(Our BnB in Pitlochry)

We spent the last two nights ^^here in Pitochry waiting for the last piece of luggage to arrive from British Airways. It finally came on Wednesday, which means I can change my clothes now. Last night after a stroll around town we had dinner in a 300 year old hotel. Sorry C.R. Gibbs - you've got NOTHING on these fish and chips. It was melting right off my fork. [] Lyn has been doing a superb job of driving our right hand drive rental car. We've driven through some amazing countrysides already. This place is so beautiful. Even in winter. And the light! Oh my. The sun is so low here it seems like every hour is magic hour. We'll post some picture galleries of our travels when we return.

Arrived. Stayed in a castle-looking hostle last night. Will post more details later...

Back in Kigali after a grand trip through the forest to the shores of Lake Kivu. It was a really bizarre experience driving through a tropical rainforest while eating pizza. We stayed in a nice cabin on the end of a private peninsula. Here's a link to some pics from our excursion. Taken by the talented Trev. Today is our last full day in Rwanda. Tomorrow afternoon we start our journey to Scotland. Break out the wool sweaters.

We're headed to the Nyungwe Rainforest for the next few days. We'll be staying on lake Kivu. Here's a fun fact about the lake: Lake Kivu is one of a very few known "exploding lakes." There are literally billions of tons of dissolved methane in the bottom of the lake. Water pressure in the depths keeps the methane dissolved much like a cork in a bottle of champagne keeps the carbon dioxide dissolved. We all know what happens to a bottle of champagne when the cork is removed. *POP* If something like an earthquake were to upset the water in the lake, it's possible that the billions of tons of methane could instantly boil out of the lake. Which would lead to very bad things.

I'm pretty sure we won't have any problems while we're there. We hope to see some monkeys and go waterskiing. We'll be back on Saturday. Missing everyone. Thanks for the comments!

Here's what's going on right now: I'm sitting on a couch on the front porch of our villa. In front of me are many African looking trees. One of them is covered in hundreds of round nests that hang like Christmas ornaments. Bright yellow birds sit on the branches outside their orb homes. They're so bright, they remind me of yellow highlighters. Beyond the trees and across the valley is a hillside crammed with colorful homes. Some of the homes are made of mud, but most are nicer with metal roofs. Quite a few even have multiple stories. Above the hillside are angry storm clouds. They've dropped rain several times already today and are threatening an encore. A mosquito, no doubt bulging with malaria, is buzzing around my legs. After a sweaty day out filming, Lyn has just returned from the shower looking refreshed. It's times like these, when I'm surronded by so much culture and beauty, that I think to my self, "I feel like playing a little Super Mario Bros. Sure am glad I got those pirated games from Betsy."

I leave you with a shot of Jeff (Country Director) playing beach volleyball from last evening's shennanigans.

Lyn writes:

Day five's highlight was a very high flight. We took a helicopter ride over the capitol city, Kigali and then out to Lake Muhazi about an hour drive north of Kigali. It was actually my (Lyn's) first helicopter ride ever and it was very exciting! After we took off we realized that camera-man Jesse needed to be on the other side of the chopper to get the view of Kigali (one-way air traffic only around the city apparently) so we actually touched down in a random, remote field in a river valley and Jesse and I played chinese fire drill..that was SO COOL. We then proceeded to fly through 3 thunderstorms (did I mention we had the doors off?), one of them causing us to attempt a second landing which the pilot thankfully stuck.

Day six was an interview with a very smart, young Rwandan business man who very recently moved from Seattle to Kigali to open a very successful coffee shop, using only high quality coffee from Rwanda. He works quite closely with the coffee farmers (motto "From Crop to Cup") as well as the president of Rwanda.

Day seven was another frustrating day (see Day Two and Day Three). Amidst the beauty and excellent company we have here we have run into road block after road block (which, if you've been following our pre-trip story closely you will remember started with the RED fiasco). Closely following the path the country of Rwanda has taken since the Genocide this entire documentary is based on the story of one couple (he's a Hutu and she's a Tutsi) and their journey of reconciliation with each other. Today we were scheduled to do the final interview with *her* and she is having second thoughts about thaving her story on screen. I can't say I blame her at all because I would't want my story up for everyone to see. That being said this will put us in quite a predicament if she decides that her involvelment is void. I am no longer surprised when this sort of thing happens on this trip...in fact [however untrusting it is] I have come to expect it. While I'm sure things will eventually work out it...is...maddening in this moment that I am in it.

Here are some pics from our Heli ride!

Feeling much better today so it's back to work for me. Today was busy busy. Lots of broll, interviews, portraits, and beauty shots. Super dooper. We had a couple massive rain storms this afternoon. I love the rain here. It's so intense. The last storm came up so fast we had to strike and literally run for cover. Watching the backlit downpour from the porch of our villa was a great way to end a productive day. Tomorrow we're taking a helicopter ride over the country side. It's a third world chopper made of mud and straw. har har.

(My day in a nutshell)


(Lyn's day in a nutshell as shot by Trevor)

Note: this video has been downrezed 400% and compressed by 1400%.

(me, inside my awesome mosquito-proof fort)

Today started at about one 'o clock in the morning. I was already seated high upon the porcelain throne wishing I were dead when I heard Richard stumble into the other bathroom just in time to puke his guts out. Rest of today was spent with chills, fever, and a brain-melting headache. Here's to hoping tomorrow goes better.

A side note: looks like out Internet connection will be intermittent. We'll try to post every few days.

(Trevor and I supervising UglyDog in the Nairobi Airport)

We met up with Trevor in Heathrow and boarded a 777 bound for Nairobi. I slept most of the eight hour flight. Lyn watched The Simpsons Movie on my screen cause her display was broken. We spent a few hours in the Nairobi airport before jumping to Kigali. Getting thru customs was also uneventful. Our luggage had been searched and was flagged with red stickers indicating we were supposed to "declare" the goods in our bags. But we played dumb and went through the green exit and walked right out of the airport with no scans, searches, or awkward cross-cultural exchanges. Yay!


(Lyn looking like a jelly bean)

Lyn and I spent the rest of the day fighting jet lag. Apparently, I fell asleep that night mid-conversation. I have no memoy of this event. Lyn woke in the middle of the night to the sounds of thieves being chased off the campus. I also have no memory of this event. Don't worry about our safety here. We have 24-hour security. The thieves last night were only after random building scraps on the site. And the last thief that was caght on-site was severly beaten and then placed in "timeout" - which was a barrel half-filled with water. Crazy Africans.

Our living quarters are amazing. It feels like a vacation home. A huge upgrade since the last time we were here. We'll try to post some pictures of our "villa" later.

Here's a few shots from our first day of production.

(Work it girlfriend)

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(Camera: $30,000; improvised cardboard monitor hood: $0; Priceless.)

Made it to Heathrow safe and soundly tired. Two legs to go. I can't think of anything clever to say.

Most. Stress. Ever. Camera got here the last possible minute. Fedex delivered two of the three boxes to the wrong address, and Lyn had to make a mad dash down to Chico to pull the last box off a FedEx airplane. Click for more pics of me opening the loot. Had a few how-are-we-gonna-fit-everything-freakout-packing moments, but I think things are under control now. We had a good laugh when we checked the weather in Kigali.



Don't worry. We're pretty confident this is a mistake. Next post will most likely be from Heathrow, UK. Bon Voyage!

Congrats to Jenny (sister) and Jeff on their engagement to be married. Click for more soaking wet pictures