Here’s the link for people who want to support me on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=6600631
My friend, David (who I talked with about math and evolution on previous blogs, links are below.) went on a backpacking trip in Africa recently. This is his story of the experience of other cultures.
https://mindgasms.bplifetime.com/2017/07/14/math-evolution-meaning-life-dialogue-part-1/
https://mindgasms.bplifetime.com/2017/07/25/math-evolution-meaning-life-dialogue-part-2/
https://mindgasms.bplifetime.com/2017/08/04/math-evolution-meaning-life-dialogue-part-3/
This is the seventh blog in part 2 of this series. Here is the link for the page where the others can be found:
https://mindgasms.bplifetime.com/category/travel/
June 11, Cyuza Island, Day 1:
Today was a new day, and we got back to getting things done. We woke up before 6am to get ready to spend two days on Cyuza Island. This is a small agricultural island that is owned by the lady who owns the coffee shop in Musanze. We packed our sleeping bags and bathing suits and hopped onto a bus at the bus stop that would take us to our destination.
We walked from the bus stop to the edge of the lake. This took about an hour on foot over a rocky, dusty path in the sun around crops and houses. Along the way, we met Sarusi, who was the ward of the island. When we reached the lake, we rested and admired the view while we waited for the ferry. Sophie had been followed by a large group of kids who she started playing with while we waited.
Once the ferry arrived and we reached the island, we were welcomed by the beautiful sight of the lake. It had the backdrop of a great volcanic mountain in the distance that was surrounded by rolling hills, and we could see it from the balcony where we would be sleeping.
As we got ourselves settled, some people went sunbathing. Others just relaxed by the balcony. I had decided to go and explore the island while we were waiting for lunch, which was taking a while. While I explored on my own, I saw the ruins of the old colony that used to populate the island. Being by myself in the wilderness of an island was quite unsettling because I didn’t know what to expect. I came across some cows and a man who was tending to them. I recorded the whole exploration on my phone. I travelled from one end of the island to another, coming across a lot of wild birds and old ruins. Some of the ruins were inhabited.
Later that evening, Maddie, Sydney, and I went kayaking around the island. It took about 15 minutes to circle it. Along the way, we saw cliffs and caves which I would be exploring on my own on the next day.
After a very satisfying dinner, some card games, and coffee, we watched the stars come out as we lit a campfire. We all laid on mattresses as we counted shooting stars and talked about them by the dying campfire in the late night. The moon had already risen as we watched it above the eastern hills that were across from the lake. It slowly overpowered the light from the Milky Way.
At midnight, I went for a solo walk while everyone else was asleep. In the least-expected place, I came across one of the local farmers by the boat. We talked for a little bit while he washed lettuce in the lake that was under the moonlight. Two more farmers came by, rowing in the kayak while listening to music on their radio. The moon had completely changed.
