Cath’s Mum, youngest sister and nephew came to spend some time with us and go on a few adventures together. We hadn’t seen them for a whole year. Beau especially had changed during that time: from a baby of 6 months into a little boy. After much chatting over Skype, it was so good to see them in person and be able to give them a hug.
They arrived at the end of February laden with huge amounts of luggage, most of which was for us (very kind and another excitement as they unpacked). Beau fitted in really well, soon teaming up with Hannah. By the end of the three and a half weeks the two of them would wake up in the morning asking for each other: very sweet.
We got up to a few adventures together. Tim came for some and stayed home to work during others. Here are a few highlights on which we remembered to take the camera.
Mama Jeremy’s New Tin Roof
Jeremy invited us to come and see his mother’s new tin roof. Only a few minutes drive from home, the town feels far away.
Visit to Nepo’s Family
Our gardener and night watchman Nepo welcomed our family to his home for chai. It’s a 45 minute drive from town. His wife and seven children can be found in the photo below, surrounded by lots of others from the village who came to say hello.
On Safari, then the exploring the capital city
We drove to the east of Rwanda to see wild animals in Akagera National Park. It was the longest day of driving I’ve ever done, off road too. But we saw lots of animals along the way. It was worth it. See some of them below!
At the end of the day the kids were excited to swim in a pool at the lodge with floating seats brought by ‘Oma’.
The next day we moved on to Kigali, where I showed Mum and Steph around the capital. At one point I went to a meeting, leaving them to explore a milling foreign market with three small white kids (who were bound to attract copious amounts of attention). I was very impressed that they not only coped, but ordered some handbags, caught a taxi and found their way back to the accommodation on their own.
We stayed an extra day in Kigali for me to have a potential skin cancer on my nose removed by a local plastic surgeon. I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the drama for what I thought was going to be a simple waiting-room-in-and-out-of-the-office procedure. As it turned out I had all day in hospital in a proper hospital bed, was wheeled to and from the surgery (where others were having hard core procedures done) and attended in surgery by six staff. I can certainly say I was looked after! I can also say some weeks later that the surgeon did an excellent job (you can hardly see the scar), and more importantly the results for cancer were negative.
Birthdays
We celebrated Hannah’s 2nd birthday with a party. We forgot to take photos, but as she wouldn’t keep her clothes on they probably wouldn’t have been appropriate! She seemed to enjoy herself running around with a pack of children eating party food. Here is a photo of her delightedly opening presents on her actual birthday, and me blowing out my candles a few days later.
Hanging Around
Mama Africa Incredible Playground
We had one last outing before dropping Mum, Steph and Beau off at the airport: lunch and play at Mama Africa in Kigali. What an incredible playground! William in particular has really missed playgrounds and gets excited about a single swing or slide. Imagine how excited he was when he saw this…
There were also trampolines, a merry-go-round, a little train on a track you can sit in for a ride, a ball pit, and places for parents to sit and have a drink. Incredible!
It was very sad to say goodbye at the airport knowing how long it will be until we see each other again. But what a wonderful time we had together! Lots of good memories to keep us going until next time.
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