Kigali, Rwanda

Just got back from a morning run. Yes, you read that right. Whereas the guidebook for Nairobi warns you not to put your big toe outside the hotel, Kigali is a different kind of city. It's absolutely lovely - set among literally hundreds of hills, and there are trees everywhere. The city is also immaculately clean - on my half hour run, I saw exactly one piece of trash, and armies of street cleaners out, apparently looking for it.

It's safe to say that my presence was unusual, and as always, the children tell you what everyone else is thinking, but are too polite to say. I came upon one group of children who were maybe six or seven and they took a look at me and just laughed. Others called out "Bon Jour!" "Hallo!" and I called back. I saw one other runner - a Rwandese man who clapped at me and I clapped back. Runners solidarity translates.

More on Rwanda - a fascinating, exciting, but maybe slightly worrisome country - later.