Wednesday 10th

Today marks the start of our short holiday to Lake Kivu, up in the north-west region of Rwanda. For the past few days I’ve been trying to hide it's geography from my sister and mother, as Gisenyi, our chosen destination, is only a twenty minute walk from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sadly though, Suzanna guessed yesterday that something was up when I made a hushed phone call to my friend asking her to pray for us. 'Please pray that we aren't killed by hippos, bilharzia or Congolese rebels.' But Suz took it all in her stride, and even agreed to consider crossing the border for lunch on Thursday.

We were supposed to leave Kigali at 8 am, but managed to catch an earlier bus. This had both positive and negative implications. On the plus side, we had more time in Gisenyi. On the down side, I needed the toilet but had no time to go before we left. The next three hours were excruciating to say the least. The scenery on the way was stunning, probably the prettiest I’ve ever seen, but being so desperate for the loo I struggled to appreciate it. When at long last we saw the lake, my eyes filled with tears and I prepared to make a speedy exit from the bus. Waiting at the bus stop were loads of guys trying to sell things. One guy asked me if I wanted a taxi, and I yelled, 'no, toilet!', and he showed me to the nearest one, which happened to be at someone's house. It was the best pee EVER.

We got a taxi to our hotel and checked in. The hotel was lush. We each had a double bed with four pillows. Four deliciously large, plump pillows each. I was in heaven. Suzanna's wonderfully timed, three hour lecture titled 'Diseases you can catch in Africa, especially in lakes', a few days before had persuaded me not to swim in Lake Kivu, but when I saw that crystal clear water shimmering under the African sun from our hotel room, I immediately changed my mind. I quickly donned my swimming costume and bid Suzanna a quick farewell before running into the Lake. It was the best swim EVER. The water was warm and clean, the sand was golden and the sun shone happily all around us. It was like paradise. I’ve been really happy in Rwanda; my time here has passed so far without incident. But when I stood on that gorgeous beach, I don't think I’ve ever been happier. I appreciated and enjoyed everything so much more than I would have done previously.

After my swim, we relaxed on sun loungers at the beach and had lunch. Suzanna's chicken came in half a hollowed out pineapple, and as she posed for a photo, she tipped it all over her lap. We were both pretty tired and fragile from the journey, but it was hard to not to laugh. For me anyway. We stayed at the beach all afternoon, swimming and relaxing. It was really good just to have a change of scenery and an opportunity to chill out.

In the evening we went to a different hotel for dinner. It had more of an African vibe than the one we were staying in that night. While we waited for our food, we sat by the fire pit warming our hands, listening to the lake gently lapping at the shore.

That night I had my first shower in two months. It was the best shower EVER! The water was so hot and plentiful; it made my skin so clean and my hair so soft. I love showers. I miss them. I showered a total of five times in 24 hours.

Our first day in Gisenyi was so good that we decided to stay another night, and booked a room at the second hotel.