Monday lunch by the beach

After a four-hour bird-watching expedition around the bird-protected areas of Bugesera, all we wanted was a bite, and we did not care if this bite came in the form of a light snack, roast maize by the roadside, or a square meal. Driving out of the woodland, all our hopes were pegged on the Tiamo Camping Site signposts dotted around the town. We concluded that it had something to do with the Tiamo we know in Kiyovu, and so drove there. For a Monday early afternoon, however, Tiamo was simply not ready to answer our queries, and all we saw at the neglected-looking facility was the cleaner as we drove off. Our hunt for the second-best option led us to the La Palisse Hotel, the perfect excuse for Monday lunch by the beach, since the hotel sits by the lake. I wanted pork fries with a bit of both rice and chips, but seeing as the prices were being fronted differently (Rw f 1,500 each for the rice and chips), I settled for chips. My guest asked for goat brochette, a choice I suspect was influenced by the large flocks of goats we encountered all around Bugesera. Twenty minutes later, the waitress returned to our table, not with our food, but with the day’s chef trailing her. The chef had come down to deliver the bad news that there was no pork –something the waiter found hard to do on account of language issues. I opted to try the fish brochette. Twenty more minutes later, the same waiter appeared at our table, this time brandishing the mandatory tray with salt shaker, tomato ketchup, chilli, tooth picks, and serviettes. We were not under any illusions however, and it took another thirty minutes or so before our orders eventually materialized. In the meantime, we sipped chilled Primus and Skol beers, marveled at the fish eaters as they made their precision dives into the lake, and generally soaked in the cool breeze. My two fish brochettes were so generously-sized, I only managed to clear one skewer and only half of the second. I also heard some chuckles from my guest as he dug into the goat brochette, which I took to mean it was not chewy. The brochettes cost Rwf 2,500 each, so with the chips, it came to Rwf 6,500.