Gorillas in the Mist
Trip Start
Sep 04, 2007
1
15
21
Trip End
Mar 05, 2008
Kigali,
Rwanda
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Everyday a group of 8 people go to visit a gorilla family for one hour. There are 5 gorilla families in the Parc National des Volcans. You are accompanied by a guide and 3 soldiers from the Rwandan army (for protection against poachers and buffalo). There is also a group of 2 to 3 rangers who track each gorilla family. The trackers are able to tell your guide where to take his group in order to see the gorillas. Once you get to the gorillas you can spend one hour watching them which feels like 15 minutes.
I went to see the Susa group which is the most famous of the families in the area
Gorillas
. This group was the one that Diane Fossey did her work with. It is also the largest family in the park (23 members?).I'll admit that I went to see the gorillas mostly because the truck was going there and I might as well. When would I ever have this opportunity again? I was left in total awe by the whole experience.
We walked for 2 and a half hours through bamboo forest to get to the gorillas. We were lucky to get there while the gorillas were resting. They have a daily schedule they follow and had we arrived later they would have been feeding. When they are feeding they are on the move and hard to follow. The entire time we were with them they sat in a clearing so they were easy to see and the light was good for taking photos (you can't use a flash). We got within 4 ft of the gorillas. The silver back even let us within 8 ft to pose with him. We each sat for 4 pictures. Amazing! They are so human like in some ways.
We also got to see the Kigali Memorial Museum for the Rwandan genocide. This is one of the best museums I've been to. Which may not say much because I'm uncultured. It was still great. The layout is wonderful and the information is accessible and very powerful.
On the site of the museum they have mass graves which contain partial remains of victims. There are 250,000 people buried there and room for more. 1 million were killed in only 100 days! The genocide was attempted to be restarted at least one other time since 1997. There is also accounts of the genocide ideology still being taught in some schools!
I was struck most by the fact that these people still live side by side. How could you find the strength to rebuild your life after something like that happened is beyond me. You are living next to someone that may have harmed you or wronged you only years before.
Rwanda was one of the most beautiful places I've visited. Very green, lots of hills, and many tea plantations. From what I experienced everyone is friendly and welcoming.
Comments
gorillas in the mist
You never mentioned before that you were accompanied by 3 armed soldiers for this gorilla excursion! Hiking in a bamboo forest must have been hard. Were there paths to follow or did you have to chop your way through? Can't wait to see your pictures.love, mom.