If you look at a map of Africa, you might be surprised that it takes five hours to drive across the small country of Burundi. But Burundi is all hills and valleys, dirt roads and steep escarpments.
Kirundi word of the day: Murakozi (thank you)
The rural town of Gisuru is across Burundi from Bujumbura, the big city with the country’s international airport. Ben’s brother Danny and his family made the drive to Bujumbura to pick us up and then brought us to Gisuru the next day. They did ten hours of driving between the two days!
For me, the five-hour trip was easy—everything I could see was interesting and new to me, so there was a lot to take in.
We stopped for lunch at a place the president frequents during his travels and even saw his motorcade.
Then we bumped along winding dirt roads for a couple of hours, the appearance of a rare car causing people to pause mid-hoe in the middle of their fields to watch us rumble by in a cloud of dust.
Finally, we arrived at Danny’s home, where my nieces and nephew gave us a tour of their various pets: guinea pigs, a rabbit, some lovebirds, a talking African grey parrot, and a pair of monkeys.
I couldn’t stop staring at the view. So much green! So much land! The house where we stayed overlooked not only the valley but also Gisuru School for the Deaf, which Danny established so the large population of Deaf kids in the area can learn sign language and have an education.
Africa Day 1: 30 Hours in Transit
Africa Day 3: A Dowry Ceremony