Besides the excitement of seeing a friend I've known since I was 13 years old, I was also excited about being in nature, and the BIG event of going gorilla trekking! That area is one of the few in the world that you can do things like gorilla trekking. So it was a double bonus!
With my 6am flight, meaning I had to be there at 4am (and the airport was fairly crowded at that time!), I gained time so made it fairly "early" and just in time to meet her coming by bus. Ruhengeri is a nice small village which is pretty much known for being a base to do gorilla trekking. With an early start, we headed up to the Reception area of Volcanoes National Park and were greeted by the Sacola Traditional Dancers:
Besides a slight delay and us actually getting to the base of the forest to do the actual hike (this is what happens when you pick the "cheaper" car hire!):
Then we were off ... gorilla trekking! They kinda made us bring a porter guy, which we really didn't need him to carry anything, but it was good to have him there for balance and maneuvering - the trek I would say was moderate in difficulty, and we were all sweating. Then da da dum...... we came close and they made us leave our bags and walking sticks behind and then, just like that, there were 3 right in front of us! We were ALL looking to the right to look at them and take pictures and then we hear, "move, move! Move out of the way!" and then we all look to our left and see 3-4 gorillas that wanted to pass us on the trail, but we were in the way! I literally could have reached out and touched them I was so close! It was crraaazzeeee!
And then for the next hour+ we followed this family of 11 around and watched them. It was breathtaking and awesome. Here are my fave pics:
Behind me is a big o silverback. It was monstrous! It "jumped" and literally the ground shook, and then, no joke, it "heard" something (you see it looking at something ahead) it literally pounded at its chest, like you see in movies, and took off. I have to admit, I was a bit scared - this one definitely seemed more agitated than the other calm and easy-going gorillas we were hanging out with!
The experience was really gorillas in the midst, literally and figuratively. The pictures should say enough!
After that "high," we drove out to Uganda near Queen Elizabeth National Park to a beautiful lodge, Katara Lodge. Here are some views:
Hehe. Above is the view from the bathtub and shower - private yet open!
Nice! An infiniti pool overlooking the Queen Elizabeth National Park
THEN.... it was time for the Queen Elizabeth Safari!!!
Yes, this is what you get when you don't have a fancy safari jeep.... just hanging outside the window!
(he was hiding from us, but above is a leopard!)
Above: Christina and I on a boat cruise around the Kasinga Channel
Above: Sooo happy I got that shot!!
Hyena! I have to admit, they are a bit scary looking!
We more or less stalked this poor lion!
Above: Kob and waterbuck
As you can see, our activities were fairly nature oriented! We also did a nature walk and more hiking and trekking:
The above 2 pictures are from a bat cave. Ew!
Christina, as you can see, is quite the nature lover... and quite knowledgeable I have to say about birds! It was a tough call between her and the guide who knew more!
Christina and I with the Kyanmbura (Chambura) gorge behind us... we trekked down there to see chimps (which unfortunately, my battery decided to die and these are taken with my 'back-up' point and shoot camera!
The Alpha chimp hanging out.
After a looong journey, which had 6 hours added to it because somehow when we went to fill up with gas, the lady put in diesel (d'oh!), we made it to Gisyeni, where Christina and her hubby Brenden and baby Evie live. The village was literally, just that, a village - very quaint and pretty. We went to the beach, rode motorbikes around town, went to the market, and even did this nice 4 hour hike at the Gishwati Forest Preserve where Christina, the super mom, took with her baby Evie (I think she is a born outdoors person, she was happy as a clam!):
We had socks pulled up because of red fire ants... which sting pretty bad, so I hear! (we were safe!)
Christina and a chameleon!
Sunset in Gisyeni
Christina, Brenden, Evie and I! Our last evening together!
I know there are a lot of pictures, but sometimes, pictures speak louder than words and this trip especially, we did a lot of sightseeing. I've been to West Africa, and my impressions were that the people are fairly boisterous, fairly smiley, and fun. In more East Africa, Rwanda and Uganda, the people were much more subdued and serious. They obviously have gone through still a somewhat "new" atrocity, the 1994 genocide. That is one of the reasons why I love traveling so much, to learn, or I guess, re-learn about a nation's history and in this case, the more or less recent aftermath. In the case of Rwanda, the history is fairly complicated, but I'll try to do a little synopsis: Rwanda was colonized by Germany and then Belgium. Even prior to this, there were 3 different groups, Tutsi's, Hutu's, and Twa's. It was the Belgium that segregated them, often based on appearance alone. Like Tutsi's were known to be more tall and lean, also the "tutsi" name alone means something like "rich in cattle," and the Hutu's were shorter and bigger, and the name translates to "slaves." This is a super super basic version of what happened, and this is even similar to South Africa, but the Tutsi's (the 'rich') took control of all high-power positions, and then Hutu's were the "laborers".... but took up the majority of the population. So little by little, the Hutu's obviously wanted to take more control of their country and finally they did it, but Tutsi's still more or less ruled the country with their high-power positions. It was when the assassination of the Hutu leader happened in early 1994 that the Hutu militia and rebels set out on a government-supported rampage to "get rid" of Tutsi's. Much of the hatred was spread out by radio, which the uneducated took way to literally. They say that in 100 days, 20% of the population was murdered and that 99% of the population witnessed some kind of atrocity. The propaganda, especially international, is also unremarkable because they more or less ignored and/or didn't comprehend what was going on, and it was a disaster all the way around.
I saw firsthand when I met Christina's acquaintances that many didn't have too much of an immediate family. Her nanny was an orphan because her parents were murdered. It definitely seems like a taboo subject to talk about the genocide and especially bringing up the whole Tutsi or Hutu thing. Most people didn't talk into detail, just "since the genocide, etc etc." It's no wonder the people are somber and actually, from what I saw, very hard workers and relatively honest (which, no offense, is surprising sometimes in Africa!). Again, the above synopsis is extremely basic, but if you do have time, it is a very complicated yet interesting history and it is worth reading about. When I got back, I re-watched Hotel Rwanda, and am about to read "Land of 1000 Hills," which is supposed to be good.
Random FYI, the local language of Rwanda is called "Kinyarwanda." The 2 words I picked up the most (and I try to do this every country, at least learn something) is: "Murakoze" (they say this A LOT, which is nice!), which means, thank you. And "murabeho" which means "bye."
Sooo.... here are some final pictures of just random "life" pictures I took along the way:
A refugee camp near the border of Uganda - now many displaced Congolese.
Sunset somewhere over Africa on the flight home.
Both Rwanda and Uganda are beautiful countries, very hilly and green. There is a lot as a tourist in both places, and as a recent patient told me, "Africa changes the soul," and it's true! I hope to be back and travel to more of it!!!
Murabeho!
