Flashes of lightning illuminate Lake Kivu as thunder crackles above. The storm causes the lights to trip and disrupts the internet connection at our place of rest, the Ihusi Hotel.
The hotel, which overlooks the lake, is a meeting place - or hunting ground - for UN types, election observers, haughty journalists, as well as certain undesirables.
UN cars line the parking lot. French-speaking receptionists ignore requests made in Queen's English and poll monitors insist on parading around in their election observer vests (Can sipping cocktails at the bar could ever be free or fair?
The road from the Rwandan border into Goma is bustling with activity and the construction sites lining it suggest the city is undergoing a facelift.
But when the neatly tarmacked road ends, another Goma presents itself in the form of the gigantic BDGL roundabout.
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