Breakfast at Paradis Malahide (via TripAdvisor)
This, my first official post on GFBO was really inspired by the need to leave behind the daily stresses e.g. computers, traffic, etc., to seek solace in what can only be described as the exquisitely lush beauty of this country.
Over the past weekend, I embarked on a road trip with my girls from Kigali to Gisenyi. Now the city of Gisenyi is one of Rwanda’s most popular tourist destinations due to the fact that it’s situated on Lake Kivu. This trip takes about five and a half hours, with a couple of stops along the way. The road is rather awesome for the three hours from Kigali to Ruhengeri but then gets a little bit bumpy for reminder of the journey. Our trip was also a bit of an adventure since we decided to eschew private comfort and take public transportation instead. The bus, rather comfortable despite the lack of leg room was driven by a shifty driver who seemed to think it was perfectly fine to careen at full speed around the many treacherous curves winding up the hills. We arrived in Gisenyi at around 9pm then took a taxi about 6km out of town to a small village called Rubono where we finally reached our destination, the Paradis Malahide Guesthouse.
The view from the guesthouse was incredible… the company was fantastic… it was pure laughter from the second we arrived till the moment we boarded the bus for the return journey. The accommodation was simple and lovely. There were just a few bungalows, all of which had a lovely view of and are a few minutes away from the lake. A beach suitable for frolicking and/or lounging on ridiculously comfortable beach lounge chairs. All the furniture is wooden and handmade, with cushions covered in beautiful, colourful local fabric. The restaurant is spacious with a fire pit right in the middle, providing a serene and beautiful place to relax at night. The food sometimes took ages to arrive, but when it did… it was delicious, especially the fish. A highlight of the stay, however, was the breakfast and particularly the coffee.
The name of the coffee served at Paradis is ‘Maraba’ Coffee, which is grown primarily in the Butare area. I ordered the regular coffee which although strong, was very light-bodied with incredible flavour. It also came in an incredibly generous serving, a four-cup pot per order which everyone loved. The only negative aspect of this was for those who enjoy their coffee with milk. They served powdered milk on our first morning and long-life (or pasteurized) milk on our second morning. The long-life milk tasted rather suspicious. The black coffee, however, was incredible. It was naturally sweet, particularly the longer the coffee sat, and the flavour was reminiscent of toffee with a cocoa-like aroma. No need to add sugar, or milk which I tend to do most of the time.
But all in all, it was a soothing coffee experience, particularly as it was served on grassy terrace overlooking Lake Kivu. This was the best way to just chill and drink everything in, both literally and figuratively.
