a day in the bus!

Another early start on what was scheduled to be a day off for the team. A 7:30am departure for a three plus hour drive to Kinihira and the Sorwathe Tea Factory. Joined by Joseph, CWBs Ambassador based in Huye, we also picked up Emmy on the way, reaching the factory shortly before lunch. 

Kinihira is Emmy’s home town and we were met at the factory by his brother Remy, who is also the factory’s IT Manager. Remy gave us a factory tour, showing us how tea is processed to make black tea, green tea, white tea and even Silver Tip tea. Same leaves, different processes, very different flavours. Following the tour we had the opportunity to purchase some Sorwathe tea and made the short walk to the Plantation Guest House for lunch on the terrace with its spectacular view. This is the second time I’ve visited Sorwathe, and even as a fairly limited traveller, I don’t think I’ve seen a view quite so spectacular as the this one. 

After a short rest we headed to the Sorwathe football ground for a game against the Sorwathe Girls (the same girls defeated at Gahanga yesterday!). An impromptu coaching session ensued, led by Joseph, with around 60 children either running drills or playing games. A great sight. As an aside we beats the girls. It doesn’t made us proud but we needed that after losing to Mwiko last week! Although, batting on one leg Sam did hit the first three balls of our innings for 6!

Leaving Kinihira for a standard three hour return journey the journey became anything but standard. We stopped to let Emmy off only to find a traditional dancing troupe doing their stuff so we disembarked to watch. Big mistake! All bar Sam and Ali were targeted and made to join in. The video (too long for this blog thankfully) is certainly not for the faint of heart or fans of ‘Strictly’….

Still more non-standard happenings as our bus suffered a puncture which required replacement on the outskirts of Kigali. The 15 minute fix took an hour and traffic jams on the road to Muhanga delayed our return even further. When we finally reached our hotel at 9pm, five hours after departure and two hours later than expected, all we wanted to do was sleep…..  before the Imam’s 4:30am alarm call!

Thom