January 2026 Rwanda


 Our East African Adventure began in Kigali, Rwanda, at the Genocide Memorial. We spent several sobering hours in the museum learning the colonial history that fueled the 1994 genocide and remembering the approximately 1,000,000 Rwandans who were murdered. Our friend, Boaz, from Kenya, is standing next to platforms that cover large vaults where remains of many of those murdered now rest.



Rwanda is known as the land of 1,000 hills. We spent several hours driving up and then down and up and down to get to Volcanoes National Park.


Our accommodations, Island Paradise Resort, were great and included dinner and breakfast. The place raises money for a non-profit group "Future 4 Kids" as well as providing jobs for former kids they have served.


 Volcanoes National Park shares borders with Congo and Uganda which together include 8 volcanoes. The rainforest shelters many wildlife species including mountain gorillas and golden monkeys.
We were there to see golden monkeys. Masks were required.


The golden monkeys ate bamboo shoots, wrestled, played, and move through the forest on the ground and in the bamboo.



The golden monkeys' fur becomes more orange or golden as they age. The younger ones are more tan in color. The group we watched and followed are habituated to people watching them. We found them on the edge of the rainforest and then moved farther into it as we watched and followed. At the forest edge there are potato fields which the golden monkeys feast on when no one is around.

Non-East Africans pay a $100 fee to enter the park with a ranger to observe the monkeys. 10% goes directly to the local community to promote conservation education and fund community development projects. Another 5% is used to reimburse farmers for injury and crop or livestock losses.


Good-bye golden monkeys.

Time to cross the border and enter Uganda.

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