Yesterday, we went to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda to trek the mountain gorillas. We took the bus from Kigali to Ruhengeri the day before and stayed at a strange hotel in that city. We had asked the woman at the hotel to arrange a ride for us in the morning so that we could travel to the park headquarters in Kinigi by 7 in the morning. We thought everything was fine until we saw her at 9 pm at night and she told us she would talk to transport people the next day. Apparently her english was not as good as her french. So we had a momentary panic. If a person does not show up by 7am at the headquarters, his/her 500 USD permit becomes invalidated. There is no way to reach the headquarters without private transport and that is virtually impossible to find at 6 in the morning in a small town. Luckily the woman had some friends at another hotel and they were able to arrange transport for us, although we didn't know this until close to 11 pm at night. In the morning, things were much better. There was a driver waiting for us just before 6, in an old van. At first, we were unsure if the man was even taking us to the right place, but once we reached the park headquarters, we realized that he had more connections than we thought. He talked to the park warden and arranged to have us see the Susa gorilla group. It is the largest group of gorillas with 39 members, a set of twins, and 3 silverbacks, which makes this group particuarly popular. Many of the tourists at the park requested the group, but our driver had connections and we were selected for the group along with 5 other people. The only catch to the Susa group is that they are the farthest away. This meant that transport was double the price (100 USD!!!) and that the gorrillas were a minimum 2 hour hike away. 2 hours didnt seem like a big deal until we started climbing up the mountain. They failed to mention that it was a strictly up hill hike. Initially this were fine until we reached the heart of the forest. Dirt flooring turned to thick mud and each step uphill was followed by a 2 step slide down the hill. I fell into a thick thorn bush, puncturing my hands and scraping my face; I fell backwards and forwards (on separate occasions) into stinging neddles; and I managed to cover my shoes, pants and hands in thick mud. I was quite the adventure and at one point, I continued to fall down the mountain because I could not help myself from laughing. After a long 2 and 1/2 hours, we heard some noise in the forest, and within a few steps, we saw the first gorilla. It was a blackback (young male) sitting so still that he looked like a statue. Once I got over my disbelief, we continued a few more feet and stubbled into a nesting area. There were huge gorillas resting in nests high in the bush, young gorillas twirling around vines the way children would on a rope tire and others feeding on bamboo shoots. It was simply amazing to watch them. We saw the twin gorillas who are 4 years old. They are the only set of twins in history to survive to this age. Apparently, one of the younger males helped the mother to raise them and this is what allowed them to survive. We were getting very comfortable with the gorillas, standing a mere 5 feet away from them. We got a bit too close though because a silverback (number 3) walked behind one of the men of the group and hit his back. Apparently he hit quite hard so we backed off a bit. As they moved through the forest, we followed them. We saw a mother with her very young infant, and she seemed comfortable passing very close to us. The young gorillas were also so busy playing at some points that they didnt realize how close they rolled towards us. At one point a young baby ran beside me and grabbed my leg. It startled me but it was cute, nonetheless. Near the end of our time with the gorillas, we found the number one silverback. He was huge. Each of us took turns taking photos of us very near him. It was definately a very amazing experience. Gorillas are beautiful creatures and it is amazing how accepting they are of people. After the long trek up the mountain, I was sure that the journey down the mountain would be less painful. I was lucky that there was less slipping and falling involved and obviously less strength, but the trip down was not good for my bad knee. It became really painful going down the mountain and near the end I was hobbling. Today, my knee is stiff and painful. It has always been weak, but I guess I pushed it too far. Oh well, the gorillas were worth it. Luckily, Sarah and Judy are carrying my bags for me while I rest. Next stop, the Serengeti...
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