While amazing, the safari wasn’t exactly smooth sailing.  In attempts to be thrifty and save money for the months of travel remaining ahead of us, we set out to find a budget safari operator.  We did succeed in finding a trip a little lighter on our wallets but came to find out there were many corners cut in the process.  We ended up in an overcrowded, falling apart land cruiser with a motley crew of other clients, all with itineraries of varying length content and price.  This crew included a Korean guy who had zero interest in animals (didn’t even bring a camera)and spent the whole trip napping, talking about casinos or taking cigarette breaks, as well a Finnish guy who was suffering from a severe allergic reaction causing his mouth to swell up like a blowfish and was therefore miserable the entire trip.  The former should have saved his cash and smoked his cigarettes at home, and the latter probably should have been in a hospital.

our motley crew on the rim of Ngorogoro crater

The guide had lost his binoculars (a somewhat essential tool for animal spotting), we got three flat tires in four days, the shocks had to be replaced, the tent zippers didn’t work (more of a problem than usual when you can hear hyenas howling outside your tent during the night), the steering wheel became dislodged, and a fender fell completely off the vehicle (“hakuna matata guys” assured our guide as he threw the fender up on the roof, and proceeded to borrow our swiss army knife to cut strips of rubber from the punctured tire to use as ‘rope’ to strap the fender onto the roof.  and on we went)

Flat Tire Number 1

our guide macguyvering rubber ties with the help of a local masai warrior

Members of the Masai tribe who subsist solely on the meat, milk and blood of cattle

New tire, ready to ride in style!

Although all the logistics didn’t go quite as promised, when you can feel the warm breath of an elephant as he saunters past you, all of those hiccups fade into the background.

We spent 5 days on the road, exploring Serengeti national park and the surrounding area including the massive and magnificent Ngorogoro crater.  The landscapes were stunning; vast plains stretching out seemingly endlessly, crystal lakes, and savannahs dotted with whimsical Baobab trees.  The equatorial sunsets were breathtaking and led to nights sleeping under the immense star studded sky

And the animals….OH the animals! The mosaic of stripes as zebras grazed head to tail across the plains, the graceful gazelles loping through the grass, the tiny wildebeest babies wobbling on their brand new still-spindly legs, the herds of elephants with wrinkly skin and wise eyes drinking their fill at the watering holes, the elegant egrets perched on massive and beastly buffaloes…

We felt like we had walked straight into The Lion King (and I’m not gonna lie, the soundtrack may have been playing on repeat in my head).

We also had some amazingly lucky spottings throughout our trip.  (And in the end, you can pay through the nose to stay in nice lodges on safari and have vehicles that don’t fall apart, but you can’t pay the lions to show up for you).

We saw the very rare tree climbing lions in Tarangire national park (who look so soft and cuddly it was all I could do to stop myself from climbing up for a snuggle), we saw a pair of elusive and endangered rhinos in Ngorogoro crater, and a massive pride of lions (we counted 16!) lounging in the Serengeti.   One night while brushing my teeth at the campsite, I heard Andreu urgently whispering my name outside the ladies room and came rushing out, mouth full of toothpaste just in time to see an elephant walk right through our campsite to take a long drink from the leaking water tank allotted for our showers!

Famous and Cuddly Tree Climbing Lions

And to top it off, on our way out of the Serengeti we saw a leopard perched in a Baobab tree sleeping away a lazy afternoon…or so we thought…  Soon enough he glided down the trunk of the tree and slipped into the tall prairie grass.  Crouching down, so we could only see the tips of his ears and his swishing spotted tail, the leopard stealthily stalked through the grass toward an oblivious thompson’s gazelle and her baby.  We felt as if we were right in the midst of a National Geographic documentary.  Adrenaline pumped through all of us as we watched with anticipation the mighty cat approach the unsuspecting antelope.  The suspense was unreal (and for me, but none of the men, edged with a bit of hope that the mama and baby would scamper off just in time).  In the end the leopard pounced and made his double kill gracefully and instantaneously right in front of our eyes.  It was a thrilling, once in a lifetime event to witness, and as our guide said in response to my twinge of sorrow for the victims “hakuna matata Meghan, this is nature”

There is something so incredible about seeing nature at its rawest and purest. Untouched by humans, beautiful, cyclical and fascinating.  It is moving and exciting and thrilling and makes you feel fiercely alive.

We are left feeling in awe of mother Earth and so lucky to have had the experience.  And since a picture is often worth a thousand words, (and we just can’t choose) we leave you with a few more of our favorites….

Elephants on Parade

Elephant Kisses

Newborn Wildebeest on wobbly legs

Wildebeests, and Buffaloes, and Zebras, oh my!

King of the hill

Sipping a beer poolside at "Hotel Rwanda" in Kigali

Rwanda is a beautiful country, lush and green and very deserving of it’s nickname, “land of a thousand hills.”  Just about the size of Maryland, but with almost 11 million people, it is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. Because of this as you drive through the country side you see every one of its “thousand hills” terraced up to the tippity top with fields of bananas, tea, and coffee, making a beautiful patchwork of green and brown and red.

Due to an influx of foreign aid after the 1994 genocide and the smart and efficient rebuilding of the country on the part of the government it is quite developed, with modern cosmopolitan cities and myriad safety regulations otherwise unheard of in East Africa.

There is a stark contrast as you cross over the border from Uganda.  All of the sudden boda boda drivers wear helmets; and not only that but they have them for passengers too! Streets are paved, the grocery store carries Oreos, and tampons, and the streets are pristine (in fact plastic bags are actually outlawed throughout the country).

We found the people to be warm and welcoming (and the gorillas as well for that matter!), the landscapes beautiful, and the fruit delicious!

However I found myself a bit overwhelmed by Rwanda’s dark past. ( Fair warning here; the next bit is not so cheery and somewhat rambling so if you aren’t in the mood, feel free to stop here).   While I had done a fair amount of reading and self education on the tragic events of 1994 before coming here, what I learned was so horrific and unfathomable that I have to admit I still felt a bit detached from it.

But once in Rwanda it was hard not to think about it constantly.  The genocide was so recent and so brutal that although the country seems to be thriving and it is rarely spoken of, I found myself reflecting on and trying to make sense of the genocide almost continuously (I failed at the latter).

Sometimes it was staring us in the face, as we passed buildings wrought with bullet holes or men hobbling by missing legs or arms.  But usually it wasn’t apparent; not in the manicured lawns or fleets of shiny Japanese motorcycles or the shopping malls.  People seem happy, but you just can’t help but imagine as you walk through Kigali the bloody gravesite the city turned into 18 years ago.

It was a horrifically unique genocide in that the majority of people participated; civilians as well as military; men, women, children;neighbors raping neighbors, men mutilating their in-laws,  teachers killing their students, students killing their teachers, priests killing their congregations. As you cram in a bus with 20 other people, you wonder who around you has what history.  With the mass involvement it is likely that many in that van with you were directly traumatized by the events.  Is the guy next to you one of the ones who sliced off his neighbors head? Did the woman in the front seat get forced to watch her children die? Are your peers at the bar orphans of genocide?

Stained Glass Window at the Kigali Genocide Memorial

We visited the Kigali genocide memorial, a really well put together tribute to the lives lost, a remembrance of the atrocities, a questioning of the international community’s lack of intervention, and a plea to not let this insane and horrific human tendency continue to reoccur.  Highly recommended for anyone who happens to venture to Kigali…

On my own I also went to a memorial outside of Kigali in a town called Nymata.  At this site in April 1994 over 10,000  Tutsis came seeking refuge in the Catholic church.  All were slaughtered.

Inside the church along the pews lie all the clothing of all the people who lost their lives there.   Beaten to death, hacked with machetes one after another after another.  All of this for no other reason than being Tutsi.  Seeing their t-shirts and hats and dresses  and baby onesies lying there in heaps on the church floor in the exact place where they were brutally murdered was horrifying and moving.  Skulls were also  on display, showing fractures from machetes and large holes made by hammers.  In the back there was a crypt with floor to ceiling  shelves of skulls and bones.  Being there was a gripping and nauseating experience,  but certainly gave a sense of the amount of people who were senselessly and brutally murdered –and this was just in one night in one church…

The most excruciating part of the visit for me was meeting with the guide at the end. He gave me some more information, showed me where the door was blown in, the bullet holes and other details.  I asked if he was from the town of Nymata.  He said yes, and went on to explain that as a 12 year old he had escaped alone into the woods and ran for 3 months, sleeping in forests and swamps evading those trying to murder him until the genocide was over.  There I was standing there talking to a man just about my age, handsome and pleasant  and I just couldn’t even fathom everything he had endured.  I don’t know how his life can be anything but shattered, I don’t know how he can be here and go on and live with this and talk about it.  I didn’t know whether it was right to ask about his family, but in the end I decided to.  All dead.  Every single one.

The one piece of hope I was able to walk away with was the country’s current focus on unity and rebirth.  Former murderers and victims (inexplicably) coexist seemingly peacefully in Rwanda.  The guide I talked with stated that today’s children are unaware of tribal divisions altogether. And as I walked out of the church I passed by a local school where kids ran around playing soccer and shrieking gleefully, as they tend to do universally.  No signs of Rwanda’s past to be found on their faces, hopefully just the start of Rwanda’s bright future…

I’ll end with a quote from the genocide memorial which I found hit home;

“If you must remember, remember this…
The Nazis did not kill
six million Jews…
nor the Interahamwe kill
a million Tutsis,
they killed one and then another,
then another…
Genocide is not a single act of
murder,
it is millions of acts of murder.”
–Stephen D. Smith, Executive Director, Aegis Trust, 2004

Hotel De Milles Collines (of Hotel Rwanda fame) where Paul Rusesabagina saved 1,000 Tutsis

So it has been over 20 years that I have longed to see gorillas in the wild, and it turned out to be even more amazing than I ever imagined.  As I stood mere feet from the gentle giants yesterday, I had to pinch myself to know it was real. I am still on cloud nine…

Virunga Mountains, home of the mountain gorillas

We got up at the crack of dawn and took off in a group of 8 along with a guide, a tracker and “path clearer” with a machete who we came to appreciate greatly.  We were in search of the Hirwa group of gorillas, one with 17 members including a newborn baby.  We started out hiking straight up the side of the mountain, through a bamboo forest and into deep dense vegetation.  There were no paths or trails, hence the machete was quite useful.  It was steep, steep, steep and the rain forest was thick and full of stinging nettles.  At times it felt like a battle of man vs the vegetation (often vegetation prevailed).   After about 2 hours of this our guide stopped and put on gloves and protective pants. When we asked him why he was doing this he said “now we are entering the bush.”  The 8 of us looked at each other incredulously…what had we just been through if not the bush??  Well, we were soon to find out as the hike got even more intense, traversing terrain where growth grew up above our heads, and descending into valleys so steep it was all we could do to stay on our feet (I think Andreu may have spent about half the descent on his bottom-but he was happy as it gave him validation for lugging his water proof pants around for 6 months).

bush-whacking

well equipped for the jungle

And then we came upon the gorilla family.  Our guide, who they know well, called out to them, communicating that we were approaching and coming in peace.  I could hear chest beating and rustling leaves in the bushes all around us and then, all of the sudden, there I was face to face with a beautiful gorilla sitting peaceful chomping on eucalyptus leaves.  My heart skipped a beat and I could barely breathe.

For the next hour we were right in the thick of this troop of gorillas, feeding and playing and napping.  The silverback approached us and stood regally for several minutes, mere feet away, as if posing for us before stretching out for a nap and cuddle with a few of his offspring (fun fact: gorillas are one of the only male mammals to bond with their young and will even raise them in the event that the mother dies).  Younger gorillas wrestled and climbed trees all around us, so close that at times they were within arm’s reach.  We even got to see a mother carrying her twin one year old babies!

just chilin

Buddies

snacking

SO close!

The gorillas were majestic, beautiful, graceful and peaceful. Absolutely fascinating to watch.  It was so special to get to be a part of their world for a moment… definitely one of the very coolest experiences of my life and one I will never forget!

Happy as a Clam

Mama with twin babies

Regal Silverback

Word on the street is that they pick the most fit looking people to track the largest gorilla family which resides the farthest up the mountain.  Therefore I plan to wear my sportiest outfit and do lots of push ups in the morning (and force Andreu to as well) so that we will have bulging biceps and  hopefully be picked for the big hike!

oh man, I am absolutely beyond belief excited. Words can not describe it….stay tuned for the play by play!

Dickens shares a sweet treat with preschoolers in Rukingiri, Uganda

Porridge Time

We have spent the last few days in Rukungiri, Uganda visiting Betty, who is a friend of a friend, and an absolutely amazing woman.  She raised herself from the age of 7 and put herself through school by working as a maid for missionary families and convincing them to let her attend class one day a week.  Today she is raising two beautiful children, managing a foundling church, preaching,  getting a new preschool up and running, and somehow also having time to help everyone who comes her way .  All this while her husband is away in the U.S. at seminary school.  This lovely woman opened her home and town to us and could not have been more kind or generous.  It was really a pleasure to get to know her and her family and see the good work she is doing in Rukungiri. (Thanks so much for the connection Jess!)

Me with Betty's Daughter, Ebenezer (who fortunately goes by the nickname "benny")

We got to spend a day at the small nursery school where Betty is builder, teacher and principal. Going to preschool is a rare luxury but Betty strives to provide an affordable option so kids can start getting exposed to reading, writing and English (which doesn’t happen  in most homes as many parents are illiterate). Supplies were incredibly sparse, nothing but a few benches and a chalk board but Betty is hoping it will grow with time.  First on my to do list when I get back to the U.S is figuring out how to collect/donate/ship a big old box of colorful children’s books her way (any suggestions or ideas for this are most welcome).  The kids were of course delightful and we had a great time teaching them duck duck goose (or cuppa, cuppa, umbe as it translates).  Sharks and minnows was slightly less successful, as the first little minnow  “shark Andreu” went after  burst into tears, frightened out of her wits by the big scary bearded Muzungu chasing after her…Not to worry though, by the time we left the same girl gave Andreu a great big goodbye hug and smile.

While in Rukungiri I also got to check out The Aids Support Organization (TASO), an astoundingly successful organization with 11 branches throughout Uganda which is becoming a model for many other African countries to follow in caring for their HIV positive citizens.  Uganda is one of the only countries in Africa to have seen a decline in HIV rates over the past 2 decades (from 15% in 1997 down to 6% by 2007) .  While this is likely due to a number of factors, TASO, started in 1987 by a woman who lost her husband to AIDS, seems to be a major one.  The main idea behind it was to de-stigmatize HIV, thereby allowing those affected to access care.  Today it has about 100,000 clients and is an expansive network of services for those fighting HIV.  There is medical treatment, including prophylaxis, anti-retroviral therapy, and treatment of opportunistic infections, psychosocial counseling, home care visits, services for children with AIDS and orphans of AIDS, and extensive educational outreach and HIV screening.  The educational outreach is one of the most ingenious pieces in my opinion.  It is done through musical/drama performances and all players are HIV positive themselves, in an effort to eliminate stigma and relate best to those affected.

I spent my day at TASO working in the clinic with a nurse who specializes in preventing mother to child transmission of HIV.    The catch 22 here is that HIV is transmitted through breastmilk and many mothers here can’t afford any other option and therefore must risk infecting their babies to prevent starvation and malnutrition.  Despite this obstacle, TASO has managed to greatly reduce the number of mother to child transmissions by starting pregnant women on ART early on.

TASO's Fleet of Boda-Bodas ready for home care and outreach visits

From Kibale we headed to the southern edge of Uganda and stayed for some R&R on beautiful lake Bunyonyi, which means “many little birds” and is quite aptly named.  Everywhere you look are gorgeous little birds with vibrant streaks of color (deep blues, forest greens, lemon yellows) and adorable mannerisms.  And also some not so little ones (see the African crested crane, Uganda’s national bird below)

As we have learned there are endless different types of birds and all of them have wonderful names that roll of your tongue and sound like they could be high school bands (olivaceous warbler, klaas’s cuckoo) nail polish colors (cinnamon chested bee eater), names of princes (malachite kingfisher) or tasty cocktails (African pied wagtail or cubbs cisticola)

Lake Bunyonyi

Along with bird watching on the lake we also attempted maneuvering a Ugandan dug-out canoe.  This is essentially a hollowed out trunk of a eucalyptus tree and therefore comes in any manner of contours and levels of symmetry.  Although these canoes can be seen gliding along seamlessly all over the lake, navigated by locals going to market or work, or even kids on their way to school, we were hopeless inept at navigating this beast.  We paddled and steered our little hearts out but seemed to go in nothing but circles.  After a few days of practice we have improved slightly, and we were comforted to know that we aren’t the first to have failed miserably at the task.  Apparently what we performed out on the lake is referred to locally as the “muzungu corkscrew.

Correct use of dug out canoe

Our attempt

Tomorrow we will head to Rukungiri to visit friends of our good friends (Jess & Eric) and see if we can lend a hand at a local HIV/AIDS clinic…

Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda

Our Little TreeHouse in the Jungle

Elephant Tracks!

The unbelievable highlight of this stay was the chance to visit wild chimpanzees! I still can hardly believe we got to do this. My 9 year old self would be dying of jealousy.  The park has 1400 chimps including three troops which have, over the process of many years been habituated to humans for research and tourism.  We had so much fun getting to meet these distant cousins, watching them climb and eat in the trees and even came upon one taking a snooze in the grass and got up real close.  They are truly fascinating creatures with movements and expressions that are uncannily human. Take a look…