although the wooden platform on which martin stood was not so towering as to rival that of the surrounding trees , nevertheless it afforded longer vistas such that , for the first time , martin was able to glimpse , in the distance , the taller buildings in central goma itself and , further along the same bank of the lake although , due to the natural geography of the lake , appearing as if they lay on a separate shore , the lights and structures of the town of gisenyi in rwanda .