Carly and I have been having an amazing time exploring Rwanda. You could
say we started our journey here with a bang. We were squished in a
taxi on our way to the uganda/rwanda boarder. the taxi was 4-door toyota
corolla, which comfortably seats 5 people. on this particular day we
had 8 people crammed in, four across the back and four in the front. The
driver was actually sharing his seat, half-sitting on someones lap
while driving with his head out the window! We were cruising along the
windy, mountainous road when suddenly five young boys dash out into the
road, I don't know if they were chasing something that was thrown at
them from above or if something fell from the cliff above, but suddenly
our car is veering into the other lane trying to avoid the boys. Luckily
there was no oncoming traffic and four of the boys got out of the way
to safety. The fifth boy was not quite as lucky, the car hit him and his
body sprawled across the hood, he immediately rolled to the side of the
car, where I feared he would be run over. The car stopped and the boy,
thankfully scrambled to his feet and ran off into the bushes. The driver
was very angry and I'm sure he would have beaten the boy if he had not
run off, surely the boys knew this as well because they all scattered
immediately. Thank god the boy was alright and this experience only
makes Carly and I clutch each other even tighter on these long journeys
through the countryside.
The morning of the gorilla trek began at 4:30 a.m. Unbeknownst
to us, there was a one hour time change when we entered Rwanda, so we
woke an hour too early...luckily it was not an hour too late! We met our
driver and headed to Kinigi where we picked up our permit and met some
great new friends who trekked with us for the day. Our guide, Louise
(Lois), explained that it would be a 45minute drive to where we'd start
the trek. It wasn't very far but the road was a land mine of potholes
and boulders. Ahhhh, this explains the necessity to hire a 4-wheel
drive. I would never have imagined this was actually a road used for
vehicles to drive on. We park and begin walking through the little
village and through fields of potatoes and insecticide, plastic bags
hang on sticks to scare away the birds..." Ahhhh, scarecrows!" We walk
for about fifteen minutes then we reach a stone wall. Louise explains
that this is where we'll be joined by 3 armed guards to protect us from
the wild buffalo. She also explains that we are entering the forest,
talk in hushed voices and do not touch the nettles, as she points to a
plant with spikes on the stem...they BURN! I can tell you there is no
way to not touch the nettles as we scramble, slip and slide through the
dense jungle up the steep path. The downpour we heard on our tin roof
last night has made it incredibly slippery. I can tell you this is the
first time I've ever hiked with armed guards, which surprise me every
time I turn and see their big rifle slung across their chest. I can also
tell you that nettles do BURN! After about an hour of hiking Louise
explains that the trackers haven't yet located the gorilla family that
we've come to see. When we got our permits that morning we were also
assigned to a gorilla family, one of about ten families in the Rwandan
side of The Volcanoes National park. In addition to our 3 armed guards
and our 2 guides there are two "trackers" who spend most of the day with
this family. This way they know where the family has spent the night
and they know exactly where to begin looking for them in the morning.
Finally the trackers contact Louise on her radio, they found them, we
just need to go back down the trail about 50 yards and cross a steep
gulley. No problem, we slip, trip and slide our way down and across it.
By this time our bums are mud-slicked and burning of nettle kisses!
Finally they tell us to drop our backpacks, "the gorillas are here". We
slowly and quietly follow the guide and trackers, suddenly the bushes
are moving but before I see anything I hear deep grunting sounds. Soon I
realise it's the tracker, he's signalling to the gorillas we are no
threat, just hear to visit! There he is, the huge silverback gorilla
sits alone munching on branches. He uses his hands, sliding one hand up
the stem to swiftly remove the leaves and stuff the fistful into his
mouth. He doesn't even notice us. We watch him until he strolls off,
stoping to pose for us as he looks out over the forest. We continue
tripping over jungle vines, our guides and trackers making their way
with ease and grabbing our hands to help us along the way. Soon we are
face to face with the huge brown eyes of a young gorilla. He's laying on
his back, his arm draped across his forehead, looking straight at us.
He is so beautiful. His hands look just like mine. His feet look just
like my dads!! He scratches his belly and let's out a big yawn, his
teeth are white with black ends. His nose is flat and wide, his eyes are
penetrating. There's a momma grooming her baby, the baby stretched
across her belly. They are just hanging out, doing what gorillas do! We
are only able to spend one hour with them so we won't cause them too
much stress. We watch a young one hang from a tree branch, we laugh as
the branch cracks and breaks from his weight. At one point a mother with
a 12 week old baby begins walking down the path away from us and walks
right in front of Carly, I can see the excitement and fear in Carly's
face as the mother pauses directly in front of Carly to wait for her
baby to catch up. Just an arms-length away from Carly who is gripping
the guides hand so tightly she's lost all blood flow! It's the most
amazing thing, they are such peaceful, calm and non-confrontational
creatures. The hour passes much too quickly, I have ALMOST forgotten
about my burning legs, arms and hands. Next time i'll bring gloves! We
hike down, well most of us do...others fall/slide down...gracefully of
course! What a day!
I
cannot describe the beauty of this country, the lush green forests and
fields is beyond description. It is really a tropical paradise with
trees of every type from pines and furs to palms and leaves all growing
on steep slopes with waterfalls and rivers surprising and delighting
around every turn. If you have ever thought about coming to Africa...now
is the time! The life is simple, there are smiling guardian angles
everywhere and the only thing they have to do today is help out a
mzungu!
We
are now in Kigali, where we'll visit
some of the many genocide museums. The next e-mail will not be so happy
but full of horrific truths about the past and the powerful people that
have, once again, overcome the wrath of the white man.
Rwanda, land of a thousand hills and ten thousand smiles!
All my love,
Bonnie
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