Gisenyi

After an energetic day of gorilla tracking, we carried on to Gisenyi on the shores of Lake Kivu and bordering the neighboring Democratic Repulic of the Congo. Once a thriving resort town for wealthy Europeans, Gisenyi still has an air of aristocracy in its crumbling mansions and tree-lined streets. While neighboring Goma was nearly completely destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 2002, Gisenyi escaped unscathed and is currently enjoying an economic boom; hotels are being refurbished, parks cleaned up, and tourist facilities improved.

We peered across the border at the Congo, but did not bother paying for the visas necessary to enter the country and step across into Goma.