Yesterday, I woke up without a plan. Then I felt the urge to run away from the city. The hustle of bustling urban areas chokes life out of me. What followed was an exhilarating ride to Lake Kivu. Spinning my wheels to the lake felt as invigorating as the destination itself.

After a brief stopover at Lake Kivu Serena Hotel, I spun my spokes to Nyamyumba Beach, approximately seven kilometers from the busy streets of one of Rwanda’s secondary cities. There are many luxury resorts in this suburb. The entire area is being transformed into a tourism hotspot.

As mentioned above, I hadn’t planned this trip. I didn’t even remember to book a room before departure. Usually, I plan a couple of weeks before hitting the road and mobilize sponsors who foot my bills. That wasn’t the case this time around.

Most hotels along the Nyamyumba strip are expensive. My razor-thin budget limited my options severely. Nevertheless, I was confident I would get a good deal somewhere. After all, I have a relationship with most of these accommodation facilities.

The first resort I went to was fully booked. So was the second one. And the third one. I wasted about an hour hopping from one lodging facility to another, trying to find a room, in vain. Finally, I grabbed a cup of coffee and made a few phone calls. At the end of the day, I checked into the only vacant room at Kivu Park Hotel, near the most popular downtown beach clubs.

For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, movement restrictions have been fully lifted. In addition, the heat waves wreaking havoc in western countries, coupled with the flexibility brought by remote work, are contributing to the explosion of tourism this summer.