Sim Centre Opening: Three residents on the rock

We are having an excellent final weekend in Rwanda. Kitt's pictures tell it best, see below.

I pick up from Amélie's lovely post, at the Top View in Nyungwe. After a very, very hilly jog, a delicious meal, and a few hours of work by the fire, we had a great sleep, uninterrupted by the all-night bars blasting Celine Dion that we are used to hearing in our Nyamirambo apartment.

We got up early in the morning so we could squeeze in the customary waterfall hike in the rainforest. Our knowledgeable and appropriately named mountain guide, Everest (how perfect is that!?) led us through the steep terrain down to the beautiful, noisy, misty falls at the bottom. We even managed to squeeze all three of us onto Patty's 'resident rock' to add a picture to her collection.

As beautiful as the falls were, the hike itself was stunning. Kitt only stopped about five hundred times to photograph every interesting tree branch and fire ant. Fortunately, Patty kept us on time by jogging ahead of us on the ascent out. If our legs are a little tired today, it's probably from the steep hikes- my phone says we climbed the equivalent of 160 flights of stairs in the past two days. That's sixteen trips up from the cafeteria to the VG anesthesia lounge, for those hard at work at home.

Lunch was on a covered balcony, in the middle of a lush tea field, against a backdrop of mist-enshrouded mountains, as rain gently fell. And Patty paid! You can't make this stuff up.

It is impossible to work or read as we drove home slowly through the winding Rwandan countryside. The views are constantly changing vistas of hills and valleys, dotted with colourfully dressed people working, children playing, and overloaded rocket buses hurtling past, well over the centre line. Today's drive was even more dramatic, as we roared up and down steep slopes beside Lake Kivu. Views of water are rare in landlocked Rwanda, and today was really special.

We sadly sent Amelie home yesterday, and today are hunkering down to get ready for our last academic day tomorrow. It will be VERY full, but fortunately Kitt and I are dividing and conquering the preparation, leaving us both able to follow the throwback Nadal-Federer final, which we convinced the Serena staff to put on in the lobby.