Who needs Shoes....

Sorry for the lack of blogging over the last several days.  It was a crazy week and then we were out of commission over the weekend (ie. No wifi/internet connection).  Unfortunately, Thursday I lost my camera (don’t ask)  so now all of my pictures are courtesy of Michael ( I wanted to make sure to give him credit for all of the photography).  Friday was a very interesting day of which very little was actually in the operating room.  Once again I was dealing with logistics.  Usually I am pretty good at logistics but unfortunately logistics in Africa takes it to another level.  For those of you have heard me talk about the Lifebox project, I was asked by CASIEF to help coordinate the receipt of the 250 Lifeboxes to Rwanda as well organize a ceremony for their donation.  The first 50 Lifeboxes were shipped last week and remainder are to be shipped later in the year.  I was very excited to hear that the Lifeboxes arrived on Thursday.  However, I was disappointed to hear that they were (and are still) being held hostage at the airport.  Despite a clearance letter from the ministry of health, we are still having difficulty getting them into the country.   It really makes me appreciate the US postal service despite their inefficiencies.  We are hoping they will make it out of the airport sometime next week. 

            Tuesday we have scheduled a small ceremony for the official Lifebox donation.  Not surprisingly, the emails for the ceremony will be emailed out tomorrow.  I don’t think it is fashionable here to send out invitations too far in advance.   As much as I like to plan a party, it is a little different when you are not one your home turf.  Let’s hope it all comes together. We are on a bit of a time crunch as we are trying to schedule the ceremony before many of the anesthesiologists leave for the World Congress at the end of the week.

            Friday night we caught a ride with a fellow American (and Emroid) to Musanze .  It is a small town in the northwest corner of Rwanda and is near Volcanos National Park where the mountain gorillas are found.  The mountain gorillas are an endangered species as only around 650 are alive today.  We met a fellow American who is working for The Access project for dinner at open fire pizza restaurant.  Yes, the pizza in Rwanda is quite good.

Mackenzie, Michael, and Faye enjoying pizza

The next morning we got up quite early to begin our day to trek to see the gorillas.  Let’s just say, my day started off with an unpleasant surprise.  I realized I left my hiking shoes in the back of Allie’s car which was now in Gisenyi (45 minutes away).   Luckily I met a fellow American who was kind enough to lend me his keen sandles.  Having never owned a pair of keens, I have a new appreciation for the sandles as I successfully hiked in them all day and NO blisters. 

            The gorillas were absolutely amazing.  It was a beautiful day and except for the shoe incident could not have been more perfect.  Michael is going to tell you all about it so I will try and not be too repetitive.

            After the hike, we took a local bus to Gisenyi.  Yes, we were the only muzungu (white persons) on the bus.   Gisenyi is a resort on Lake Kiev and borders Goma which is in the Democratic Repbulic of Congs.  The hotel, Hotel Paradise Malahide was exactly what you might envision for an African hotel in a resort town.  I had my own little bungalow that faced the beach.  It was beautiful.  Everything about it was perfect….there were tons of brightly colored birds, interesting lizards and amazing views.  It was a great place to relax for the evening.

            Now we are back in Kigali at our home base the Serena.  Got to love high speed wifi.  Looking forward to another full packed week.