Live gorillas!

I have just returned from an adventure in Northern Rwanda where I got to play with gorillas! I was not at any type of zoo—but rather in the middle of a dense bamboo forest, literally inches from nine mountain gorillas—including one silverback. So let me start from the beginning…we (Deborah-the doctor here and I) left Kigali on Friday afternoon. The drive to Ruhengari (where the Volcanoes National Park is located) takes about two hours and is so gorgeous! We drove along the “highway” which is only one lane each way, filled with potholes, passing many rural villages. It was a great opportunity to see the countryside here---the roads are very curvy but the hills/mountains are gorgeous. Everywhere you drive—there are so many people in the streets. It really is incredible—the youngest of girls carry huge buckets of water or piles of tree branches on their heads—it is a sight to see. Something eerie as we drove into the more rural areas was that there were so many ruins of houses from the genocide—it was sad to see. They were all missing roofs and most had dense vegetation growing inside of them. It was sad to think about and actually see—becaues you knew exactly what had happened there.

We arrived in Ruhengeri before 6 PM on Friday night. It is a beautiful town. There are these huge volcanoes in the backdrop. Even the air smelled so fresh. We stayed at a little guesthouse that is run by widows of the genocide. We met these kids on the street who play soccer and they walked with Debra and me around the area. I couldn’t get over how gorgeous it was…I wish there was some way to capture the fragrance in the air. We walked through muddy potato fields with the kids. It’s amazing what they do to have fun here—they have no toys whatsoever, so they have makeshift soccer balls (made out of plastic bags and bark that is like twine) that they LOVE and they play with a stick and the outside part of an old bicycle tower. Many of them seem just as happy if not more than American kids.

The next morning we got up early to see the gorillas! It was awesome. There are five or six different families you can choose to see—we chose Sabinyo, which is an especially famous group—they have the biggest and oldest silverback of all the mountain gorillas and also are known for having a very tight knit family. The other good part about choosing this family is that it is a relatively easy trek to see them. This was important not so much because of physical stamina but rather because I was in capri pants and Deborah had no socks on! Everyone looked at us as though we were lunatics—I pictured it a hike through the forest on a path….I was very mistaken….here is what it was like: two men with machetes clear away the dense bamboo so that you can somewhat walk…it was like nothing I’ve experienced before. They have trekkers who find the gorilla family and then a guide takes you to them—after about an hour and a half hike through the densest forest I have ever seen (filled with these stinging nettles…these plants that are covered on the leaves and the stems with tiny hair-like prickles with this poison in them…poison is harmless just burns for about 15 minutes…). So kind of get the picture? Anyway, so back to me and my legging capri pants.. So everyone who is about to “trek” is wearing full on waterproof pants with gaters, hardcore hiking boots, and hiking GLOVES—and there I am in workout pants, Nike running shoes, and an Oak Park River Forest High School tennis sweatshirt. I don’t think I could have been LESS prepared! But at this point, I’m still thinking—I don’t mind getting a little muddy or getting stung by stinging nettles…I’m a tough girl. But after a lot of stares a nice man happened to have a pair of knee high rubber boots in his car that also happened to be my size (it was really weird that he had them like that…but I was so grateful after seeing what the “hike” was like). So after getting appropriately suited up, we were ready to meet our fellow trekkers. They were hilarious!! I wish so much that I could have videotaped these people. First there was Phyllis and her husband/brother/dad (Deborah and I could not figure it out…)-they were a little bit off and never said one word! They were kind of like the creepy people that live in the legendary neighborhood “haunted house” that no one really knows anything about (Humphrey Street people think Mr. McDonald). So then there was Lynn and her mother Carol. They were incredibly nice people and have traveled all over the world. Carol also thinks Lynn is the best thing since sliced bread….still they were fun. I talked to Carol for 35 minutes about how great are online dating services (Lynn met her husband on one…) The last couple was Harvey (“Harv”) Rubenstein and his wife Lisa. They were without a doubt the most hilarious people I have ever met! Harv was like a character straight out of a movie—if gorilla trekking had been Jurassic Park and the gorillas turned and ate the humans—Harv would have definitely been the first to go (kind of like the little guy in Jurassic Park). And his wife was even more of a riot! The whole time she talked about Harv’s asthma and how the day before when they went gorilla trekking he had such a hard time! She also wore BRIGHT orange lipstick and by the time we entered the forest line it was all over her teeth and face. It was too funny…but the best part is—once we were in seeing the gorillas—she and her husband would push people out of the way to ensure they got the best picture possible! At one point, they pushed me and I completely lost my balance nearly falling into a stinging nettle bush. Fortunately Lynn was there to catch me. Sorry to bore you with details of the characters on my trip…but they were too funny!

So anyway, we hiked through the dense brush and then we were literally sitting next to huge gorillas! I couldn’t believe it. They were so cute and majestic at the same time. There were a few babies—and they just played with each other the whole time we were there it was so sweet. And then the babies would jump on the juveniles’ backs and then they would throw them off. The silverback was HUGE and really so relaxed. He is 35 years old! I included a bunch of pictures for you all to enjoy.

The house is filled with people now—I am officially best friends with all people over the age of fifty here—but I have to admit I am enjoying myself. Except for Andrew (who is back…..) I am very comfortable and happy. I will write more tomorrow or Tuesday about my day today and a new project I am starting.

Hope you are all well.