Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Gorillas in the Mist- Day 10 & 11

Seems Rwanda has turned me into a hyperbpowlic maniac-the beauty here is magic! The country is certianly a looker.... breathtaking vistas as far as the eye can see, if the world's countries were in a beauty contest Rwanda would get a prize!

I find it hard to fathom that a place that looks like heaven could ever have decended into hell. When i imagined coming here i thought of red dusty roads, trees bare of leaves and rubbish and mud everywhere... instead it is lush, green and full of foliage.

Yesterday we went and saw the Gorillas int he wild and it was such a privledge to spend an hour in their presence. To reach our designated Gorilla family, we had to trek into thick jungle in the presence of armed guards. It was sometimes scary but mostly amazing....

I wont give a blow by blow account- it would or could take hours- what i would say is that if you ever get the chance to spend some time in rural Rwanda (on the Ugandian and DRC boarder) do it- as an hour with the gorillas will stay with you forever.

KP

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1 comment:

Joannie said...

Yes, I love seeing the gorrilas at the zoo, let alone in the wild, there is something awesome about them, the look in the eye, or something. yes, know I remember, Kathy, when I was little going to see a gorilla in a cage at the zoo in sydney, it was called King Kong would you believe. Anyhow, the cage wasn't as big as Hannah's bedroom, probably something like 6 X 6 mtrs. The gorilla was standing up at the back of the cage and was chained by the arm I think, and was growling - isn't that amazing. It is rare to see animals that are happy at the zoo, even these days, but at least there is a little more compassion, knowledge or something.

About the orphaned children, I agree with the person on your trip, you are responding emotionally and that ain't a bad thing. Maybe you could find out the contact details for one of the places that particularly struck you and raise some money to send to them, a dinner party, raffle or something.

cheers, Joannie

PS: The people I shared with in sydney, and I, did a fund raiser for landrights. would you believe we had 70 people for dinner, it was amazing, the preparation, and the night went well, something I feel happy to have been a part of.