Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Gisyeni on Lake Kivu

 Arrived in Gisyeni just in time for lunch
Avocadoes are endless in Rwanda which is great because they are a pregnancy super-food.
 Beautiful views from our lodge

 31+ weeks
 Chris being funny






 Hibiscus grow really well here
 Sand beaches are small here  because it doesn't come naturally.    The geology is mostly volcanic rock, which makes the earth black and sharp, rather than sandy and soft.  
Feeling big and uncomfortable
The area of Gisyeni borders Goma (in Congo) which is the hub for major volcanic activity.  There is currently a volcano erupting and our friend Ben, and fellow MASSer, who we ran into on the Gisyeni Beach, took this photo right after he climbed one of the dormant volcanoes this past weekend.  He took this shot at nightime. 
Lush flowers
 This picture doesn't show it quite accurately, but at a certain point, around sunset, the horizon is no longer visible and the water becomes one monotone hue with the sky, so you don't know where one ends and one begins.  This is an effect that happened on Lake Tanganyika in Burundi too.  Must be characteristic of this area in Africa.
 really BIG

 Stripes
 31 weeks and 2 days

Chris posing like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation
 Serenading me and the baby on the beach


 We also randomly ran into our friends Josh and Emily who are doctors with PIH (Partners in Health, the non-prof that MASS designs hospitals for).  Josh and Chris have been guitar buddy's for the last couple months and so they jammed for a bit too.
 Tea fields during harvest season

 Lake Kivu
Street view on the way home

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Pregnancy photos

 18 weeks, 3 weeks before arrival in Rwanda.
 21 weeks, fresh off the plane in Kigali.
 24 weeks, and starting to not fit into regular clothes anymore.
 25 weeks.  In Bujumbura for New Year's. 
 25 wks
 25 wks, wearing my mom's swimsuit.
 26 weeks, back in Kigali.
 27 weeks...

doctor said no more aerobics :(
28 weeks
29 weeks
31 weeks on Lake Kivu, 5 minutes from Congo border

Christmas in Rwanda, New Years in Burundi

 Christmas Day we finally had the chance to start our garden!!
 Then we spent the rest of Christmas at the pool, was a very warm and sunny day!
 New Years trip to Bujumbura, Burundi.  Street Views.
 Typical houses
 Cows and bikes everywhere
 Acacia trees growing on the very edge of the hill
 Getting a free ride
 Driving through the lush hillside
 Banana or Plantain...everywhere!

The closer we got to Bujumbura, the more palm trees and warm weather...
 People in the Burundi hillside wore very neon bright clothing.
 More banana stands.
 Streetfood
 Sunset 
 Beach was very still
 Chris putting together his kiteboard, hoping for wind.
Local fisherman or boat taxi?
 Breakfast with our friends
Relaxing on the beach
 Taking a break
 Hippo in the water, we were wondering why no one was swimming 

 Patching a hole in his kiteboard bladder
 Volleyball
 25 weeks
 Small fried fish, i didn't eat this.
 crocodile at the animal farm
 really playful leopard


 Chris feeding Tina, the ape
Funny toilet people

 Fabrics at the market in Bujumbura
 The market was crazy!  
 We made sushi for dinner
The MASS group on New Year's Day