This photo was taken just outside the city center of Kigali. It illustrates a number of common characteristics I observed while in the country. Kigali is a sprawling town, up and down hills, and ranging from modern buildings and residences (usually walled off) to the more-or-less standard "mud" house. I say "mud" in quotes, because these houses are usually built on an extensive lattice of wood or metal rods, and the roofs are generally tile, metal, or timber -- sometimes thatch. I say "standard" because the vast majority of houses seem to consist of a door with a window (seldom glazed) on either side. I'm not sure if the inside is usually divided into rooms.

Except for the main roads in Kigali (and other larger towns) and between towns, there are virtually no paved roads. This photo is typical -- of the easier to navigate roads. As can be imagined, the rainy season (or heavy rain any time of year) plays havoc with these roads. An SUV is virtually required to get around at all outside of downtown. It seems like every other business in Kigali and Gisenyi (and probably other larger towns) is an auto parts shop -- no suprise there.

Although this photo shows fewer than the average, the number of people walking the streets and roads throughout Rwanda is really remarkable. The cost of owning and operating an automobile is undoubtedly prohibitive for the vast majority of the population. So, people get around on foot, bicycle, or motorcycle. Alternatively, there are scads of mini-van type "taxis". In any event, there are literally thousands of people on the roads and highways at any given time, especially first thing in the morning and in the evening. The latter seems (to me, anyway) to be really dangerous, since the sun sets very quickly, and the motorized traffic barrels along at high speed and simply honks to warn pedestrians to step aside. I can't believe we didn't seen any accidents during the trip.