Up until 2 weekends ago, I didn’t know that
the gorilla naming ceremony was a big deal in Rwanda. Before I came to Rwanda,
I was always on Google trying to find out what other tourists had done.
Visiting the gorillas seemed to be one of the number one things so I told
Carmen we were definitely going to see these mountain gorillas that are unique
to this region. When we were told how much it cost to see the gorillas we
crossed that from the checklist.
So when I heard how big of an event Kwita
Izina was, I really wanted to go in hopes of catching a glimpse of the
gorillas. We later learnt that the gorillas are not present at this event but
we still decided it would be nice to partake in this tradition of naming newborn
gorillas.
The itinerary said the program was to start
at 8:30am so we left at 6:30am. No one warned us that it was going to be cold
at the location. By the end of the day I could barely feel my toes.
The drive up to Musanze had the most
beautiful scenery ever! Indeed this is the land of a thousand hills! Hills were
just emerging all over the countryside and the little farms on the hills looked
like beautiful patchwork. We could see the volcanoes behind the even location.
It was very a colourful lively ceremony
with music performances by local stars and traditional dance performances by
the National Ballet. In attendance were many dignitaries including the Prime
Minister of Rwanda and the esteemed gorilla namers who came from all walks of
life.
A reception followed the event and we were
able to snag a couple of pictures with some of the celebrities that were
present.
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