the last trek

after an unintentional 17 hours of driving (suppose to be only 8) we arrived in bwindi national park safely. exhausted after only 3 hours sleep and worn out from a seemingly endless car ride, lacey and i trekked to a family of gorillas. thankfully the gorillas had moved right to the edge of the forest so the trek was only 1 hour to reach the apes. we spent 1 hour observing the gorillas: 1 silverback, 4 babies/youth, and 12 adults. i was struck by their mannerisms because they seem very similar to humans. we got within 5 feet of an adult that just sat their watching us, calm as can be. it is amazing how comfortable they were with our presence. much of the 1 hour we had with them we spent sitting alongside them as they ate, relaxed, and played. i wish i would have taken a picture of the similar way the people on our trek were sitting and how the ape positioned themselves because it was almost identical.

the following day we took a village walk. we visited a banana brewery where we tasted the three stages of production: juice, wine, and gin. i wasn't too impressed with the juice or wine but the gin was quality. i ended up buying a water bottle size amount from the brewer's wife which cost me 5,000 shillings (approximately $3). next we visited a traditional healer who shared herbal treatment techniques with us. finally we visited the pigmy (sp?) tribe and they performed traditional dances for us. i felt uncomfortable during their performance because they became the "attraction" and i the "tourist". i would have rather sat down and spoke with them as individuals about the social challenges associated with moving from life in the forest to an entirely new lifestyle. despite my discomfort toward the end, the village walk was fun and educational overall.

on the last leg our a final travels in uganda we drove through ishasha (sp?), the southern part of queen elizabeth park. we drove this way hoping to see the tree climbing lions (1 of the 2 populations in all of africa) but were not successful :(

my time traveling uganda has officially come to end. i remain in masaka town to finish last minute work responsibilities for now, and soon i will be heading home. it's been 9.5 weeks and i can hardly believe it. i have gotten quite comfortable here in africa. coming home will be yet another experience to add to learning i've gained on this trip.