the hydrosite

This morning brought a new adventure. Caleb and the boys all got on bikes and headed out for the hydrosite. (Caleb's day job, among many other things, is the running of a hydropower site near Ruhengeri.) Lydia and I climbed into the truck, picked up Jesse (who actually knew how to get there), and headed out to the hydrosite ourselves. The plan was that the boys would bike there as it happens to be down a rather large hill from our house and then we would pick them and the bike up for the ride back up the hill to home. I'd never been to the hydrosite before, so I was excited to get to see it! 

I've asked so many questions, and while I still don't feel like I have the whole story on how this hydropower thing works, I think I've got the basics. There is some water. That water runs down this pipe thing pictures above. There is a turbine somewhere that the moving water turns. By turning the turbine, the water generates power. Apparently, the site produces enough power for the city we live in. Pretty neat, huh?

This thing is a channel that was built at the hydrosite. How this thing and the giant pipe are related, I'm not sure, but it's still pretty cool. Maybe this channel funnels the water into the pipe... 

It creates a lazy river that one absolutely must take advantage of. It's basically exactly like The Grand Oasis Hotel in Biloxi without the casino and all the people smoking. I call that a win.

Lyd and Moses supervised by Jesse.

Moses fights the current determinedly.

We nimbly walked along the sides of the canal. We all agreed that were we to fall, we would fall right so as not to fall down the side of the mountain. As no one fell at all, it ended up being an unnecessary agreement. After we were done exploring, we got back home by fixing seven bikes in the back of the truck as well as several people as well as a full cab of people. Real life tetris.