National Heroes Day-February 1st

At approximately 6:30am we heard the blair of a loudspeaker driving along the streets near our hotel. There was a loud, stern announcement in Kinyarwanda followed by some upbeat music. This continued for about 20 minutes before it trailed off into the distance. The birds outside the window made it futile to keep sleeping, so I got up to see what the announcement was all about. Raymond, who was sitting at reception, explained that February 1st is National Heroes Day in Rwanda. The announcement was telling everyone to wake up and come to Amahoro National Stadium for the ceremonies that mark the holiday. Here is an article about the celebration from the daily, English-language newspaper in Kigali, the New Times. As this is an important holiday in Rwanda nothing was open. So Erin and I decided to enjoy the beautiful, equatorial sun by the pool at the Novotel hotel.

Erin and I are off to see Volcanoes National Park and the Mountain Gorillas tomorrow and Tuesday. We are going with a really great tour agency called Rwanda EcoTours.