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| Wazungu in the Mist |
Any one who knows me knows that I'm not up for big adventures when I travel. I like a safe beach with a nice hotel and maybe some room service if possible. Yes, I live in Tanzania but I don't live in the bush and most of the time I have electricity and running water, Oh, and a toilet that I can sit on. Roughing it for me is the fact that we don't have fast food, our plumbing is not the best and my internet is way too slow. That is why when I began to plan my trip to Rwanda to see the mountain Gorillas I was very nervous to say the least. Planning a trip here in Africa is not like America. There are no numbers to call for reservations, no travel agents booking your flights and getting visas and permits are quite a challenge.
Our big trip was set for the end of April. We had to decide what day we would see the Gorillas. You only get one hour with them and must obtain a permit to do so. The day you pick has to stick since your permit must indicate that day so travel plans need to be set to make sure you arrive for that day. First problem, reliable transportation. See thats not so easy here in Africa. We had no flights to Rwanda so we were depending on buses. Now I have lived her long enough to know buses are not dependable. You just show up on the day you want to travel, hope there is a seat and hope the bus is going where you are headed. No phoning ahead and no reservations.
Next problem, safe and secure accomodations. I tried to get reservations but no one answered the phone and no one replied to our emails. I had a good idea of where I wanted to stay but I had to once again depend on getting there and praying there was a room available.
So once we left Tanzania and bused into Rwanda (well we actually walked across the boarder because buses do not cross), found another bus willing to take us to Kigali, we did find our Hotel and there was a room for us. I say Hotel but it was actually a youth hostel with a shared bathroom. Now I didn't stay in one of these even when i was a youth so when i tell you it was WAY out of my box i am not joking. I felt like Ann Frank up in this little room in the attic and forget about finding the bathroom if you have to go in the middle of the night.
WE eventually made it to the mountain where we climbed for an hour up the steepest hill i have ever done (I now have confirmation that i do not need to climb Kilimanjaro). We approached the jungle where we could hear the snapping of twigs and knew we were close to them. I was out of breath, wet from the rain and slept poorly in another room that I would have rather not. As we climbed the rough terian of the mountain we came upon a clearing and there they were, 2 amazingly large silver backs lounging around. I just stood there with awe and wonder at what I was seeing. They looked at me as if they were board and knew we would be coming. As if to say "ok, get your hour over with so we can get back to our own lives". They were so huge and so scary and yet i wanted to reach out and touch them. I wanted to interact and play with these hairy, cuddly looking creatures. W
e moved along through the jungle and came upon many more of them. They never seemed bothered by our apperence, they just continued on with their daily routine of eating, sleeping and playing and allowed us for the briefest moment to share in their existence.
I have never done anything so incredible in my life. I have never backed packed, traveled without plans or seen something that so many will never experience. Our trip went unbelevable well. We caught all our buses, saw historical memories of the rwanda genocide and had a chance to view these precious animals all in record time. We did two countires, 8 cities, 4 modes of transportation, the mountain gorillas, serengeti all within 6 days. My ideas of traveling have changed. Although i will always enjoy a sunny beach and 5 star accomidations I now know what my abilities are to see this beautiful continent and experience more of its history, sights and outstanding secenery.
Any one who knows me knows that I'm not up for big adventures when I travel. I like a safe beach with a nice hotel and maybe some room service if possible. Yes, I live in Tanzania but I don't live in the bush and most of the time I have electricity and running water, Oh, and a toilet that I can sit on. Roughing it for me is the fact that we don't have fast food, our plumbing is not the best and my internet is way too slow. That is why when I began to plan my trip to Rwanda to see the mountain Gorillas I was very nervous to say the least. Planning a trip here in Africa is not like America. There are no numbers to call for reservations, no travel agents booking your flights and getting visas and permits are quite a challenge.
Our big trip was set for the end of April. We had to decide what day we would see the Gorillas. You only get one hour with them and must obtain a permit to do so. The day you pick has to stick since your permit must indicate that day so travel plans need to be set to make sure you arrive for that day. First problem, reliable transportation. See thats not so easy here in Africa. We had no flights to Rwanda so we were depending on buses. Now I have lived her long enough to know buses are not dependable. You just show up on the day you want to travel, hope there is a seat and hope the bus is going where you are headed. No phoning ahead and no reservations.
Next problem, safe and secure accomodations. I tried to get reservations but no one answered the phone and no one replied to our emails. I had a good idea of where I wanted to stay but I had to once again depend on getting there and praying there was a room available.
So once we left Tanzania and bused into Rwanda (well we actually walked across the boarder because buses do not cross), found another bus willing to take us to Kigali, we did find our Hotel and there was a room for us. I say Hotel but it was actually a youth hostel with a shared bathroom. Now I didn't stay in one of these even when i was a youth so when i tell you it was WAY out of my box i am not joking. I felt like Ann Frank up in this little room in the attic and forget about finding the bathroom if you have to go in the middle of the night.
WE eventually made it to the mountain where we climbed for an hour up the steepest hill i have ever done (I now have confirmation that i do not need to climb Kilimanjaro). We approached the jungle where we could hear the snapping of twigs and knew we were close to them. I was out of breath, wet from the rain and slept poorly in another room that I would have rather not. As we climbed the rough terian of the mountain we came upon a clearing and there they were, 2 amazingly large silver backs lounging around. I just stood there with awe and wonder at what I was seeing. They looked at me as if they were board and knew we would be coming. As if to say "ok, get your hour over with so we can get back to our own lives". They were so huge and so scary and yet i wanted to reach out and touch them. I wanted to interact and play with these hairy, cuddly looking creatures. W
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