Kumbya

I enjoyed a relaxing week’s retreat in a place called Kumbya. It is a beautiful setting of an unspoiled peninsular towards the south of lake Kivu with loads of birds and wildlife. I spent the week meeting people in similar situations to me throughout the Great Lakes region and catching up with others I had met previously during my time here.

We had talks and discussions each morning and various forms of entertainment in the evening but afternoons were free to relax, enjoy the peace and quite and swim in the beautiful clear lake.The food was a good mix of Rwandan and western food but the drinking water had a smoky aftertaste as it was boiled over a wood stove!

On the Thursday morning the annual swim to an island 2.5km away took place. We started at 6am and a few of us swam both ways. I was welcomed back shortly after 8am with freshly cooked pancakes and syrup. It was made slightly more interesting by the appearance of a military gunboat on the lake saying we should not be swimming as the President was due to visit a nearby town for a political rally that day. I came back from the week feeling refreshed and with new friends.