September 3, 2015
rest day Gisenyi: Blessington Motel
A thunderstorm rolled in late evening and we heard the rain throughout the night. "It's nice that we had already decided to take a rest day."
Our accommodation is a great place for a rest day. Our room with a veranda is set back in a garden. Rachel did the laundry with not much hope that with the humidity things will dry. Patrick looked at the freewheel on Rachel's bike because it is still clicking. After tasks completed, we go explore. We are in a good location halfway between the main part of town and Lake Kivu.
First, we find an upscale hotel for an "american" breakfast, mostly for the coffee with milk, but we also get a large fruit plate, croissants, and eggs (we passed on the porridge) all included in one price.
Then we drop into the Tourist Information Office we saw when cycling into town to find out more information about the Congo Nile Trail. We didn't get any more information than already from the internet from Tim Rann, Everything you need to know, and Joe Hindman CGOAB blog https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doc_id=15380. One good thing though, Patrick asked how should we respond to the kids asking for money. The man said, "just say no". There is education going on with the adults in the communities along the CNT.
Next, we shop for supplies for the CNT. We pick up some eggs to hard boil, bread, laughing cow cheese, and crackers. We have started filtering the water rather than buying. The question paper or plastic is not even asked. Plastic bags have been banned by law in Rwanda, so everything purchased is placed in paper bags.
For a mid afternoon lunch-dinner, we found a buffet that Rwanda is known for and good value. For $2, we each had a main "meat" selection (we had fish) and a variety of potatoes, squash, vegetables, rice, spaghetti with sauce. The Primus beers (3/4 liter) were $1.50 each.
We will leave you with the image of what cyclists can do to a room.
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