And There I Was Volume IV

Book excerpt: It was 1996 and the author was off on the fourth journey of nine in the "And There I Was' series---East Africa. The original intention was a trip of a thousand miles down the Congo River but just prior to leaving, the Rwandan genocide took place. The ensuing wars' aftermath had left much of East Africa, particularly the Congolese border region, awash in blood and turmoil. Little more than a year after the worst of the killing, the author arrived in Kigali not knowing what to expect or where to go next. What resulted was a chaotic ramble across East Africa through a succession of countries that included Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Zanzibar. Bear witness to both the beauty and the tragedy of Rwanda, discover the source of the Nile, share beer and conversation with the ladies of the night in Tanzania, dance with the Masai to the reggae beat and safari in Masai Mara. Visit an island off the Tanzanian coast whose heavenly sweet aroma beckoned and belied its sordid history as a way station for Arabian-bound slaves. Follow an endless and hopeless quest to escape Africa's heat, humidity and blood only to somehow end up in the arms of a French goddess in the snow-bound streets of gay Paris.