quick update

..our container arrived on Thursday the 16th and we have spent since then in a maze of boxes and IKEA flat packs.

Finally we are beginning to feel that we might get there soon, and I will post some photos when its less chaotic here.

Today is the first time that the temperature outside is lower than inside - its only 25 degrees right now as it is raining heavily - inside we keep the airco's on at 27 - which can feel quite fresh against the normal 35 or so that it is here..so I'm going to take advantage of the chill and unpack more of the boxes on the terrace...

more Ouaga bits and pieces

welcome to our minimalistic home...where the cats get to watch their very own tv station - Gecko TV all night long (well half and hour - but thats a long time for a cat)

our shiny new Toyota Prado which is at the embassy - it's been in the country longer than us but we are still waiting for all the paperwork - it has to go to police, it's been to customs, has to go to another sort of police, and then the tax man...


street life
just the place if I ever need a life sized madonna statue in the garden
boy am I glad we have our own beds and sofas heading this way, I couldn't make a choice otherwise
not a sign I remember learning when taking driving lessons!
I'd like to say that this followed shortly after above sign, but I'd be lying



mmm...peanuts nom nom

..on the street where you live

so this is the approach to our street, we are just on a dirt road at the end of a tarmac road

we live at 217 rue 4.66 in Koulouba
depending which map you use and the sign at the end of the street rue 4.66 is at the end of Ave. President Saye Zerbo

however...we also live at 1139 Rue Raoul Follerau! there has apparently been some re-naming of streets, and of course not everyone uses the same map.

(Ave de Burkina Faso)

So far the directions I have give are - if you are at the elephant roundabout / traffic lights which are at the end of Avenue Burkina Faso / Avenue de la Cathedrale and you are heading back along Avenue Burkina Faso towards the chicken roundabout and the Ministry of foreign affairs, its the first road on the right - there are signs for Restaurant Tiebele and Harevy's - carry on to the dirt road, and ours is the green gate by the big tree!

Roundabouts

The town planners have more fun with the roundabouts here than back in Europe - but at least it means that I am beginning to get the hang of navigating a bit better
the elephant roundabout on the main road we live near



the chicken roundabout - or Place du poulet as it is known locally

this roundabout in town place des cineastes - represents reels of film, there being a big film festival here every other year
United nations roundabout - complete with globe

and guess what we call this one - which is more of a junction than a roundabout really - but nevertheless..

Forgiven

We are both out of the doghouse - but Lon is obviously comfier than I am!

Early days in Ouaga

We have been busy since arriving on Thursday afternoon, getting acquainted with the city, our house and some of the embassy staff.

First impressions, we arrived to find that the airport is undergoing renovations, i.e. its currently a building site..but as only 35 of us exited the plane at Ouaga, it wasn't really too much of a hassle making our way through customs and health checks, though as usual we were baffled by the unindicated seemingly fast track lane next to us.

Margot from the embassy was there to welcome us, along with a driver to take our luggage in a separate car (64kg each plus hand luggage and 2 cat cages is a LOT of luggage). We went straight to our new house to deposit the cats - and let them use the loo (they had been without facilities for 10+ hours). The house has been recently painted, but still seemed a bit smelly and grotty...but the smell was due to the recent insecticide spraying..but compared to Kigali the finish of the house is certainly more "african" - though we do have a dutch kitchen - I am full of plans of how to make this into our home.

We checked into a suite in fancy-ish hotel the Alazai aka the Independence, and later walked to a busy pizza joint a block or so away where we possibly ate 15 years ago. The two hour time difference, and a bad nights sleep in an Etap hotel with the cats on the bed meant we went to bed early and slept like logs.

Friday morning we went to the embassy to meet and greet, and then on to the house again. Habibou our new housekeeper was worried about the cats who were making a lot of noise, and had come to find us at the embassy. She seems nice enough, and can understand our poor french with lack of vocabulary, so fingers crossed.

Lon trying out his new chair for size at the embassy.

After embassy hours, we were able to loan a car, and went exploring. Ouaga is not a big city, but because its flat, and has no skyscrapers, orienting ourselves has been difficult. There are lots of motorbikes and bikes, which means that the traffic is a bit more hectic than Kigali was, but its not too overwhelming, and I'm sure that Lon and I will be haring round in no time..since the car is already here !! we just need to go through the customs procedures.

street life


a monumental roundabout in Ouaga 2000 - a chi-chi area on the other side of the city




Marina supermarket - busy supermarket with imported (french) and local stuff i.e. food, some clothes, household items etc etc I imagine I will be there regularly (if I ever find my way round the city)

today we took a dip in our pool - its deeper than I thought (I am at the point it gets too deep for me to stand) and is REFRESHING...I anticipate moving in permanently). Its rainy season at the moment, so its a bit cooler than usual (under 30) and a lot more humid. Lon and I are losing a lot of fluid "glowing" and have come a long way from our ingrained dislike of airco already - airco is my friend.

Tonight has seen us being chased from the terrace where we were eating our dinner by rain. We had been enjoying the distant lightning for some time, but then the wind started to swirl clouds of dust at us, and the lights began to flicker, and everyone head towards the very small covered area of the restaurant, so we finished the by now somewhat gritty remains of our meal to head back to the hotel in gusty rain.

We are hoping on Monday or Tuesday to check out of the hotel to go camping in our house - the embassy has a set of furniture to lend out when people arrive which is currently in use but dribs and drabs are available - most importantly 2 beds, and Margot who is going on leave had loaned us lots of useful things - we have also been OK'd to buy some extra items to add to the set like a fridge, iron and board - since its cheaper than 3 or 4 nights in a hotel. Our own container should be arriving on the boat in a couple of days, but will still need to be driven overland to Burkina and then go through customs, so we are looking at 2-3 weeks before we can get our hands on it.

All in all feeling positive but sweaty...

New Address

Hazel O'Dea / L P Zomer
Locatie 421 HMA Ouagadougou
Postbus 12200
2500 DD Den Haag

or translated

Hazel O'Dea / L P Zomer
Location 421 HMA Ouagadougou
Postbox 12200
2500 DD The Hague
The Netherlands

The Cats

We love our 2 cats very much, but had no idea how much bureaucracy is involved in taking them briefly back to Europe en route to Burkina. They will be staying in what is known in dutch as a "cat hotel" - I refer to it as the cat prison, since no matter how nice it is, after the house and garden in which to catch lizards in - no amount of space will be enough. But sending them unaccompanied from Rwanda to Burkina isn't really an option...and is even more complex as they are then commodities not pets.

Nev inspecting proceedings below..

Musti in the famous yoga pose of a wrung out rag..


So if anyone stumbles on the blog and wants to export a pet from Rwanda to the EU (excluding UK)
you need to begin the process 4-5 months before you leave

1. animal must be microchipped
2. vaccinated against rabies
3. have rabies blood test certificate
4. have health certificate EU rules 998
5. have export paperwork from Rarda (sub-ministry of the Ministry of Agriculture)
   

http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/pets/nocomm_third_en.htm
is the place to start, they have the info in various languages


Our experience

1. The vets here in Rwanda cannot provide a microchip - but can inject it for you if you manage to find a friendly vet in europe to sell you one. They don't have readers that can read all microchips though. If you have more than one pet, make sure that you are certain which pet has which chip. Don't forget to complete the paperwork for your home country chip database.

2. The vets here can do that OK. Its better if you have a pet vaccination booklet from your vet too, or you will end up with lots of loose papers.

3. The vets here can draw the blood and get it spun for you at one of the labs. You have to send the blood to an approved lab (see EU page for list) - this can be done in person, or by DHL - we successfully couriered ours to South Africa for just under Rwf 40,000 (volcanic ash period). This blood test must be 30 days after last rabies vaccination and three months before departure.

4. The vets here can stamp the EU 998 Health Certificate form, print your own out for them. This health certificate needs to be dated not more than 7 days before flight in order to get the export paperwork from Rarda.

5. the export paperwork from Rarda is free of charge and could / should be done on the same day. You need to go to Veterinary Services Office.

Directions to RARDA office
if you are driving from centre Kigali towards the airport
After Remera / Gisimenti (Chez Lando)
go straight
turn right at the next traffic lights (lively area)
down street for about 3 km, and its on the right - if you see the big food depot you have gone too far!