Uganda

Believe it or not, I found a hairier being than Michiel. Yup, had to come to Uganda to find it. And, I fell in love at first sight too. Maybe there are some parallels there? Can't read into it too much.

We entered Uganda and set up camp in the first main town we came to, Jinja. Jinja bills itself as the adventure capital of East Africa, and there is plenty to do, but it is also a low-key place to hang out. We spent a day getting thrown out of a raft in class 3 to 5 rapids on the legendary Nile, and decided we wanted to keep nursing the adrenaline kick. So we jumped into kayaks for a few days to learn just how big that weany class 2 rapid looks when you are that much closer to the water. In the end, we ended up surfing a few. Nice warm water, and not even very many crocodiles. The campsite bar was perched high above the Nile so we could enjoy deserved late afternoon beers with an unrivaled view. A week later we were ready to hit the road again.

We've really enjoyed Uganda. It's lush and green, which pleases our Seattlite senses. And the people are friendly, open and candid. Conversations take unexpected turns, and people don't hold back in asking pointed questions. "Do you have cows in America?" is pretty easy to answer, but "Are you going to try to have kids as soon as you get home?" is a little tougher.

But we came to Uganda with one particular thing in mind above all else. It required us to travel to the eastern edge of the country, to the afromontane rainforest bordering the DR Congo. After an extremely long and dusty bus ride, where all we had to eat was skewers of liver which we promptly threw back out the window for the dogs, we arrived in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

After a morning of very extreme birdwatching, we were able to mark off lots of new species. It was crazy. Kelly was holding the binos as Michiel would go through the bird book. Michiel recieved a papercut and Kelly got an elbow sprain. You have never seen such extreme birding before. This was a 4 day event.

Later the first afternoon we visited the local traditional healer who taught us what ailments all the local plants, trees, and barks can treat. He was clothed in goat skin and came from the DRC. He had 2 posters and a button on his shirt of the American Healer, Obama Man!

The pygmies tried to show Michiel how to make fire by rubbing 2 sticks together, but as a white suburban kid, he had no luck. But we are real pros at buying lighters.

After the stop to the local banana gin distiller where we tried the local wine and gin we happily and merrily skipped over to the local resturant and at a nice meal with some locals of the village. The dinner comprised of matoke (mashed green plantains), posho (maize flour and water), and some meat. It was good. We laughed and joked with a local crafts woman and shared our banana gin with others in the 8'x8' room.

Then finally, it was time for the grand finale. It was our turn to see the gorillas. We woke up with a smile, and hopes to see the gigantic hairy human like creatures. We were going to trek through the impenetrable forest to see our cousins. After about 1.5 hours of an uphill hike through thick brush and shoulder high ferns, and bugs the sizes of golfballs, the guide pushed back some grass and revealed the silverback. A 440 pound, 200 kilo, giant. After admiring him for a while and his ability to pull down trees we watched an 8 year old male in a tree eating some leaves. He would stare at us as he ate his morning brunch. Eyes fixed on us, he then swung himself to the ground with a thump.

I could swear he was eyeing me. He was looking right at me. He was just beautiful. He ambled over and sat right next to me. Just inches away. It took all my will power not to reach out and touch him. It would be against the gorilla-tracking rules, for disease transmission among other reasons. But you could not wipe the smile off my face. This little guy was so curious, it was so evident in his eyes. And so close...

As I, Michiel, stood away by about 3 feet, I saw that he was eyeing my prize. But the experience to see an 8 year old gorilla, jump off a tree, to meander over to my wife, and sit right next to her as if he wanted to start a conversation, was spiritual. Can't really get much closer to feeling one with the earth than that.

In total it was a pretty small gorilla family--only about 8 individuals. We moved over to watch a mother with her baby for 30 minutes. The baby was born on November 4, 2008. The guide wants to name him Obama. We're crossing our fingers.

Overall, seeing the gorillas was so much more than we had expected.