We parted ways and drove six more hours until we made it back to Kigali and through the slow truck traffic home. Later in the week we were informed that we’d gotten 3 speeding tickets on our trip, and I’m pretty sure all of them were his driving on the way out of the forest. 

To end I’ll share:

A list of all of the living things I noted on our trip to Nyungwe

• Kikiu bird

• Black Billed Turoco 

• Red Turoco

• Red throat allete 

• Great Blue turaco 

• A Kite 

• A Black and White Buzzard eating turaco

• Families of Colobus monkeys 

• Troops of Baboons

• A pair of Silver monkeys 

• Two Chimp nests (with no chimps in them) 

• Mountain monkeys in groups and solo 

• One Grey-cheeked monkey

• One peeing Mona monkey

• Beetles of different types (shiny ones)

• A Stick bug

• Yellow, Orange and White butterflies

• Many flowers including orchids 

• Echufe- a yellow bellied fruit 

• Mahogany trees 

• Umbrella tree - Which people used its red flowers to make carpets to welcome the king and its sap makes good glue 

• Broccoli trees - which have plums that chimps love

• Kings trees - which make great canoes 

• A Skink 

• Two kinds of small Snakes  

• A Kisolo Toad 

• A Begh's toad 

• Boehm's Squirrels 

• Rwenzori Squirrels

• A few Orchids (many with no flowers) 

• Six kinds of begonias, some edible

• Impatience flowers that shoot their seeds when touched

• Blood lily - bright red and used to make poison

• Emma flower 

• Vast Tea plantations  

Written by Jeremy

Jenna and I started our day at 5:00 am sharp when we’re picked up by our wonderful guide, Marc, and his helper Benina - a tourism student who was learning the ropes of guiding. In a country whose economy is based on tourism, guides in Rwanda can be paid more than lawyers and Marc, in addition to all the guides and drivers we’ve had in Volcanoes and Nyungwe, have been fantastic at their jobs. It’s a competitive industry and guides are gracious, professional and fun people. 

Just the four of us drove in a giant “tourism vehicle” Land Rover safari car with room for 12, complete with a pop up canopy. I stood up while we drove for a large chunk of the day - 1. Because it was fun and gave me a big view of the park and 2. To avoid the diesel fumes that got to me after a few hours in the car. 

The day was split into a Safari tour - lasting from around 7:30 a.m. when we arrived at park gates until 4:30 (with a lunch at 2:00), when we would take a boat tour around Lake Ihema, until 6:00 when we’d head back to Kigali. All in all it was very packed 16 hour day.

Marc had brought pastries to the other guides he knows and shared them as we came in, in exchange for sharing information throughout the day. Via texts he got an inside scoop leading us to where the lions were, where to find the rhinos, and much more. 

As we came into the park we immediately saw 2 large elephants in the dense brush next to the car. Jenna spotted them before our guide, and we backed up to get a better spot. They were beautiful. 

The park takes about two hours to drive from the south to north tip and we travelled first through more dense bush, into more acacia treres and eventually into open grassland. Akagera is dotted with lakes and edged by a river of its same name that separates Rwanda with Tanzania. 

Unlike during the Gorilla trek, close contact with the animals is nearly nonexistent. Animals here are seen, but from afar - through binoculars, through car windows and out of the canopy, the car creating a different kind of stability and safety, that is one step removed. We only got out of the vehicle twice - once at a viewpoint at a far distance from anything wild, and once for our lunch break. 

After the elephants we began to see more and more animals, an overwhelming variety and number - By ten o’clock we had seen around 15 different species and the dopamine hit and checklist became addictive. My eyes were constantly scanning, trying to spot things before our guides - which was very hard to do - I think Marc’s experience and excellent vision gave him a big leg up. 

Jenna and I both were both kids again, transported to elementary dreams of wildlife zoology, suddenly in the world of Anansi the Spider, of Simba and Scar, of Jumanji, of Rudyard Kipling, with the animals of the stories of our childhood come to life. Seeing lions in the wild was a lifelong dream for Jenna and her joy throughout the day was palpable and catching. 

The landscape was beautiful and ever changing. Driving was magical and exciting and the boat ride at the end the day brought us new animals we hadn’t gotten to see, was relaxing and cooling with a wonderful breeze, and gave us a gorgeous view of the sunset. 

The dream-like state we had achieved in seeing the gorillas continued in the safari. And though we both were exhausted at the end of the long day, to get to see so many amazing animals and places in such a short time is incredibly lucky and left both of us overjoyed. See my list below for more details...

A list of living things seen during 12 hours of daylight on a safari and boat ride in Akagera National Park, Rwanda - March 4th , 2026 

• 2 Elephants, hiding in the bush 

• Several Mongoose running near and across the roads 

• Dozens of Hippos in water - charging towards of our tour boat every time we came near - scary 

• 1 very fast land hippo - somehow even scarier - 30+ mph

• Gaggles of Baboons and a few little cute babies too 

• Lots of colors and varieties of Kingfishers

• Many many African Fishing eagles 

• Many Zebras and a few chocolate hued babies

• Lots waddling colorful Guineas 

• Lots of little White and black birds 

• A few beautiful Bright blue birds

• Pretty dark blue birds 

• Birds with long beaks

• Mayor pheasants flashing their tail feathers 

• Plenty of Water bucks 

• Derpy Ground birds waddling randomly 

• Topis everywhere 

• Termite mounds all over 

• A few carcasses left by predators

• Several families of Giraffe and a few babies 

• Cattle egrets near or on top of every grazer 

• A Wahlbergs Eagle 

• A few pairs of Rhinos, including one we named “Bumps” 

• Impalas around every corner, some babies 

• Yellow Weavers at lunch trying to steal our foods ;drinking someone else’s tea , near the water in high number

• Several pairs of Egyptian geese 

• A few sightings of Warthog 

• One lone lioness and then later Six lionesses eating a warthog loudly

• White, yellow and bright blue butterflies 

• A jaunty Red song bird

• Fat Lizards under the tables at lunch 

• Herons of many types 

• Jaconte 

• Other geese 

• Many Crocodiles of medium and small stature 

• 1 ENORMOUS crocodile - probably 15 feet long snd 3 feet wide 

• Several families of Cape buffalo and lone old man 

• Random solo or pairs of Bushbucks near the lake 

• A Palmnut vulture 

• Some Black billed white ducks 

• A few Goliath herons

• A Black and white speckled bird in small groups on water’s edge

• A different Small heron 

• African Black Storksl things 

• Some Grey herons 

• Lots of snake birds

• Cormorants 

• 1 very close to being murdered turtle along the road 

• A small cabal of bees hellbent on eating our lunches 

• Various winged bugs, some large, few vindictive 

• 1 wild highly densely populated crazy bird roosting island in the middle of the lake 

• Marc and Beniña - our guides, 

• Jenna and Jeremy

• Two of the people we met on our gorilla trek in another safari car going the other way - we see you nice London couple

• Beautiful cactus trees, pretty flowers, acacia trees for the giraffes, tall grasses for slinking in, “the bush” all wrapped in rolling green hills flanked by the river Akagera and six separate lakes and many ponds

A short list of things we didn’t see (but hypothetically could have) 

• Aardvarks 

• Honey badgers 

• Shoebills

• Pythons, black mambas and dangerous snakes of many kinds  

• Leopards 

• Hyenas

• An alpha male lion 

• A herd of elephants together

• Monitor lizards 

All in all. Neither of us had seen so many different things in one place in our lives.

Written by Jeremy

After Umuganda we were picked up by our driver Mbabazi and we drove down the new Chinese built road to Musanze. We passed the Twin Lakes (which became twins after splitting apart in the last volcanic eruption), passed several small cities, and drove along the smooth new highway until we reached the country’s second largest city, Musanze. 

Like many places around the world, Rwanda has worked with the Chinese to help the country build high quality highways. Chinese contractors bring workers and machines and they do sections quickly and efficiently - working all day and night while constructing a new part of a highway. Good roads are the difference between health outcomes - as people who are sick can make it to hospitals in time, workers can take off less time for appointments - making them more likely to go -  and in some cases good roads provide the first ever quick access to real emergency health care for communities. Roads also bring access to education, access to other cities bringing increased economic activities, increased access to jobs, and more opportunity for in and out of country trade. 

Good road systems are integral to developing countries and the Chinese have done a great service to Africa in building them all over the continent. These roads are often part of deals, or loans, that are favorable to China, but they are incredibly useful nonetheless. It is interesting to see this development happening as the US has pulled back so much aid under Trump. It makes me wonder what experiences Africans will have with outside powers in the years to come as America changes its approaches in the world, and how this adds into the changing perspectives of the US. 

Arriving in Musanze, the city felt busy and larger than its surrounding communities, but lacked the elegance of Kigali. As we arrived downtown, we stopped into a clothing store so I could buy some rain pants and at a supermarket for wine and snacks for the evening. Mbabazi then dropped us at our very lovely rental for a calm evening in. We ordered food for delivery, shared a bottle of wine, watched the movie Nonna’s (it was silly) and then retired early in preparation for the next day’s early start. 

Jenna and I got up at 6:00 for our 6:30 pickup. We put on our raingear, ate a yummy breakfast provided by the rental, and loaded up snacks and water for our trek. Our drive was about a half hour into Volcanoes National Park and as we saw more of the city the country’s pride in Gorillas was evident, with statues and signs, showing how important the area’s tourism industry is to its survival and the pride they have as being the home of the Mountain Gorilla. Coming into the park we passed by giant woven gorilla sculptures where the president comes for naming ceremonies when a baby gorilla is born. Like the birth of a panda for the Chinese, gorilla babies are national news and are given names with strong cultural pride and significance. 

Five minutes later we arrived at the gorilla trek center where they provided us with free delicious coffee, and we sipped enjoyably as the guides talked and separated guests into groups.  Jenna and I were very excited to begin our week of animal treks, and we took pictures of the lush, manicured visitors center with the misty Virunga mountain peaks growing more visible in the morning light. 

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda is expensive. It is expensive because they realize what kind of a unique experience this is for world travelers. It is expensive because they do the best job of any country in Africa to protect the gorillas that live in the park, and it is expensive because you are guaranteed to see gorillas in a short time. For Jenna and I spending the money to do this meant a difficult choice, for us the price point was stinging, but as we sat with our coffee we realized we were in highfalutin company. Our compatriots in gorilla trekking were well quaffed, well groomed, and wearing brand new trekking gear. We could smell the wealth as we were called to gather in a circle and were introduced to our guides for the day: Edward and Angel. 

Edward, a giant six foot five inch man with a giant very white smile, asked us to share who we were and where we were from. We were eight guests in total: Jenna and I and three couples -  one from the U.K, one from Mexico City, and one from Dallas. We stretched in ages from mid thirties to mid fifties. Everyone was polite, somewhat nervous, and excited for the day’s adventure.

Edward then told us about himself - he was in his mid fifties and had been guiding in the park for more than 25 years. We later learned that in addition to his time spent guiding gorillas he was also a mountain trekking guide and he had climbed the five nearby volcanoes more than a hundred times each. He affectionately referred to the gorillas as his “cousins”. Ange, his co-leader was only in her early thirties and was a little less outgoing. She lead our safety chat, and was very kind and helpful. 

Edward and Ange gave us a breakdown of what our trip would be like, shared the history of Diane Fossey, who had championed Gorilla conservation here in the park in 70s and 80s (before she was murdered!), and then the guides shared three separate sounds to know when in close proximity to the gorillas. The low sound, which means that you are a friend, and you are submissive and of no threat to the family. A higher sound meaning “I want to come through” which our response to should be a low submissive sound, followed by moving back to get out of their way. And, lastly, a laughing type sound which the silverback will use to signal they want to mate - Edward laughed in his human voice when he shared it, and said that he hoped no one would hear that one. See some about sounds here. 

Next we learned about several ways the silverbacks communicate: They beat their chest as a sign of dominance and power - and you aren’t to beat your chest at them as this is a sign of aggression. Secondly, though unlikely, if a silverback were to charge at you, you’re to lower your head and sit down where you are, looking downward and repeating the submissive friendly sound. Finally, unlike the common misconception - you can give eye contact to both males and female gorillas but you shouldn’t stare, especially at a silverback. 

The gorilla family we would be visiting that day is named Agashya, meaning making news or special. It was led by a 43 year old Silverback of the same name for many decades, but he is now retired and his son has taken on the dominant silverback role. We, along with many other groups heading out for treks that morning, would be given one family to see and would be the only tour group to see them that day.

Agashya family’s trackers will have already begun to travel to where the group had settled the night before and at their last night’s nest site, they will follow signs - droppings, downed plants, and prints to find the new location - always within a mile of the previous place. They’ll then radio to share the new location with our guides.  

After the debrief, we piled back into our vehicles and went a few miles to farmland on the edge of the park where our trek would start. We each got a porter, a local who would help carry bags and help us navigate the deep mud and slippery terrain, knowing that the pay for them was a great boost for local people, and that the money from tourism and jobs created further protect the park. 

We began walking across local potato farms to the park boundary when we came upon an unexpected treat - a family of gorillas on the hillside beyond ours! We could make out the big silverback and another six or seven gorillas crossing the recently acquired park land that had formerly been farmland. It was wild to see gorillas so quickly on the trip, and we stood in awe of  our luck. However, this wasn’t Agashya, and after a few minutes taking pictures and relishing our fortune, we continued further into the park. 

Volcanoes park, like a lot of Rwanda, is lush, and especially in the rainy season it is VERY MUDDY. Porters helped those in need navigate the deep mud, with hand holding and warnings where not to step and we moved through the jungle towards the trackers who would help us to find our gorilla family. All around us were large trees and bamboo, which is native to the area, and a favorite food of the mountain gorilla. We avoided the dung of native water buffalo but saw no sign of a small variety of mountain elephant who also roam these mountains. 

After only an hour and a half of trekking we were told to put our backpacks down and given masks to wear (sharing 98% of our genome means we can spread disease) - we had found the  Agashya family! The family was lounging, eating, and playing in a strand of bamboo. We immediately passed Agashya himself, the elder silverback, sitting on his own. He no longer leads the group and often keeps to himself, and he was having a sit, seemingly digesting his morning meal. He looked every part of 43 years old - which is quite ancient for a male gorilla - with gray tips to all his hair and a resigned and sleepy look on his face. He looked at us, and we looked back, trying not to stare too long. He was beautiful and powerful, even in his aged state. It was a shock to be suddenly there after a month in Rwanda and waffling about whether I might go. Seeing his face and having the realization set in, sent a wave of excitement and contentedness through my body.

Continuing downhill at the behest of the trackers we moved into a vined enclosure where just a few feet in front of us were two babies, between 1 and 3 years old. Several members of our group marveled as the toddlers swung from vines, wrestled with each other, barked and gnawed playfully with their half siblings. They hung upside down, and then tumbled over one another, hanging and falling from the vines, looking very much like humans of similar age, but with much stronger arms. To sit so closely, to be an observer of something so magical felt otherworldly and so amazingly special. We were transported to a place of innocence, and beauty, to a scene from Attenborough, to a morning with Diane Fossey. The light shone through the canopy, and we watched, our eyes smiling to one another over our facemasks.

Above us in the canopy was another very young gorilla, this one even smaller than the two swinging below. On a bed of vines, he was playing peekaboo with each of us as the light from behind illuminated his little head. Just a few feet between our face and his, so close and parallel to a human baby, he contentedly poked his little face through the vines at us. This moment of quiet connection again created a deep sense of gratitude, and a feeling of being in step with a natural world bigger than myself. 

Moving around the camp, we shifted down the hill a few meters and watched the new alpha as he too lounged after a morning of breakfast. It felt strange to sit so close to such a powerful wild thing. Between five and six feet tall and more than 400 pounds of muscle, he wasn’t quite intimidating with his face buried in the dirt, his silverback more visible than his unique nose. He was unafraid and undaunted by our presence, it was just another day, and we were just another group, and at 10 clock, he was full and ready for a nap. We sat and watched as one of the toddlers waddled near to him, and he looked over, but stayed put watching one of his children fall and circle, and then return up the hill to play some more. 

Soon the whole family was on the move, led by two blackbacks (teenage males), who like teenagers of the human variety, can be little punks. One ran by me (I shifted backwards quickly to avoid contact) and then watched him as he lied down to gnaw at some strange local vegetable. Another walked by and playfully prodded Jenna! She was just fine, and was so excited by the interaction, and frankly I was a little jealous. 

Agashya family soon lay down together in a heap. The toddlers swung from vines above their father, begging for his attention and nipping at each other as their moms lied below continuing to nap off the morning meal. Gorillas have to eat around 20 pounds of vegetation a day, and I think that takes a lot of lounging to process. It was mesmorizing to watch the family, and our group took hundreds of pictures, quietly observing and taking in the spectacle. 

We hung around a bit and watched the family for several more minutes before Edward told us it was time to go. We walked back up the path, shed our masks, and as we gathered our things and headed back down the mountain, Jenna correctly guessed the total number of gorillas in the family, 18, Edward’s challenge from earlier in the morning. We asked if the prize for getting the right answer was getting to stay with the gorillas a little longer, but the trackers just laughed.

In a collective joyful daze, we walked through the mud, some hands held, and only slipped once or twice on our journey back to the edge of the park. Edward told us about his time guiding and his life, and we managed not to get rained on until the very last moment before entering Mbabazi’s Land Rover and saying goodbye to our trekking friends.

Jenna and I ended our adventure in Volcanoes at the Diane Fossey Museum and learned more about her work, and more about the gorilla families here in the park and those that live elsewhere around the continent. After an hour of learning, we drove with Mbabazi back to Musanze and picked up Liberty for the three hour drive home. 

Jenna and I both were taken aback by our experience, and we agreed it was well worth the cost to come to see these magical gorillas in their natural habitat. Like Liberty a year before us, seeing the gorillas life together in the forest, safe from poachers, protected and revered by their country was more than we all could have asked for. It's hard to describe the feeling the trek gave me - whether it was feeling lucky to see something so few see; whether it was the feeling of parallels to our own vulnerability as animals; whether it was a longing for a life that is so close to family; ideals of innocence and interconnection; a world that provides what is needed, or a life unburdened by more than eating, sleeping, and being together - Visiting this verdant place and our “cousins” was a waking dream and something I would recommend anyone and everyone to do. 

Written by Jeremy

In the last week, I have been BUSY. We’ve been hosting Liberty’s Grad School compatriot and co-author of her thesis, Jenna, and as she came here to explore, I’ve taken the opportunity to get out into nature and head to the national parks with her while she’s visiting. 

Since she’s arrived we’ve hit three big items off my Rwandan bucket list - Going to Umaganda - the national monthly service day in Butaro where Partners in Health runs the University of Global Health Equity; Visiting the Gorillas on a trek in Volcanoes National Park; and going on Safari in Akagera National Park. 

This is Liberty’s third visit to Rwanda and as she’s busy with work and as she’s already toured Akagera twice and visited Volcanoes once, she sent us out without her and told us to report back while she kept up with the many projects and many different PIH sites she’s working for while she's here. She’ll come and join us this Saturday through Monday for the Cyinzobe trek - a three day, 25 km walk through the rainforests of Nyungwe National Park.

Umuganda and UGHE - Friday March 26th 

A week ago, (sorry for the wait on this entry!) we got up to to Kigali Heights at 6 am sharp to load into a bus headed for Butaro, the home of Partner's In Health's college, The University of Global Health Equity (UGHE). 

Butaro is in the north of the country and is a small community close to the Ugandan border, near the beautiful Twin Lakes, and about an hour and a half away west of Volcanoes National Park, where the gorillas are. Located in the Berera district, Butaro is a farming community, and rural, and the university and the nearby specialized cancer hospital are the largest commercial ventures in the area. 

Driving to Butaro for the next day's Umuganda we went up and up on windy unpaved roads, I saw my first monkey ever in the wild - the bright blue balled (yes testicled) Vervet Monkey on the side of the road - and we arrived in record time, about two hours. 

As guests of Liberty, Jenna and I were treated well, we had nice dorms to stay in for the evening, we got to eat yummy meals with the medical students and we were given guest passes that let us wander and see the campus. 

Jenna had arrived in Kigali the Sunday before and I'd been showing her around the city and making plans for our future adventures after our trip to the lake house. Jenna is an Ohioan, from Akron, and was pleased to arrive to temperate weather. She works in food access programs for a national advocacy organization and was balancing days touring the city with me in the morning, and then working on east coast time from 3:00 - 11:00 p.m. Having worked with Liberty during grad school, and studied alongside, she knows and admires Partners in Health and was so excited for our visit to Butaro. 

Its been fun to have Jenna around and get to share this place with her and see her excitement. We walked together and I shared coffee shops, and planned experiences for her for the times she's not working. She has been a fun companion, and its been nice to share places with her over the week. 

Her positive energy and joy continued after we arrived in Butaro and Liberty showed us around the beautiful hilltop campus (everything here is on hills), with its great views of the surrounding countryside and wetlands, its nice new classrooms and facilities, and the grounds with flowers and trees. UGHE is also the burial place for the founder of Partners in Health, Paul Farmer, whose body is buried in a volcanic stone mausoleum on the property. He passed away there, around three years ago, and as the college was a dream for him, it is a fine resting place, and a great honor to have his memorial there. The memorial has a koi pond (Paul's favorite, every PIH site has them), because those who are sick have a right to peace as they heal. There are also bamboo groves, a meditation space (Paul was a devout catholic) and plaques explaining Paul's impact and legacy on the grounds. As we  walked around we spotted a beaufitul large fruit bat sleepily hanging from one of the bamboo trees. 

That day we each worked on projects as Liberty took meetings, and met up for meals and then game night before getting to bed early to ensure we had enough sleep for 7:00 a.m. breakfast and the 8:00 a.m. start for Umuganda.

Umuganda is Rwanda's national monthly day of service. All around the country, able bodied and healthy people are required to come together to do a project, chosen by local officials to improve their communities. On the last Saturday of the month, a project is announced - road repair, home building, building upkeep etc., and all of the towns people gather to contribute. The project lasts three hours and then afterwards all of the community members gather in a sign of communal solidarity, as a place to share news and communicate with neighbors, and as a place for communal messaging - public service announcements and more. Sometimes the meeting is made up of public announcements, and sometimes there is room for local people to share concerns, dreams, and needs with one another. 

Our project took us by bus from the college a few minutes into the town, near to where the town's city buildings are to help update a roadway. It was chaotic, and spirited, and busy. Messaging for the project was lacking, and we weren't sure exactly what our roles were and so we tried out best to follow the lead of the locals. Armed with shovels and hoes we chipped away at the embankment on one side of the road, removing weeds, and shifted the road and its ditch over to make the road better suited for two car traffic. We chipped away and cleared the ditch and then spread the excess dark brown dirt across the road. Then the townspeople brought bag by bag of rich red clay to cover the top of the road and help to reduce erosion. As bags were dropped from atop heads, or the back of bicycles or later on just dirt out the back of pickups, we spread it out as evenly as we could over the darker dirt of the roadway. 

It was clear that this was not the first time they had updated a road as part of a service day, but I think all of the group from the university (about 40 of us) would have benefitted from a little more context. Even without knowing exactly what the purpose was, and even without quite enough tools to go around, it was invigorating to help, and to connect with local people and get to know the students better. 

Umuganda's purpose has always been more than just project completion, as it is a way to create even footing, shared experience, and to reduce the lines drawn by the genocide by having everyone work together for a collective good. Whether you had wronged someone, or your family had been wronged by a neighbor, here at Umuganda everyone is in the same position working on behalf of a better future. 

The scaffolds of this purpose are evident in the community meeting as well. There are call and response chants that call for peace and unity, that praise the president, who for thirty years has helped lead the country and give it its direction, and there are chants about building a better future together. Those that spoke Kinyarwandan from UGHE sat close to those who didn't and translated the meeting. Many speakers from the district shared important announcements and we learned about the importance of announcing when someone passes, about the dangers of unregulated strong Ugandan alcohol, and about the new access to better insurance. We also heard from Phil Cotton, the dean of the UGHE about how the college wishes to make sure that it is connected to the community, and how he wants the people of Butaro to think of the college as their own. 

This was a district-wide Umuganda, so we missed the more local messages and space for reflection from community members - this was less spicy than the previous month when a local grandmother gave the community's a men a talking to about respecting women and chastised and called them out... overall there was less tea this month and more business, but it was still very interesting. 

The community meeting lasted about an hour and was flanked by call and response chants that the community members know by heart. The end of the meeting threatened rain and I think we were spared longer speeches by invited local representatives because of the weather. 

After Umuganda we walked back to the busses and headed up for lunch at the college before we were picked up to head to Musanze for a chill evening before another early morning and GORILLA TREKKING the next day. (Look for another blog soon) 

As someone who has studied community development, sense of place, and government, being a part of a mandatory community service day was so interesting to me. It is impressive how much the local people give to one another, and how this event continually connects people, how it serves everyone, and how it sets people on the same footing. It is intelligent and incredibly important to gather people in the same place and have space to share challenges and grievances, and sharing news here is also so important for a community who may not have access to digital means, nor the government have money  or personnel to make paper prints and distribute them. Gatherings share information without need for literacy, or cost, and they create continuous shared experiences - everyone gives, everyone comes, everyone is a part of the creation, growth, and strength of the country. By having an event like this is gives everyone a change to have agency to give in a way that the US lacks.

 I feel lucky to have been a part of it. 

Written by Jeremy

A note to readers: Liberty is very busy! I think there will be posts from her eventually, but for now, it's me! She is working 15-hour days and travelling a lot and pulled in lots of different directions - But she is reading and editing for me, so her presence is here, it's just sneaky ... what did she change??? You'll never know! - Okay - back to the update... 

Last weekend, we headed out on Friday evening for two nights at Lake Muhaze - 1.5 hours out of the city to the northwest. Lake Muhazi is a beautiful, quiet, and popular destination for a getaway from Kigali. 

We headed out into the night, five people crowded into an early 2000s Toyota Rav 4, with pizzas on our laps, and a jengaed trunk full of food enough for a much larger group  - The overprepared hopes that five provider people hold for a weekend without worry and with collective needs met.  

In tow were myself, Liberty, coworkers Shannon, Mara, and Alex. Alex was the driver, car owner, vibes leader, and default den mom as the longest tenured Kigaliite. She also was the one who recommended our accommodations for the weekend because she'd taken her adorable fur-babies to the same lakehouse for their birthdays. (Would I use the term furbaby or did Liberty edit this paragraph?)

Traffic out of the city is fiery on a Friday, as we crawled out of the outer neighborhoods with moto drivers weaving much more deftly through the slow car slump, Doja Cat (MOOOO!) - who will perform here next month - was on the stereo and we entertained ourselves debating whether we would all go to the concert here. It'll be held at the bigger and fancier than you’d imagine BK Arena. After deliberation and date checking, the group concluded that Doja Cat was in fact on the Tuesday of their team building night, and a concert sounded like a great team-building activity - a close runner-up to the already proposed pub-trivia night. 

After getting out of the city for good, we found ourselves crossing small villages, alive with people, out on a Friday night and socializing, some breaking the fast on the first weekend night of Ramadan. We moved past the busy weekend bustle, out of the streetlight sand onto half-gravel roads and sketchy map reception and directions. Eventually, after a few wrong turns and some much-needed redirecting from locals, we made it to our house for the next two nights. 

That evening we drank beers, cracked open a bottle of Malbec, joked, gamed, and reveled in our new space. We stayed up playing card games and crashed very late into the night. 

We woke up to views of a beautiful and meandering lake, with a wonderful covered lounging space along its edge; abundant hammocks and nooks and trees to read under; there were children laughing and tending goats across the lake, kingfishers, songbirds, fruit trees, and fan palms adding to the vibes of the beautiful house. 

Shannon made pancakes, we poured mimosas, and we got back on the horse, loungily easing into our Saturday. After breakfast I helped Alex get the paddle board blown up, and heard tales from Mara about why she doesn’t swim in lakes in East Africa - primarily the medicinal complications of parasitic prophylaxis and from Shannon and Alex who go in, but have their yearly shots to do so (and don’t suffer the consequences.) 

Lake Muhazi is free from hippos, free from crocodiles, but like many lakes in Eastern Africa is not free from parasites. Schistosomiasis or bilharzia, is a condition caused by a parasitic blood fluke (flatworm) that likes to find its way to your bladder and set up shop. Untreated it can lead to acute pain, ongoing disease, and bladder cancer, and leads to hundreds of thousands of deaths a year. However, for those with means, a dose of Praziquantel can rid you of the worms, and a yearly jab means you can swim when you want. Different kinds of schistosomiasis exist in different places - in the US, it causes swimmers' itch, and its culprit is flatworms like those found here in Rwanda, but the difference is that the worms are bird-born and can’t break the skin. Here they do, causing a much more serious set of health issues. You can get it through your feet or other skin contact, and its worms use aquatic snails as reproductive hosts. It is a common disease, that is only deadly to those without access to medicine. That all being said… my occasional hypochondria set in and I didn’t get on the paddleboard and neither did Mara. But after breakfast, my fearless wife, Shannon and Alex all took turns paddling around the lake, standing on the calm water, before the afternoon rain and wind put a pause to the party. 

I skipped rocks instead and chatted and got to know everyone better. We listened to the sound of avocados falling like catapult shots on the roof and the trills of many birds we didn’t know. I learned about the familial histories of Shannon’s English-African brood, how her grandfather fled the Netherlands and the memories of teenage friends lost in WWII and came to Malawi to farm and create a new life - leading to three generations of English and Dutch family growing up here in Malawi, South Africa and the tiny encapsulated nation of Eswatini. How Mara’s father’s motorcycle adventures from Europe to the tip of Africa, may have inspired her time on the continent and her extensive experience in Madagascar, Ghana, and now Rwanda (I think more than that!). I shared my own tales of my grandfather’s time in Panama and Chile and being shipped around the country as a child in the 40s and 50s, and my father’s grandparents time exploring Machu Pichu and India in the 50s and 60s. Liberty shared tales of her familial tie to the original governor of Iowa - she's corn royalty! 

We ate a wonderful vegetarian bolognaise for lunch and after lounging for a few hours made our way to The Fish Pub, a charming lakeside stop for drinks, and more games, and conversation. Dinner looked to become European as we wandered back around seven and made plans to cook a complicated mole feast. The bumpy road we’d come in the night before was now alive with the sounds and sights of toads! Liberty took the lead and combined two of her superpowers - keeping the group safe and animal spotting, and she spotlighted a dozen or more new hopping friends on the road - small bright tree frogs, and moreso the medium sized better camouflaged toads. She made sure we, nor they, were spooked or harmed. 

The night continued with preparation, eating and enjoyment of mole, veggies, rice, beans, and a valiant attempt at making corn tortillas with a maize flour that was not the same as what we have back at home (Liberty even phoned friends Ana Karen & Juan for advice but to no avial). Palomas (with black pepper simple syrup) and bean salad and guacamole rounded out the meal and a day of decadent eating and company. 

More games and more stories, and a little earlier bedtime, lead to leftovers for breakfast ("just put an egg on it”) coffee, and an easy-paced clean up. We had slept in and after packing up an early afternoon monsoon set in as we headed back to the big city. 

I am learning and engaging. Experimenting with thoughts of my privilege and the sins and faults, exceptionalism and falsities of my country. Navigating the realities of this place vs my own, the comforts and discomforts, the thoughts of a life unburdened by Donald Trump and replaced with potential and real rashes, and fears of monkeypox and very real unreal momentary emotional conditions I suddenly am convinced I have when I wake up in the middle of the night. In all this rumination, I am finding myself more open and connected to the possibility of new things when I am reminded of how many wonderful people there are in the world.  I felt connected and engaged in another weekend away from Kigali and I relished the new beautiful views and perspectives of this vibrant, and green country I get to call home for a few more months. 

Written by Jeremy

This weekend we took an adventure and went an hour and a half out of the city towards the border with Burundi to a town called Gashora, for an overnight adventure at Eagle View Farm Stay. 

Thanks to a recommendation from a new friend named Neel, Eagle View was the perfect location to get us out of the city, but didn't mean a huge adventure for Liberty who needed a reset and was travelling again this week. 

Its kind of crazy that I haven't left Kigali yet, we've been here for three weeks now, but after our attempt at a cheap car rental fell through and with the prospect of friends and family visiting soon, I've been waiting on pursuit of bigger adventures for visits with them!  

All that being said, it was eye opening to see the country side, and lack of it as we travelled south. Rwanda is a country of around 15 million people in a state the size of Maryland - that's more than 1,500 people per square mile. Meaning that no matter where you go there are people - not like Tokyo or New York City cacophony, but spread out and consistent. Tending small plots for cows and gardens, some with livestock like goats or chickens. Everywhere you go is inhabited. What's wild is that as we travelled, the country continued to be so clean. The roadways are well kept, the store fronts are clean, and there just isn't trash prevalent like so many places I've travelled - it really seems that people take pride in their country. 

The moto-taxis, so present here in Kigali, are replaced by bicycle taxis with cushioned seats on the back and rests for your feet. Beyond taxis, I noticed the utility of a bicycle, as people push them almost as much as they ride them with diverse loads of goods - water jugs, and cushions, furniture, lumber, anything you can imagine. 

As we left the city we passed low valleys with fields of banana trees, fruits, and sugar cane, plots with small fast growing trees for building, with goats, and we drove along a river - which was according to our wonderful driver, Chiyza - was teeming with crocodiles. 

After about an hour and a half we came to our destination, and several staff arrived and through translation help from Chiyza we eventually found our way to the farm and to our accommodations. 

The farm is a sister property of a hotel in Kigali and it is the source of their  restaurant's produce. Eagle View Farm is abundant and diverse, with a menagerie of animals and a large variety of fruits and vegetables growing everywhere. The property, its fields and animal enclosures lead down hill to a lake, about an eighth of a mile down. It is colorful and beautiful, with amaranth and marigolds lining pathways keeping away the bugs, flowering trees of many colors and precocious Congolese Peacocks greeting guests in, and out of their enclosure, near the lodge. 

After a few hours of rest, avoiding the days monsoons ("The sky is bad") we went out on a tour with a very gregarious guide named Gabriel. He was a self described artist, photographer, former model, and hospitality professional and showed his skill with a nearly three hour tour of the lake and the property. The tour was very fun. Gabriel was proud of the place he worked and clearly enjoyed his job. As we walked he talked about the varieties of trees and plants and shared what was ripe with us. 

I had my first ever fresh mango off the tree and it was incredible! Mangoes in the states are so hit and miss, having to ripen in transit, while these fresh fruits, with their hints of yellow skin, were juicy and perfectly sweet. They were better than candy. In addition to the decadent mango, Gabriel picked fresh oranges for us, which were also lovely, and we tried tree tomatoes (conical gooey sour fruits), passionfruit - one of my new favorites - and more. 

As we walked he pointed out fresh herbs and plants and their local uses - rosemary, basil, ginger plant (good for sore throat) and ginger root (used in teas), mint and more. They have a large vegetable garden with greens and eggplants, tomatoes, and pumpkins and all is used to provide the delicious meals served. As we walked we passed pineapples, their spiny cones poking out from green stalks on the ground. There were groves of avocados (sadly for Liberty, they weren't ripe), guava trees, citrus of many kinds, and we even caught sight of enormous pocked-skinned jackfruits hanging heavy from their trees. 

We saw lines of ants and many beautiful birds - kingfishers, African Crows, yellow waterside nest makers, Ibises, and birds with blue-black steely wings. 

Approaching the boat dock, we found a local woman washing the days laundry and watched a young man fill six containers for water. Gabriel was swarmed by a group of local children, for whom he pulled out a half a dozen pieces of fruit to share. He told us of his his dreams to start an NGO for the local kids here, in his hometown of Gashora, and how he spends his extra money on shoes, food, and clothing for them. 

Something I've noticed while being here, is a transcendent ambition for good that is alive in Rwandans. Many, many people are living their lives for others, whether working to support their extended families, or creating nonprofits organizations to support children, women's rights, access to food, access to clean water, the momentum for good here is evident, but so is the need. While the government has done amazing things, and brought a sense of consistency and order to a country torn apart three decades ago, the raw reality is that the resources here are not like those in Congo. Rwanda has a good climate for agriculture and is a place where you can grow many things, but it doesn't have cobalt, or oil, and it has a young population who has to fight for enough to get by. People like Gabriel are common, but so is the need everywhere for more support. 

Continuing our tour we got to ride on a boat around the small lake near the farm. It was a nice, though a little hazy evening, but the breeze on the water was cool and calming. We met kind folks on the boat and Gabriel did a photo and video shoot of us - which was a little over the top, but fun. We went to look for the solitary, resident hippopotamus, but it wasn't feeling social that day and didn't come out to greet us. 

Returning after about a half hour, we went on a tour of the animals and met sheep, pigs, bunny rabbits, turtles and finally, the most exciting animal of all The Inyambo - or royal cattle of Rwanda. Once the cow of royalty and then a common breed for all Rwandans, these cows are now more of a status symbol, as most all have been replaced by higher yielding dairy cows. Now the Inyambo are an expensive status symbol, for tourists and museums. 

The Inyambo are intimidating. Not only are they very large, but they are muscular, and their formidable horns give a sense of danger at all times. Gabriel borrowed their keepers bamboo stick and we got right up close to them. He handed me the rod and encouraged me to stroke the udder of the cow in front of me and coo to gain the cow's trust. As I was befriending this mama, the resident bull approached Liberty, which according to Gabriel, thankfully, was in order to get pets. We pet the cows for a few exciting minutes and then as the mama cow got frustrated with us for being close to here daughter we decided to head back to the lodge. 

After the tour we had a very delicious dinner and then hung out and enjoyed a fire with new Rwandan couple friends who were also there celebrating valentines. After good conversation we retired to bed. 

After a quiet morning, a great breakfast, and search for a few more mangoes to take home with us, Chiyza our driver returned to take us back to the city.

Liberty and I have decided that farm stays are going to be our new thing for Valentine's Day... I can't wait for next year! 

Written by Jeremy

I’m a padel person now. I know because I’m in the “Padel People” Whatsapp group and because it’s my most consistent social activity. I’ve been here for almost two weeks, and this new sport and the Whatsapp group of enthusiastic amateur athletes who have welcomed me (Liberty’s coworkers) has been great way to get out of the house, to move my body and to make new friends. I’ve played three times.

Padel is to Kigali, what Pickleball is to US cities, a red-headed cousin of tennis with slightly different equipment and slightly different rules and a fervent fanbase. Invented in Mexico City in the late 60s, I was two weeks ago years old when I learned about it, but its played all over the world and is gaining hipnesss.

Played in a smaller tennis court, you and a partner use tennis scoring, but bounced underhand serves, to try to beat your opponents. Besides serving underhand, the other major differences are plastic short pock marked and thick paddles, and the walls, which make a marked difference from tennis. The walls are chained about half way up each side and then thick glass wrapped around the back of the court. If you serve you can bounce off the ground and then the glass, but not on the chained part. If a ball bounces off the ground it is live and must be played off the glass walls and when not serving off the chain walls as well! You can turn around to hit a ball off the wall in a ricochet as a return as long as it clears the net without bouncing a second time. Padel is like racquetball and tennis had a baby. I’ve played tennis for most of my life and table tennis too, and padel immediately scratched an itch. Its fun and fast, and the group is welcoming and learning, and its been a great way to get exercise.

In other news I’m writing this from one of my favorite new places to have lunch and coffee and work on the computer. Inzora Rooftop Café – located inside and above a local bookstore, the café serves a limited menu – today I got a grilled cheese with a side cucumber salad and a French press – and also serves up a wonderful view as a backdrop to writing a blog, or meeting a friend. Its just a short jaunt from our house, I think I may come here often.

Written by Jeremy

Peru Day 4

After much needed sleep we awoke to a beautiful day in Cusco. Liberty, after her ankle turn the day before, took it easy, and following a nice hotel breakfast dad and I went out to explore the city.

Cusco is winding and flanked with steep hills. In the neighborhood above the central square, San Blas, the streets are ancient, cobblestoned and thin. This area is filled with artist shops, murals, and reminders of its Incan past with century old streets and expertly built interlocking stone walls standing the test of time.

Dad and I walked up hill to get a fantastic view at a park overlooking the city and on the way we walked down a famous mural street. Like many views over Spanish-colonized places we could count more than a dozen churches from our view point. Walking to our next stop I realized I needed a bathroom and stopped into a tucked away restaurant that happened to have the BEST view of the city we could have hoped for. We sat and enjoyed a coffee and drank in another fantastic vista.

From there we passed the church of San Blas, where in the areas alongside artisans create beautiful religious paintings, ornate crosses and more. Cusco has been a famous religious art region since the 1500s, with Christian art training schools producing many, many famous artists over the centuries.

We then went back into town to visit the market because I had caught a glimpse and was determined to buy a Huasco, or Peruvian Whistling Vessel. I’d learned about them years ago, water filled ceramic vessels, shaped like the animal whose sound they mimic. They have been rediscovered and recreated by artisans in the last few years, but the originals date back to 500 BC and were used by the Moche and Nasca people in rituals. After dad found and purchased a ceramic vase from the seller, he pointed us to his brother’s stall and we went to a second market to find the Huascos. It was a hard choice, but I eventually landed on an owl vessel, after testing a few other types (See more about the Huascos in our linked page)

Next we went for a twenty-minute walk across the city to the original temple of the sun, Qorikancha, one of the most sacred sites in all of Cusco for the Inca people. It was on the same spot that the Spanish built a beautiful church and convent, building over and reusing the stone walls of the original temple. We toured the space and saw its beautiful Christian paintings, painted in the now famous Cuscoan style, which combine religious aspects of catholic and Incan ideals, we saw the perfect lego like stone walls of the temples, and got a great view of the city from the rebuilt bell tower.

We joined Liberty for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the square, she hobbled over and got us a table, and we tried a traditional Peruvian dish called Pacha Manca (pot of earth) where traditionally, a whole is dug and everything is cooked together over coals in the earth. The dish featured Incan large kernelled corn, beef, taro, and Cuy – or better known in the US as guinea pig – served with its feet still attached! The view and the company were wonderful, and we watched as a storm rolled in while we ate our lunch. The thousand dollar question… the cuy was, okay… it had a chewy skin and the meat wasn’t dissimilar from chicken, but it was greasy, and dad ended up eating and enjoying it more than I did.

Peruvians are very proud of their food culture, and they get so excited to ask you what you’ve tried. As a meat eater, I feel like if you eat some meat, and a culture prizes a different one, it feels hypocritical and ethnocentric to discount their specialties. So while I have interacted with many a guinea pig pet in my life, I tried it, and I’m glad I did. Throughout our time in Peru, with Liberty's encouragment and guidence, we tried A LOT of different specialties, and people were excited and somewhat surprised that we tried guinea pig.

After lunch we ducked out of a rainstorm and got into a cab for our short flight to Arequipa.

Arequipa is known as the white city for its volcanic stone buildings and its beautiful white 1800s cathedral overlooking the central square. The city is the second largest in Peru behind Lima and feels more cosmopolitan than the larger and rougher edged Lima. Arequipenos are extremely proud of their city (think New Yorkers) and occasionally a referendum comes up to become their own sovereign state. Arequipenos or Characatos have famous barbeque, leatherworking, and make guitars (and more lol – I’m just a tourist!) The city is surrounded by three volcanoes, Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu and on a clear day you can see them from the city.

We arrived in the afternoon, checked into our hotel, again right along the square and discovered that the power was out! So in lieu of trying to shower, we just dropped our bags and walked around the square, gingerly. Thankfully Liberty’s foot was already feeling a little better, and we went for ice cream before meeting Liberty’s coworker, a 15-minute walk away at a restaurant famous for its Arequipan Parillas, or barbeque. We had local specialties - cow heart, goat, and beef, as well as potato dishes and I really enjoyed Spanglish conversation with Liberty’s coworker. We became fast friends as he was a musician and kind of a hipster, and we both were outgoing. The restaurant felt like something out of Texas as it was decked out in leather and cowboy flair, a representation of the nearby ranching culture.

Dad wasn’t feeling well and he ended up going home from dinner early to crash, and by the time we arrived back at the hotel the power was still out. We checked on dad and went to sleep early in preparation for the next days Trek.

In the morning we would be driving by the three forementioned volcanoes, and onward on a tour of the Andean highlands to find the world’s largest bird – The Andean Condor.

Written by Jeremy

TRIGGER WARNING – Like the Genocide Museum itself, I don’t feel like it is useful sugarcoat the reality, so this post will be honest and somewhat raw.

30 years ago, around 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutu sympathizers, were systematically, brutally and unfathomably slaughtered, raped, burned, mutilated, tortured, and killed in this country. They were killed in churches, on football pitches, on the side of the road, by those who they thought were their neighbors, by their family members, by their faith leaders, by their government.

The genocide was planned as an extermination by the country’s president at the time, who believed that Hutus deserved to and needed to claim their dominance. It was perpetuated by a paramilitary group of indoctrinated young men, called Interahamwe who had spent their young lives being taught over and over that Tutsis weren’t human. It was also perpetuated by a hateful and misguided media campaign by newspapers and radios, who worked in conjunction with public schools to blame the Tutsis for the lack of resources in Rwanda, to paint them as inhuman in order to justify their planned extermination.

I spent a solo afternoon, after not sleeping well, walking through the grounds, museum, and memorial to the Genocide here in Kigali. It was a harrowing thing to do by yourself and with the extra emotion that comes with lack of sleep. I cried quietly to myself, and held back from weeping, as I saw the memorials to the children lost, as I learned about the dehumanization, and brutality that is the mark of this short and frightening time in this nation’s history. It only took three months, in the rainy season of 1994, for the waves of Hutu extremists, to spread around the country, to set up check points, to gather, to seek out in their homes and kill around 1 million people. As I walked through the memorial over three hours, I spent time learning and gathering context as to the existence of the Rwandan people before and after the genocide took place. 

The memorial is beautiful. Its museum is two floors – the first sharing the history of the Rwandan Genocide, the historical lead up, the horrifying genocide itself, and the aftermath. The second story shares a history of several genocides from around the world in the 1900s and one of the saddest places in the whole center – the children’s memorial. The grounds feature beautiful gardens, an archive, a café, and the reburied remains of more than 250,000 Rwandans who have been brought to this place to be given an honorable resting place. There are still bodies being found in the country from the genocide, sometimes in mass graves, and there are still active burials at the memorial.

After the genocide the country had huge amounts of orphans, widows, people who had been scarred, had lost limbs, and many many who were the last surviving members of large families.

It is so sad to see the way that the Belgian legacy of separation and control, created the Tutsi and Hutu classes. This separation was built from racist science, built on false beliefs about head shape and intelligence, and  misguided Darwin side paths that propagated tales of races of men who had different capacities and qualities. Tutsis were originally a name for those who owned cattle, but were not a race. Hutus and Tutsis lived together in harmony for hundreds of years before the German and then Belgian occupations. Belgians measured nose shapes, and then created a new and different meaning for Tutsi that gave them special rights over the Hutus, that gave them special status second class citizens. When the Belgians left the country in the mid sixties, Hutus were ready to take back their rights, and the tables turned, with violence and prejudice being directed towards Tutsis. Tutsis lost spaces in government, were given lower status in public schools, and violence began intermittently to happen against Tutsis around the country. Over 25 years there was an exodus of Tutsis from the country, as they fled violence and persecution and moved to the DRC and other neighboring states. The early 90s brought more organized violence against Tutsis and it also brought conflict as Tutsi militias organized against the Hutu ruling majority and there was civil war on the horizon. When the president, who had been planning the Tutsi extermination, died in a plane crash in April of 1994 - this began the extermination lasting through the month of June, before Tutsi troops were able to break through and begin pushing out the Hutu forces.

In the thirty years since this atrocity, it is incredible the work that has been done to rebuild, to create a society, to create an economy, and to build a sense of order to a place that in many ways functions better than many of its neighboring countries.

It is humbling and heart-wrenching to learn about what many of the people living in Rwanda today experienced as children. The trauma and pain they live with. The way it changed this place irrevocably, and the way it impacted everyone in this society is so hard to wrap your head around.

Everyone over age 30 witnessed violence, everyone knows victims, and everyone knows perpetrators. Everyone lives with an understanding that those around them are capable of the darkest darkness. Many have the shame of having relatives behind bars. Many have experienced desperation and loneliness, and fear, and confusion that will never leave their bodies.

And yet, life continues, and this country functions, with grace and honor, and beauty and does not shy or hide the truth of what happened, but creates space to remember and creates honor for victims and space for forgiveness with intentional space, and by maintaining a truthful look at the events that happened.

It is scary. It is the most ugly. And it is incredible, honorable, and beautiful how this country has grown and rebuilt, and created a space for something new from something so dark.

I have so much more to learn.

Written by Jeremy

While life here has been pretty good, I’m still navigating the jet lag, culture shock, and free time I suddenly have as a “FUNemployed" trophy husband. Although I can’t seriously complain, life is relative and I’ve found that the older I get the more difficult it is to be vulnerable, to be uncomfortable, and to put yourself out there.

But I think in challenge there is always a space for learning.

Things I’ve learned so far:

• 10 hours of time difference is more challenging to overcome than I would have imagined – They say that you need a day for each hour, and that travelling east is harder than west, and for me its been a more challenging transition than I imagined.

• Anti-malarial medications can have side effects – Each day I take Malerone, one of the prescription anti-malarial medications, and I will take a pill for the remainder of the time I am in Rwanda. The medication can cause nausea, headaches, kidney problems, and, worst of all, insomnia. I think in addition to consistent insomnia for the first week, I’ve had dashes of other side effects from the meds.

• ADHD and change are hard – my brain is hard-wired to look for the shiny thing, to have a prize planned out for myself as a reward, to have structure, and transitions are hard because they are spaces where you willingly give up your systems, which my body and mind don’t always understand! I get frustrated with first-world problems (lukewarm shower water when the weather is cool) and get frustrated with self-expectation, and get over tired.

• Travel can be lonesome and being an other is eye-opening. Walking each day and being different, I am constantly noticed – I get looks from everyone I pass, I am a target for street sellers, I am a representation of whiteness. It is a lonely feeling to be different, to be unaware of the social dynamics, but as a person who has a lot of privilege, it is eye-opening to have these feelings and gives me empathy and context for so many people I’ve worked with and known. I am grateful for this feeling and for the learning that will come and it inspires me to continue to be open and to continue to seek this space.

• I am working on spaces of grace for myself, and I am happy that I have been consistent in my efforts to move my body, to reach out to friends and to give myself room to be sick, to move slower when needed, and to accept help and kindness from others. One of my life mantras, that I haven’t engaged with in too long, is to jump in to new scenarios, and when I’m tired I can rest on the choice I’ve made and the knowledge I have that there is strength to be found in exploring new places, seeking new challenges, and openness to humanity.

My wife is an expert in discomfort, and in change, and in experiencing my own uneasiness at the changes that Rwanda has brought, I am even more in awe of her graceful movement in the world. Whether she is suffering with stomach discomfort, whether she is overextended with long and complicated work days and projects that zap her energy, whether she has travelled and is working on low sleep - she is one of the most consistent people I know. I know it is not helpful to compare yourself to others, but it is useful to feel grateful, and I feel so grateful to have her as my partner in this adventure and I am learning so much from her example.

Written by Jeremy

The city has many neighborhoods, and we live in the Kimihurra neighborhood, one of the nicest in the city, right next to the beautiful and fancy Convention Center – one of the best used convention centers on the continent. It wasn’t that we needed to live in the fanciest place. But that Liberty’s two different workplaces in Kigali are within twenty minutes walk from this space, which was a priority for us.

We live in a three bedroom apartment on the second story with an occasionally utilized Airbnb rental below us. Our house has a nice kitchen with a stove, an oven, and a refrigerator. We have two bathrooms with showers and a nice living room with a TV and wraparound couch (COME AND VISIT?)  We lucked into finding this place, and it being trustworthy, as it had been rented by one of Liberty’s coworkers for the last year.

Like many homes, especially in nice areas, we have a security guard and a housekeeper who live on the property. It's been interesting navigating this luxury. While it's nice to have someone to clean, neither Liberty nor I are particularly messy, and I currently have the time to straighten at home. We’ve been trying to create a space for our house manager to ensure they feel like they have things to do and feel like they're able to do their job, while also juggling our slight discomfort about having help. We've also learned that anyone who refuses to have livin help, is distrusted by the community. The question it provokes is "what is so bad that you are hiding it from the community?" It's interesting, but there are much worse problems to have.

Because we live in the biggest city in the country, we have access to almost everything we need. We live a five-minute walk up the hill to the grocery store, Simba, where they have all the normal luxuries, and I have not had want for anything. When we needed a lamp and some home supplies I took a cab to the city center and 2000 Supermarket where I was able to navigate a very busy and somewhat confusing superstore where they had the towels, wall hangers, lamps, and the batteries I needed all at one shop.

Our house has a balcony that overlooks the nearby hills and I like to sit out and play my keyboard when the weather is good. Its quite a nice place to be.

We also live next to a school and every day we hear the children laughing and talking with eachother as they walk home at 5 o’clock. Liberty will run into groups of little ones from the primary school who will, surprisingly often, yell Muzunga (white person) at her and run to give her a hug.

We're not in the States anymore! 

Written by Jeremy

Kigali is hilly and very green, and what you’ll notice immediately is that it is one of the cleanest cities you’ve ever seen. Homes are well kept, with clean, manicured lawns, roadways and sidewalks are free of trash, and this time of year, in the rainy season, there are flowers of every color blooming on trees and bushes.

The city is alive. People are out, walking, biking, driving, and on motorbikes and in their cars. But it isn’t overwhelming. It is busy, but because of the traffic laws and the traffic cameras called "Sophias", driving is generally safe and will even stop for you at crosswalks (sometimes 😊).

Its warm (in the seventies), and humid (feels like the eighties), and most every day we have an afternoon monsoon that brings powerful rain for a half hour, cleaning the city, bringing water into the creeks and channels, and bringing a respite from the warmth for a little while. The rain is loud and intense on the red metal roofs that are common place throughout the city and the mainly white or light colored buildings and their red roofs stand out in beautiful contrast to the greenery everywhere.

With the trees and the flowers there are many birds here – beautiful colorful songbirds of green and yellow, and large wading cranes, herons, egrets, storks and more.

By walking a lot, I’ve been getting a sense of the community. Rwandans are a very well-mannered and conscientious people. They are reserved with strangers, not always easy to read, and often they are quiet, but you will see that when they are with their friends and families they are animated and joyful.

On the street you’ll hear the local language Kinyarwandan spoken most everywhere. You’ll also hear French, the language of the Belgian Colonists and the official second language until recently, when English also became an official language and has been taught in all public schools for more than ten years.

There are great restaurants, there is DELICIOUS coffee, and a lot of wonderful rooftop eateries where you get a view with your meal.

Each day as I walk, I disappoint so many moto drivers who want to give me a ride. I think I turn down 45 moto drivers every day! Its not that I am fully opposed to riding on moto taxis, but Liberty scared me on the first day I was here and told me about how her coworker had gotten brain damage after a moto driver crash, and I’ve been reticent to ride on motos, plus I have a big head and although they all are mandated to carry and have their riders where helmets, I don’t know if they would fit my large dome.

While I don’t know how safe the motos are, the city itself is very safe. There are strict rules for safety, there are lots of police and soldiers present, and you can walk around and feel confident that other people won’t bother you – day or night – male or female. Rwandans seem proud of the safety of their country, of its cleanliness, and proud of the growth they’ve seen since the genocide.  They have monthly Umuganda days where the country all gives back via service and together they help to make their country cleaner and do projects to improve their community.

It’s a pretty nice place to be!

Written by Jeremy

I will keep bouncing around in time and updating our trip logs from Peru, but I thought I’d give an update in our current timeline and share about our first week in Africa! 

At the end of January we spent 20 hours in the air, with 2 hilariously short 1- hour of layovers, and made it into Kigali, the capital of the small landlocked country of Rwanda. 

Rwanda is a country of 14 million people in the center of the continent. Bordered by Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Uganda, it just has a small strip of boarder with Burundi and then the whole country of Tanzania between it and the ocean. Lush, green, and currently in its rainy season, Rwanda is a country known for its hills - "land of a thousand hills" is what they lovingly say. The hill top views offer beautiful scenery.  Rwanda is also known for the exemplary treatment they give to their mountain gorillas.

The western part of the state is bordered by one of Africa’s Great Lakes – Lake Kivu, which separates Rwanda from the DRC. It is in this area where there have been constant strife between warring militia groups since the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, and on its north and southern edges are the only places where Liberty and I won’t travel while we’re here. 

But outside of those edges, we are able to travel and are planning to go north to Musanze where there are volcanoes, gorillas, and beautiful alpine lakes. We will go to the nearby Twin lakes where you can swim in the shadow of volcanoes. We will go east to see Akagera National Park where Hippos, Elephants, Lions, Rhinos, Giraffes, Zebras and many more animals run free. We will go to the ancient cloud rainforests of Nyungwue Forest National Park where there is lush beauty, chimpanzees, and famous giant suspension bridges overlooking the vast jungle. We’ll explore Kigali, a modern beautiful city of hills, neighborhoods and much more. 

In the week and a half we’ve been here I’ve gotten a sense of the city by walking. I’ve walked several miles to museums, I’ve done a city tour, gone to the women’s collective in Nyamirambo, I’ve battled and won at trivia at Sole Luna Italian Restaurant, and then hosted a round of trivia a week later for the regulars. I’ve walked to natural areas, had pizza with coworkers, and had a great brunch at Heaven Hotel Boutique with Dr. Roy. I’ve sat in on a leadership training, gone out for dinner and gotten a hang of where the grocery stores are, how to use taxis, and even gotten a local phone number. 

I’m working towards volunteering and have been seeking out places and opportunities to give my time at the Kigali Public Library, through Move Up Global, and possibly with others. 

Its been a busy and eye-opening week! 

Written by Jeremy

Travel: Aguas Calientes à Machu Pichu à Aguas Calientes à Cusco

4:45 came and all of us hadn’t got enough sleep, but we made it to the line for the bus and managed to get a tour guide, Martin, who would be very helpful with our day. With coffee and breakfast provided by the hotel we were ready to go.

By 5:35 we were on the way up the mountain to the start of the trek to be in line by 6:00 a.m. for the first timed entries of the day. Machu Pichu, in the last few years, has shifted the way tour groups enter and utilize the space. There are specific routes that you get tickets for and the routes limit damage to the site as a whole by limiting traffic and numbers of users each day. We had woken up for the 5 a.m. ticket release the week before and just barely got two routes – early for the circuit three route which puts you above the ruins and gives the best over all view and circuit 2 later on in the day, which would give us better view of the buildings themselves and then set us on the trail up Huayna Pichu Mountain.

Martin is a Native Peruvian and his grandparents were from the area, so he had a lot to share with us. We learned about the water system, the Incan’s mostly vegetarian diets, how the space was used for summer ceremonies celebrating the sun god, about royal toilets, European re-discoverers, about terraces, and about the amazing feat it was to mine and move such enormous blocks of granite. 

-- Liberty's taking over in writing now to finish this post up and finally publish this blog to share with family and friends. -- 

This was my 4th time visiting Machu Picchu and my first time having an English speaking guide and to top it off, he was a private guide rather than a group tour leader. We learned so much. You can tell he really admires his countries deep and rich history/culture. 

I knew from previous experience that it is best to go early. Becuase we were at the front of the line during the first timed entry slot, when we first got to the view point overlooking the ruins, it was like we had the place to ourselves. The sun had just risen and low hanging clouds were starting their ascent as the earth warmed up. It's really the most magical part of the day, watching the fluffy clouds slowly rise from the river far below, float through the crevices and walls of the ruins, and then drift up to great the mountain peaks before merging with the blue sky. 

Our first entry slot was for the upper terraces overlooking the ruins, when we finished there, we headed back out the gates to take a break, use the restrooms, eat our breakfast, and have a coffee. After that short break, we headed back in with our second timed entry ticket on the route that takes you up Huaynu Picchu Mountain. The climb is steep - as in climbing on all fours on pretty sketchy cliff faces. Clearly we lived to tell the tale, and the views were worth it, but when we got back down to the ruins, our first topic of conversation was about whether or not that hike would be allowed in a National Park in the USA and the consensus was negative.

As we were exiting the park, Liberty (yes, me), who was a little over tired from the hike, hadn't slept well, and had a cold, decided she needed to see a Viscacha - which is similar to a chinchila - before we left the ruins. So she was looking up and not down and stepped down just wrong off a rock and sprained her ankle. Why is it so much easier to talk about yourself in the third person when you're embarrassed about something you done? Luckily, Peter and Jer were there to help me exit the ruins, board the bus, and find a pharmacy that sold medical wrap so that Peter (who'd a retired physical therapist) could wrap it up for me. I write this blog now several weeks later and it's doing much better and I'm still so grateful for their support. 

We had pizza for lunch and the boys wandered around some more while I relaxed at the restaurant with a cup of coffee before we headed back to the train station to begin the journey to Cusco. It was a long journey and we were all exhausted, but we made it to our hotel that overlooked the Plaza de armas and main cathedral. The boys brought me ice and helped me get settled with my foot propped up and then they headed out for dinner and a little walk before going to bed. It made for one very long, fairly challenging, but quite rewarding day. 

Written by Jeremy

Travel: Cusco --> Ollantaytambo --> Aguas Calientes

In the morning Jeremy woke up with a headache from the elevation, but Liberty and Peter were unscathed having just a taste of Jeremy’s Pisco Sour from the night prior. Before heading out on our journey to Ollantaytambo, we had a good breakfast in the beautiful restaurant space at the hotel and filled up on eggs, bread, local fruit and coffee, all while enjoying great views of the San Blas neighborhood above Cusco.

We hired a taxi driver to take us from our hotel out of Cusco and nearly two hours out to the historic City of Ollantaytambo. “O” is tucked into a valley with mountains surrounding and as you head into the mountains from there you see the Incan city and its ruins, which became the new capital after the Spaniards took Cusco.

After being dropped by our taxi driver at the train station, we left our bags in storage and took backpacks up the street where we would go into the ruins. The ruins here are up in the hills overlooking the valley and this Incan City acted as a stronghold and bottleneck that the Spaniards would have to conquer before being able to get to more Incan cities further into the mountains.

We paid the fee and climbed up into the ruins, getting great views of enormous and heavy granite slabs which fit together perfectly in order to make the walls of the city. The stones for the walls weigh up to 15 tons and have interlocking squares so they fit together like legos. Incan structures are made at a five degree angle so that they can shift, resettle and handle the earthquakes that happen often in this seismically unstable region.  

We got views of rebuilt thatch roofed storehouses, the long incan trail systems which continue on ahead up further into the jungle and higher into the Andes, we saw the ruins in the hills across from us, and we saw down into the city, where people were gathering for a yearly celebration.

After coming down from the mountain we checked out more of the ruins in the valley and got our first visits with Alpacas! Then headed into town.

The townspeople were gathering at the church and we could see that soon their would be a parade! Police were beginning to put up barricades and we walked by bands and dance groups, both of which were wearing fantastic outfits, preparing to walk and play on their way to the main square. We rushed forward through the growing crowd and made our way to one of the few remaining open restaurants where we settled on the second floor just above where the bands and dance groups would turn before doing a loop of the plaza.

With empanadas and tequenos, Coca-cola and beer we watched as marching bands playing brass instruments, those with flute players, clarinets and woodwinds, oscillated with dance groups in traditional bright and interesting outfits represented dance styles, regional folk stories paraded in front of our window. It was so cool too see the different styles of dance, to get a sense of the region and to see dances representing borrachos (drunks), condors, neighboring cities and regions, and much more. The parade lasted for about a half hour before of cacophonous intensity and we watched it all over lunch.

After the show we made our way back to the train station to pick up our bags and then boarded a Peru Rail train to Aguas Calientes. As we boarded we were welcomed with a local Peruvian band playing flute music with guitar and drums. Our train car was an observation car with big windows on all sides and tables that sat four. We sat just us three to a table and watched as the wide and brown Urumbamba River raged beside the train. As we were riding we passed other ruin sites, and watched as the scenery slowly changed from high alpine to high jungle. We played Monopoly Deal, ate free snacks, and enjoyed watching the hillsides around the train change from dry Andean mountains to the more lush green monolithic style mountains characteristic of Machu Pichu. The ride was segmented by a free dance show where two dancers shared a few styles of dance from Peru, including another Borracho style dance where the men wear big red nosed masks and take fake swigs from a bottle of beer. We moved to the back of the train during the dancing show to find an open air back of the caboose.

We arrived in Aguas Calienties, the last stop on the train, and the starting spot for treks up to Machu Pichu. Still nestled alongside the Urumbamba River, Aguas Calientes, meaning Hot Water, has high bridges across the river and is flanked by hills. It is about 4,000 ft lower in elevation than Cusco, and travelling down hill helped Jeremy’s altitude sickness.

After checking into our hotel, this time in separate rooms, we went to find the Hot Water, and walked up the steep hill to the hot springs.  We enjoyed the soak, and while the water wasn’t particularly, the scenery was beautiful. Jeremy played extravert and asked questions about how we would navigate the new timed entry system at Machu Pichu.

We ended our long and adventurous day with dinner at a delicious pirate themed restaurant where we had enormous sized lemonades, big yummy portions, and enjoyed the dollar bills tacked to the wall from all number of countries, and mostly had the place to ourselves.

We retired to our room and set EARLY alarms for the next day and our 5:30 a.m bus ride up to the entrance of Machu Pichu.

Written by Jeremy

Travel: Lima  Cusco

The short flight from Lima to Cusco took us up to more than 11,000 feet and into the Andes mountains. We flew into the alpine and got views of the small cities tucked into the mountainsides before turning a corner and coming into an abrupt landing in Cusco. 

Taking a taxi into the city we got a view of the central square, as we drove into the older city, with its red roofed and ancient buildings and their beautiful wooden and metal doors. Over cobblestone streets and past 600 year old perfectly built Incan walls we arrived at our beautiful first night hotel. 

The Incan capital, has remnants of history every where, ancient streets and walls, and five hundred year old churches built on the ruins of the less than 100 year reign. Cusco is hilly and high elevation and we could feel the effects on our legs and lungs as we walked the couple of minutes to the central square. The square is flanked by two ancient churches, its surrounded by markets, and is bustling with people. For dinner we had Arroz Verde (one of Liberty’s favorite dishes), our first Pisco Sours of the trip, and tried Alpaca for the first time – Alpaca tenderloin was similar to beef, but is much leaner and more nutritious – it is a delicacy and was quite delicious. Llama, though also eaten and used for its wool, is less prized for both its hair and its meat than the alpacas. 

After dinner we stopped and bought water and some Coca candies (for elevation sickness) and headed to the hotel for some much needed rest before heading out on more travels to Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu. Our room at the hotel arquelogeo was beautiful with a lofted second floor bedroom, and a cool hanging rope chair. The hotel itself gave us free tea for elevation, and was a great first night locale. 

Written by Jeremy

Travel: Portland --> SLC --> Lima

The heroes of this first leg of our blog are of course Liberty, 34, female, wife, Global Health Professional and Jeremy, 38, Male, Trophy Husband, and vintage keyboard enthusiast. However, this trip also includes, Peter, 63, Retired physical therapist, Dad to Jeremy, and Father in Law to the Global Health Professional.

Here they are:

We started off our trip with nephew Mikey as our celebrity driver and got some delicious French food before heading for a short flight to Salt Lake City. After a few hours of layover, a very chatty waitress, and some piano playing in the Salt Lake we continued our adventure with an overnight plane ride to Lima.

Raul, a friend of Liberty and long-time driver for Socios En Salud, picked us up from the airport and drove us into the city of Lima. The day was foggy with hanging clouds hugging the shore as we drove along the large cliffs that edge the ocean and the city.

Lima is a city of 12 million people and it was the new capital of the Spanish, after they conquered the Incan capital of Cusco. It is flanked by the world’s driest non-polar desert, the Atacama, which stretches for hundreds of miles south. There are palms, and succulents, interesting pines, and as you leave the city you see the vast brown hills and get a sense of the seemingly unending desert.

Raul brought us to a viewpoint over the ocean, where we got a glimpse of Andean Terns, fisherman, and the Atacama, before heading back into Miraflores – a picturesque and famous neighborhood, where we stopped for some great coffee at “la Bodega Verde” in Barranco. Then we took a walk along the shoreline on their beautiful “boardwalk” getting views of the ocean, with great people watching and stopped to pick up some money at a fancy waterfront mall, built into the cliffs, called LarcoMar.

The day was great, we had pleasant weather and it was fun to get a sense of the city. All of us were excited as Raul picked us up and took us to the airport for our next leg of the journey to Cusco!

Written by Jeremy

Oregon for the holidays means lots of time with Jer's family, lots of delicious food, and plenty of time spent dog-walking with the pack. Cooper got to road trip with us for the first leg of the journey to Oregon, where he'll stay while we travel, and in Oregon, he gets to hang out with Jer's sister Jennie's dogs - Cooper's litter mate Scout and his housemate brother Finn, and Jeremy's parents' very classic big loveable doofy Golden, Gus.

Each Christmas, we get together for several family gatherings culminating in Christmas presents with the nuclear family on Christmas morning, followed by a big family brunch. Before that, this year included a Christmas-themed murder mystery party, and the annual Minute to Win It style Reindeer Games, and lots of games of Joker (or Dickle), a family game with marbles, which is like a vindictive, perfect team version of Sorry.

In addition to Christmas, Liberty spent a few days working, and Jeremy had a chance to hang out with old friends. We hosted a small but fun New Year's Party with lots of dogs, karaoke, and a ridiculous new game called "It's Bananas" that is worth a try. We also managed to spend an accidental $35 on a very mediocre Christmas light display in Salem, Oregon, but got our money's worth by breaking all the rules. We also spent a day in Portland visiting family and friends, spent a day at the beach with Jer's parents and friends, and went for an afternoon to Wonderland Arcade in Salem, where we rode go-karts, played laser tag, and got lots of tickets playing arcade games.

We headed out to Peru on January 4th, and the days before were filled with preparation, inoculations, and final bookings - Our journey begins in the next post!

Written by Liberty

Jer's last day of work at the school district was on January 19th. On the 20th, we loaded our golden retriever, Cooper, up in the car with us and hit the road. We're sad to leave our cozy home and our cuddly cat, Paul Farmer, at home, but we know they're in good hands. Aunt Sam is testing out snow-birding in Moab for the first time and will take good care of our plants, piano, and Paul. 

First stop, 2 weeks in Oregon for the holidays.  More to come on this...

Next stop, 2 weeks in Peru for an epic Andes adventure with Papa Peter, followed by work in Lima.

Finally - 2 months in Rwanda. 

Disclaimer - the adventure will probably march on beyond the end of March, this is just all we have on the itinerary thus far.