East-Africa magic spell! hakuna matata.

For years I have been dreaming about going to Africa. The vastness of the plains, the sunsets over the savannah, the smell of the bush in the morning, the wildlife, the people. Let me start by saying that this journey wasn't without challenges, that it took me by surprise, that it was rough at times but every moment of it was absolutely rewarding.

RWANDA/ UGANDA

I walk into Hotel "Des Mille Collines" and I can swear I see Don Cheadle sitting on the veranda overlooking the city, working on his laptop. Nobody else notices him but me. Am I imagining this? Is this my feverish hallucination? Or maybe, just the strong impression the film "Hotel Rwanda" left on me. The film (starring Don Cheadle) follows the story of Paul, the hotel manager who allowed 1200 refugees to take shelter in the hotel during the genocide of the Tutsi in 1994. From our veranda, I can see the local workers busy thatching the roof of what will soon be the new, fabulous swimming pool. This is the same swimming pool that twenty five years ago, the refugees used as their drinking water. The pastoral surroundings don't betray any references to the atrocities and cruelty that occurred in this city not too long ago. We put a flower on the mass grave to remember the 250,000 victims that were brutally murdered with machetes and buried at the genocide museum.

Hundreds of taxi scooters, the main means of transportation around Kigali, each wearing a single color helmet like a zip code, are zooming back and forth looking for clients. It is a cacophony of sound and color. Our guide is gossiping that there is some spying, info-collecting going on via some of the scooters....eerie! Later this evening at the hotel, a hot gospel rock band is playing Jesus-type songs. It is a happening place with some high end, flashy looking locals. A few noticeable single women with short, predictably tight red dresses and high heels are carefully watching the crowd. I am hiding behind my glasses, a glass of local beer in my hand and my flip-flops.

Ebola signs warn people about the symptoms of the disease as we cross the border to Uganda. Joseph our guide/driver, drives on the right side of the road, sitting on the right side of the car. As we cross, he switches to driving on the left side of the road, but still sitting on the right side: So very confusing! We are going up in elevation. Rice paddies, tea plantations and much irrigation. Our eyes land on the vibrant colors of clothes, the sight of women carrying baskets of food on their heads, the vendors offering their merchandise, the kids waving to us. Bananas anyone? From men selling bananas to buying bananas to carrying bananas. Stacks of bananas mountain high, several colored types of bananas, carried by every means of transportation. By men, by scooters, by motorcycles and by trucks. We are slowly adjusting to the pace, the bumpy road, the dust. Every village we pass, it is a new opening, a new glimpse to a world we only now just discover. "Bye bye Mzungu" the local call to us, a nickname for a white person or as the translation goes: an“aimless wanderer” in the Bantu language.

It is pitch black on our porch overlooking the impenetrable rainforest in Bwindi National Park, when we get up to go for our gorilla trekking. A local women's band performs dance and songs for us as we walk in through the gate for our orientation. I am jet lagged, irritable and anxious about the anticipated extreme, strenuous hike ahead of me. On top of that, I have a severe reaction to the malaria pills I just started taking. They put me in a weird headspace and make me nauseous. We are divided into groups of eight, with a guide and two armed guards to protect us in case a herd of elephants start roaming the forest towards us. This part of the Rift Valley in the southwestern part of Uganda, is the habitat for more than half the world’s population of Mountain Gorillas. We are assigned to the Habinyanja gorilla family of sixteen, lead by Makara the silverback. Knowing that It is slippery, steep, muddy terrain, I am unsure of how rough the roughing is going to be and how fit I really am. I hire a porter. A girl porter. A very young, shy girl name Treasure. She carries my backpack with water, rain gear and a lunch box. She holds one of my hands while I am leaning on a walking stick with the other. This morning the gorillas were spotted by the trackers 25 minutes away from our starting point. I sigh a sigh of relief, but my relief is premature... as we reach the 25 minute mark, the gorillas had a change of mind and they decide to move down through the rainforest. Down and down we go, descending deep into the forest, searching for the elusive gorillas. The forest is dense with foliage and storms of red ants are seeking an opening between my socks and my shoes to get onto my bare skin. In my head, I calculate the road :"What goes down, must come up..." My legs are a bit shaky, I break out in a sweat and I hold Treasure's hand so tight I am afraid It will leave a permanent mark . About ninety minutes into our downhill march, our guide signals us to stop, drop all our belongings and be completely silent. We have finally found the gorillas. Gone is my headache, my nausea, my anxiety. I am alert. I am soooo ready.

At first we spotted one juvenile gorilla coming down a tree chewing on leaves. it was mesmerizing, my first time seeing a gorilla in the wild. Then the Alpha silverback emerges out from the bushes and monitors us, the big ape. I am so close that I can hear him as he expels some air from his nostrils, making a small waaaaaah sound. Taking his time, he observes us to see if we are cool enough for him to accept. Once he approves of us, the others come along, interact with each other and mind their own business. Surprisingly, they are not at all shy around us. A female gorilla carrying a two year old baby, perplexed with our presence, passes by us while the Alpha male keeps a watchful eye. After a while they all got tired of us and just sat less than two meters away from us. We could take selfies with them in the background: quite a miracle! It was great to see them In the wild, in their own habitat, on their terms. I felt completely at ease among them and not at all threatened. Did you know gorillas are vegetarians? At exactly one hour, we are told by our guide that our time is over and we say our good byes and start our ascent uphill to have our much deserved lunch. Lunch felt especially good as a reward for my efforts. As an achievement award, we got a Gorilla tracking certificate!

And I was thinking what was it like for Treasure, being a porter for only the second time in her life. Did it feel good working and making money? Was it weird holding my hand? How did she really feel? I left her a generous tip, probably a month or two of an average salary. I saw her waving good buy to us as our car went off on it's way, waving and waving. In the afternoon, in our beautiful Mahogany lodge, some kids from a neighborhood school came to sing and dance for us. "Big Bums'" they called this dance, while shaking their bodies. The expression of joy on their faces was irresistable and contagious. As their teacher said "The power of music".

Losing any sense of time, the days merge into one another, bringing new experiences everyday. As we enter Ishasha sector in Queen Elizabeth National Park, we immediately encounter a group of elephants about fifty meters away from us. Some patas monkeys and the Ugandan kobs. The landscape is very green with lots of fig trees, which is where the tree-lions like to hang on the branches. Our mission is to find them. This is also the place where the American woman was kidnapped by the Congolese last summer. According to our contract, we were supposed to get an armed ranger to escort us in this part of the park. However, upon our entry, a lone soldier stands guard and there is no sign of any escort. The guard reassures us that the army patrols the area. As the day progresses, we can't find either the tree lions or a single army vehicle patrol....and then the monkey grabbed my lunch.

Theatre in the rainforest: Uganda is the big lakes country. We stay in Papaya Lake Lodge, a sustainably run, heavenly place, perched above a crater lake blessed with breathtaking views. Once again, our early morning call for action. Today, we are in for high drama and theatre with the wild chimpanzees. These primates share about 90% of their DNA with us humans. I am curious and excited to meet with our mesmerizing relatives. It takes only a few minutes and the forest is abruptly broken by mayhem. High up in the canopy of trees we detect signs of life. As we turned our heads up towards the sound, one chimp empties his bladder on some of our group including Jason. Then they swung from one tree to another and went speedily down to the ground right in front us. They are animated, funny, sociable and intelligent.. They use their body language to communicate. An alpha male showed us who the boss is by pant-hoot and yell. Tabu ( trouble maker), the older chimp has his hand missing. A permanent mark of his younger, trouble-making days. Two young males shamelessly busy in an intimate grooming session. Unlike the gorillas, the chimps are not vegetarians, they eat other primates including other monkeys. We love spending time following their raucous, mischievous behavior, being so up close and personal. After putting on a show for us, the chimp just sat down, looked at us and fell asleep right there, in front of our eyes. Later, as we sat down for lunch, a baboon was eyeing us from the other side of the road. Within seconds, he jumped on our table and grabbed my lunch box. That was the second lunch I lost within three days!

Later that afternoon, we go for a Bigodi swamp walk to explore the fauna and flora of the area. Our local woman guide (I always choose a female if available) name is Stella. She is a no nonsense type of a lady with rubber boots and an assistant as a trainee. She walks us through the swamp sanctuary and shows us red colobus monkeys, blue -tailed monkeys, numerous birds and trees. The real treat is when we walk into the village for a glimpse of their daily life. First, we visit an old lady who grows coffee, then sifts it, grinds it and finally roasts it. After the demonstration, we get to taste the coffee: yummy! The main attraction for us is a visit with the local medicine man who is 82 years old. He patiently explains what each of his "potions" is used for, putting a big emphasis on his love and revenge potions. how to cure female lack of sexual appetite, how to chase away a disturbing neighbor. Do we need any help with making anyone suffer? ...we have had our laughs. Then we meet the Bigodi women's group, they use phoenix palm leaves to make baskets, balls or place mats. Of course we purchase some.. That evening I fell, tumbling down the stairs, bruised myself seriously and cracked a rib.

The road to the Kazinga channel between lake George and lake Edward is dreadful. I am on painkillers, trying to be gentle with my body, taking a positive attitude and the journey goes on. Once we leave the main Chinese built road, the road is unpaved and bumpy. The loneliness of the terrain, the dust clouds that makes visibility almost impossible are making it hard for me to relax. My butt is sore and my eyes surrender to a mysterious eye infection. On our way we stop at the equator. It is hot and sweaty, there is a temporary sign on the road to mark the spot as reconstruction has been going on for almost a year now. Today is Jason's birthday and we are on our way to meet our friend Nick, who drives down from Entebbe to celebrate with us. We are planning a boat ride on the Kazinga channel to explore the variety of animals and birds with one of the world's largest concentration of hippos and numerous Nile crocodiles. We are mesmerized watching the abundance of wild life on the water's edge from the tranquil comfort of our boat. Dozens of hippos (including babies), water buffalo, crocodiles and a lone elephant slowly walking towards the water on the far end of the road: Waterbuck, pelicans, cormorants, storks and kingfishers all come to greet us. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon!