A Look Back at Adventures in 2023

On January 2, 2024January 2, 2024 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Nepal, Rwanda6 Comments

We were more quiet this past year than we have been previously, but that doesn’t mean that we weren’t busy. We are truly looking forward to the new year and going on new adventures, but it is always worth looking back at the places that we visited last year. We were able to go on two truly spectacular trips last year, the first being to Dubai and then to Nepal in March and the second was our trip to Rwanda in September. In between were able to visit some other places closer to our new home on the east coast including Ocean City, Maryland, as well as spending time in Washington DC.

Going to Kathmandu in Nepal was an absolutely amazing experience that we will certainly treasure forever. The highlight of the trip was taking a high-altitude helicopter to see the base camp at Mount Everest. We have spent many years hiking in the mountains of Colorado, but there is something truly magical about standing amongst the peaks of the Himalayan Mountains. In addition to seeing the incredible scenery, we also spent time visiting the temples and learning about the fascinating culture. The people were extremely friendly and made us feel welcome from the moment that we landed in the country.

Sitting on the Boat in Lake Kivu in Rwanda

Later in the year, we returned to Africa once again, this time to trek to spend time with gorillas and then chimpanzees in Rwanda. After our trip to Kenya and Tanzania in 2021 where we went on an extended safari, we made a pledge to ourselves that we would return one day to see the mountain gorillas in the wild. It was certainly worth the effort of hiking through thick vegetation of the rain forest to spend time with these docile creatures who seemed as truly interested in spending time with us as we did with them. No words could ever truly capture the awe and beauty of the time that we spent amongst these incredible animals.

Either of these trips would have been an incredible memory that would last a lifetime, but to do both of them in the same year was even more spectacular. The many, many hours that spent traveling to and from these remote locations was worth every minute for the experiences that we had and the people that we met. We have yet to share all of our stories from those two trips, so we are committed to being better in 2024 to post more about those trips as well as the adventures that we are planning on for this coming year. If this year is anywhere close to 2023, we certainly expect to have many more adventures to share in the coming months.

Spending a Relaxing Day at Lake Kivu Between Wildlife Trekking Excursions in Rwanda

On September 28, 2023September 28, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Rwanda5 Comments

After the exhilarating trek to see the gorillas in the Volcanoes National Forest and visiting the local village of Iby’Iwacu, we spent our next day exploring Lake Kivu, which is one of the African Great Lakes and is bordered by three different countries. From the town where we stayed, we could see the Republic of Congo and went to two of the border crossings that allow a constant flow of goods and traffic between the Congo and Rwanda. The lake itself sits on a volcanic rift and there are several methane extraction platforms located on the lake. It has the potential of a catastrophic eruption at some point in the future, but until then it is a source of thermal pools on the various islands that sit on the lake.

We took one of the many tour boats that are available along the shore of the town of Gisenyi, which is the second largest city in Rwanda, to visit one of the islands and see the locals enjoying the therapeutic benefits of the hot springs. Rwanda is a land-locked country and most of the cuisine is vegetable based, but there is Tilapia in the lake that is offered at the local restaurants and was one of the meals that we had at our resort as well. Overall, we spent a lot of time during our trip to Rwanda getting up early and exerting a lot of energy hiking, so the time spent by the lake was a nice reprieve.

Lake Kivu is obviously very large as it is over 1,000 square miles (2,700 square kilometers) and is the eighth largest lake in Africa. There are many resorts that sit along the coastline, some more remote than the one that we stayed at in Gisenyi. Most tours in Rwanda that include both the gorilla trekking and the chimpanzee trekking will include a stay at Lake Kivu as it is located centrally between both of the national parks. Although not the highlight of the trip, it was an enjoyable day between some amazing wildlife experiences.

Experiencing Local Life at the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village in Rwanda

On September 21, 2023September 21, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Rwanda2 Comments

After trekking in the rainforest to spend time with the gorillas, we then went to visit the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village where we spent time learning all about the local life in the Rwanda countryside. It was a very interactive experience as we were given the opportunity to play drums, grind sorghum for banana beer, and test our archery skills. As we walked among the huts, our local guide explained to us all about daily lives of the people that have lived in this part of the country for hundreds of years.

From the moment that we entered the village, we were warmly greeted by the music of drums and the local villagers dancing in their authentic ceremony garments. The men wear dramatic blonde wigs, which they flip dramatically around as they dance making for quite the impression. We also had the opportunity to visit the king’s hut with its large bed and learned of the local traditions and rituals. Whether it was making banana beer, creating bee hives, or learning about the role of the medicine man, each hut that we visited was fascinating.

Quite the Performance

As with many villages that provide these types of cultural experiences, there is also the opportunity to buy handmade goods created by the villagers. The money goes towards the community, which is important as it encourages the local communities to embrace tourism and keeps them from poaching wildlife from the surrounding national park. Prior to tourists coming to Volcanoes National Park to trek to the gorillas, many of the villagers would trap gorillas to sell their hands as well as trap the mountain elephants and other animals to sell to people outside of the country. Rwanda has made great strides in reducing the number of poaching incidents and ensuring that the local people make enough money without needing to resort to trapping animals.

Wedding Ceremony Dance

Although spending time with the gorillas is clearly the highlight of going to Volcanoes National Park, visiting the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village was certainly still a wonderful experience. Considering we did both the trekking and the village visit on our first full day in Rwanda, we were certainly off to a tremendous start to our time in this interesting country. We definitely slept very well that evening before getting up early to move on to our next adventure within Rwanda.