So I'm on my way home. I wonder what is was like for the early explorers, missionaries, traders, when the return journey meant 3 months on a creaky boat. I mean most of the time I spend less time in these countries than early travellers would have spent getting to the port where they would get their boat. Or wait for their boat.

My final shot from this trip is this beautiful drum I saw in a fancy resort (where I did not stay!). That and a shot of drummers in Bujumbura using somewhat more generic drums.

One thing I'm always excited about when I come to Burundi is the fish. I think there is something about the water of Lake Tanganika which makes the fish delicious. Mind you it is not the season right now, and so the fish are smaller and not quite as good tasting as normal, but still quite good. Below is mukeke, don't know the scientific name, which is an endemic species, I believe, and is one of the most popular in the region.

This I witnessed at a beach on Lake Tanganika. A restaurant where both locals and tourists go to relax and have a drink or a meal. Beautiful spot really, and therefore a good site apparently for a music video. This was a Catholic church choir, and although they are actually singing, they also had speakers hooked up to a generator for back up sound

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This farmers' association in the eastern part of Burundi has planted 5000 avocado seedlings which they are having grafted, and hope to sell for 1000 Francs each. If they sell all, this will give them a total gross income of about 400 US dollars. The group calls themselves Vyizigiro which means Hope. We spent the afternoon talking to them about their community and their work. It's really inspiring to me what they are doing, producing trees which can feed people, and protect the environment.

Today's post probably best told in pictures so:

A disease resistant banana variety, and the sprouts it produces at the base which are the traditional way of replanting

A new low cost propagation method which allows multiple shoots to be produced from one regular sprout

Seedlings transplanted by farmers in the Gihanga association (see the map)

The disease resistant variety bearing fruit

Finally made it. So now I've had about 16 hours sleep in 4 days, a lot of it in fits and starts on the plane. You people that get by regularly on 3-4 hours sleep a night, I don't know how you do it.

So I guess this is the disadvantage of an early morning flight in the winter. The plane sat out at the gate all night in the rain, then snow, and this froze some stuff apparently, which caused the plane to not work. They had technicians on board doing a reset. (with all our technological power, the reset is still one of the best ways to fix stuff?) So long story short, my flight has changed, and I now arrive in Bujumbura at 2 am. Or at least I have a flight itinerary which tells me so.

Funny thing about Zurich though, that bank of clouds you see flying in that looks like a mountain range? It's actually a mountain range that looks like a bank of clouds.

Got to take advantage of the free wifi while I can. Who knows when I'll have access again. Things are looking good for this flight: I've had about 6 hours sleep in the last 48 which is less than normal for me, and should render me unconscious for a good part of the Atlantic. That double espresso at the airport coffee shop probably wasn't such a good idea though...