The Gorillas and Lake Chill'ing in Uganda

Tracking the gorillas in Rwanda's Parc National Des Volcans was no walk in the park. We had to hike through bamboo, stinging nettles, over vines and through steep terrain as the ranger hacked through the deep bush with his machette. Our supposedly short walk ended up to be six hours of tough hiking. With one ranger and two armed guards, we made our way up and then down a volcano to see Gorilla Group 13 who allowed us to watch them lie around, eat, and play under a canopy of trees and bush. It's surreal seeing the gorillas in their home, often as close as five feet away. We circled the group or the gorillas walked past us only a couple of feet away, grunting and carrying their young on their backs. We saw about 8 or 9 out of 650 wild gorillas left in the world (located only in Rwanda, Uganda and troubled Congo). The gorillas, identified by their nose print are always followed by armed rangers but they are free to roam wherever they please. Not good on our walk as I wanted the ranger to pass a message to the gorillas, "Please stop moving." The gorillas behave very human-like and when they make eye contact with you, it almost feels like they want to communicate.

After an easy border crossing into Uganda and a motorbike taxi ride to the town of Kisoro, I took a scenic ride to Kabale through terraced farmed hillsides, little villages and isolated lakes. I am now relaxing on one of the thirty or so islands on Lake Bunyonyi. It's very beautiful. The waters are very calm due to the numerous islands which act as wind breakers. Riding one of the small dug-out canoes as it is paddled slowly across the water perfectly prepares you for the peaceful pace of life here. Taking a stroll around the terraced island, paddling in the lake, washing some clothes or catching up on some reading is the extent of my activities. Saw some pygmies along the way. I didn't think they were that short.