Weekend in Nyamugali

More than once, recently, I’ve said that it was October. I had to look again at my watch to remind myself that it’s already November. Time is coming up so fast that I realized I only have two more weekends to sort our transportation and visas for Tanzania. We’re going to Zanzibar for Christmas!!! I’m so excited. We have no firm plans yet but can’t wait to see white sand and turquoise beaches. Since I’ve never been to Cuba or Mexico, I have no idea what to expect. People have said, though, that Cuba’s beaches have nothing on Zanzibar….

Friday after my workshop I caught a bus to Nykarambi. I arrived in dark. I had to remind myself to NEVER sit in the front seat during dusk again. The driver was cruising at a speed approaching 115km/hour. While it may be true that other drivers engage in excessive speed too, and that often speedometers are often broken so you can only gage your speed by the rate of passing mud houses and banana trees, I’ve never sat in the front before when the sun was setting, visibility was decreasing and people were darting out infront of the taxi bus. More than once my heart almost stopped and it takes a lot for this to happen. I’ve been come such a relaxed passenger….goats and children jumping in front rarely cause me to skip a beat. There was one time, however, where the driver was accelerating onto the road, looking over his shoulder when a toddler wandered out in the middle. I was in the middle of reaching over to smack the driver when he noticed and jerked out of the way. Yes, that did cause me to sweat a little, but generally I’m pretty relaxed.

Okay….so I arrived in Nyakarambi with a baby on my lap. A mother was getting in next to me and having difficulty climbing up with the little one so my outstretched arms were welcomed with a broad smile – from both mom and baby. Dorothy was waiting for me in the dark with Anastase, the moto driver that knew where Christine’s new house was. Christine had finally moved to her village after a disaster of a first attempt which included bats and bat urine and a smell from the house that could be smelled from the street. So now, almost three months later, she had moved. I pulled on a sweater and climbed on with a backpack and some wash basins in the front. We continued along the same road (the highway to Tanzania), were stopped by the police once, passed by a semi-trailer (only one!) and flew down the valley until Risuzi. This the village turn off. After this it was onto dirt roads and a steep hill with ruts from the rain. Finally, we arrived in Nyamugali! A night of helping her unpack and drinking some wine and we both went to bed exhausted – me from a long workshop and bus trip and her from the stress of moving. Of course, neither of us slept well. In the morning we acknowledged that this house, too, has bats. And not just one or two. Enough to wake me up in the middle of the night. Argh!!! It was the morning of umaganda and so Patricia, who was visiting from Kigali, had to leave before 5am to ensure she got here. Christine met her hat Risuzi when she finally arrived after having convinced the chielf of police that she was just visiting a friend and that’s why she wasn’t working during umaganda. I left around 4pm but barely….

We knew that Stella express would stop in Risuzi but not sure when. So, I got on a local bus. (This is almost ALWAYS a mistake) It promised to not make any extra stops and it was only going to be 900. Okay, a bit much but I just wanted to get home in the light and I had two hours. Of course, the bus did not go right away. In fact, it went backward!! Trying to pick up new passengers. After 15 minutes, I knew I had chosen wrong. I should have just waited for an express bus. As we started to pull onto the main road a Stella bus pulled up!! My lucky day! I asked the driver of my bus to stop so I could see if it was going to Kibungo (I knew it was). The driver wouldn’t stop and told me that it wasn’t going to Kibungo but worse than that….as I tried to lean out to ask I was pushed out of the way. I asked the bus to stop again and he refused!! I was pushed away from the window again. Fortunately a friend of Christine’s was on the bus and told the driver to stop and let me off. I was furious…and I’ll admit, a bit scared. It was the first time I have felt unsafe on one of the busses. I go on the Stella bus and was home in an hour – happy I didn’t pay one sent to the local driver. And the Stella bus was only 800.

Sunday I killed an entire day by lazing around the house for the first time in a month or so. From 7:30 am (not including my 5am wake up call by a parade outside on the street) until 8pm…I relaxed by reading, (This Charming Man – not worth it!), finished a movie (Burn After Reading – very good), foot bath in peppermint salts with warm water, ate some chocolate, worked on my pictures, puttered around and drank coffee. It was wonderful! Made even better by a phone call from Aimey where I expressed how much I missed going to Chapters with her and ALL I WANT IS A CARAMEL MACCHIATO FROM STARBUCKS……We talked forever!!! (Aimey…I think I owe you at least 2 Caramel Macchiatos for that…or 2 Skinny Vanilla Extra Hot No foam lattes…).