Beautiful Burundi is a very small country bordered by the giants of Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda to the north.
Like Rwanda, Burundi was colonized by the Germans and later the Belgians and as in Rwanda the Europeans played on ethnic differences to divide and conquer the population.
Where in Rwanda a brutal genocide started in the hands of the Hutu against the Tutsi, in Burundi it was the Tutsi who brought war to the Hutu in a vicious civil war that only now is coming to an end and taking their first steps towards peace.
 
Travelling south from Rwanda the mountains seem to soar even higher into Burundi with stunning scenery and a cool climate.
After climbing high up into the mountains the road descends (rather steeply) down to Bujumbura (Buj) on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Africas second largest lake and the longest lake in the world. The beaches that surround the lake are stunning  with the water a torqoise blue and nice powdery sand.
Burundi was a beatiful small country whose people are outgoing, curious, and love to party. We received a warm welcome from the locals and they were very helpful and interested to talk with us.
Music, dancing, and plenty of drinks along the torqoise waves surrounded by mountains to the north to eating chinese with 3 NGO workers (1 Englishmen, 1 well travelled Spaniard, and 1 Turkish man that resembles a brown Santa Clause in appearance and humbleness-awesome) on the streets of downtown make for a compelling texture of travel.
Travelling south along the endless pristine shores of the lake through Makamba, Mutambora, Nyanza lac, and Mabanda packed tight in the bus with good humoured Burundians, blaring reggae through the speakers (without being ambushed by rebels....relief, lol) watching life go by was brilliant.
 
Before leaving the country our taxi got stopped at the checkpoint along with others apparently with no papers, equals to a good humoured bargain with some of our money back, a good hearted 'bon voyage' from the driver and hiking the rest of the way alongside the mountains and cliffs into Tanzania.