We included Rwanda in our travels over the month of February. Newly engaged and giddy on that fumes of that special joy we flew in Kigali early one morning, marvelling at the greenery, the cleanliness and the orderliness in this country of a thousand hills.
After a day in Rwanda, visiting the genocide memorial and trying to come to grips with the tragedy that struck this small country nearly 20 years ago, we hopped on a small mini-bus for a two hour trip to Musanze. From there the next day we headed out on our gorilla trek.
It was raining heavily all morning. Water gushed down the sides of all the roads in the purpose built ditches and our group donned waterproofs and plastic bags to attempt to keep ourselves and our cameras dry. Eventually our guide deemed that we had waited long enough and we set off into the somewhat lighter rain.
Up and up we climbed, slipping and sliding in the mud, gratefully for both my stout boots and the stout stick holding me up! The thin air filled less of my lungs than I would have liked but eventually our guide called us to a halt. We divested ourselves of bags and bottles of water, just hanging onto our cameras and slowly approached the family.
The gorillas sat the mist and the rain, hunched against the wet, occasionally turning to look at us or to feed themselves. A mother protectively cradled her young child, trying to keep it warm and dry and feed it some choice leaves. The silverback yawned and showed us his huge teeth, distracting even though I know they vegetarian. His enormous frame overshowed all the others and made sure to keep an eye on us. Every now and then one gorilla would roll around in the leaves to get rid of some water weighing down its fur, sheer pleasure showing on its face.
To be so close to these amazing creatures for even one short hour was worth the money, the climb and the slide back down in the mud! I would recommend it to anyone, the sense of awe is incredible!
After a day in Rwanda, visiting the genocide memorial and trying to come to grips with the tragedy that struck this small country nearly 20 years ago, we hopped on a small mini-bus for a two hour trip to Musanze. From there the next day we headed out on our gorilla trek.
It was raining heavily all morning. Water gushed down the sides of all the roads in the purpose built ditches and our group donned waterproofs and plastic bags to attempt to keep ourselves and our cameras dry. Eventually our guide deemed that we had waited long enough and we set off into the somewhat lighter rain.
Up and up we climbed, slipping and sliding in the mud, gratefully for both my stout boots and the stout stick holding me up! The thin air filled less of my lungs than I would have liked but eventually our guide called us to a halt. We divested ourselves of bags and bottles of water, just hanging onto our cameras and slowly approached the family.
The gorillas sat the mist and the rain, hunched against the wet, occasionally turning to look at us or to feed themselves. A mother protectively cradled her young child, trying to keep it warm and dry and feed it some choice leaves. The silverback yawned and showed us his huge teeth, distracting even though I know they vegetarian. His enormous frame overshowed all the others and made sure to keep an eye on us. Every now and then one gorilla would roll around in the leaves to get rid of some water weighing down its fur, sheer pleasure showing on its face.
To be so close to these amazing creatures for even one short hour was worth the money, the climb and the slide back down in the mud! I would recommend it to anyone, the sense of awe is incredible!
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