Africa (Part 1) 13/09/2011

My Day of Seven Wonders

A flash of black fur and then the gentle grunting of a mountain gorilla signifies that I have arrived.  Yet that is not where this story begins so I must take you back to the previous afternoon.

Storm clouds are starting to build in the distance and a darkness falls on Lake Bunyonyi.  After what seems like only moments there is a dark front moving across the country side and heading towards where I would estimate the Impenetrable Forest is; the home to the mountain gorillas.  Deep, heavy thunder rumbles towards us to demonstrate what this storm is capable of delivering.  I start to think about the trek that I am to embark on tomorrow, a walk that will hopefully bring me face to face with the mountain gorillas; a walk that this part of the trip was primarily about; and a walk that I had dreamt about.  What will it be like walking through the forest if it is pouring rain, will I still get to see the gorillas, what should I pack and how will I carry my camera?  Just some of the questions which were now racing through my mind however, I realised that to speculate on such things were pointless and what tomorrow brings, tomorrow brings.  So I retire to my tent for an early evening as I must be up well before the sun tomorrow.  I take one last look across the lake, up to the heavens and then zip up the rain cover on my tent as if to seal my fate until the morning.

My alarm shakes me from my slumber and the first thing that I listen for as I lay in the warmth of my sleeping bag is whether there is rain knocking at the door to my tent.  To my delight I cannot hear any indication of rain and I start to dress for the day.  I decide to not even peak out of the tent until I am ready to move, much like on Christmas day waiting to open presents.  Once I am ready I open the tent and there is still darkness outside.  I look down and the grass is wet and as I emerge from my tent I look up, but just ever so slightly delay my gaze.  My heart lifts as I see the stars stretching across the horizon and I stand, head raised to the heavens taking a few deep breathes.  The night could not be clearer and I have just experienced the first wonder of this day; even though it is only a few minutes old.

After we have had breakfast and packed our lunch, we board a van for the two hour drive to the forest and hopefully the gorillas.  As we leave the valley that we are staying in we drive up into fog and visibility drops to about 10 metres.  I am sitting in the front of the van and keep a close eye on the winding road that we are climbing; from time to time someone on a bicycle seems to appear from nowhere and then just as quickly vanishes into the fog.  Slowly the fog first begins to thin and then as if a veil has been lifted we are above the fog and I begin to experience the second wonder of the day.  It is still night but the moon gives the fog a soft glow and I am looking down on a valley that is a giant lake but instead of water there is cloud draped over the landscape; caressing the landscape; enveloping all as if a dam is holding it back.  As we drive further up into the mountains, past small villages, I will not move my gaze from the window; I will not look away for I fear if I do the dam will burst and the lake will be lost.

After about 30 minutes the third wonder of the day is delivered as the sun begins to rise and the valley has colour splashed across it.  Features now start to present themselves and we begin to appreciate that the valley has been terraced for farming.  The regular contours of the terraces seem to give the scene a texture and in some places they capture the morning light and in others they cast shadows.  As the sun continues to rise, the rays of light seem to race each other through the valley as if they wish to be the first to pass their warmth to the eager valley.  My gaze continues to be fixed out of the window, appreciating the evolving beauty.

A solid line of trees stretching across the landscape marks the boundary of the Impenetrable Forest; it is as if the trees are silent sentries protecting what exists deep within.  After meeting our ranger we set out on our hike to the position of the gorillas.  Initially the walk is fairly easy as it is along a very well formed path and I am encouraged that the altitude does not seem to be affecting me too much.  However, it is a very humid day and I can feel the warmth radiating from my body and the sweat behind my backpack starting to build.  The forest itself is a fairly standard tropical forest, with a high canopy that is fairly consistent and extensive undergrowth of vines, shrubs and ferns.  We are walking along a ridge line and from time to time we have amazing vistas across the forest and with each view we have an appreciation why it has gained the name, the Impenetrable Forest.  Before me the canopy forms a rich tapestry of greens that gently rolls out as far as I can see.

After taking some water we push on moving ever so closer to our goal however, none of us know just how far we are going to have to walk; the ranger is keeping this piece of information to himself which I am grateful for because it only builds my excitement and sense of discovery.  I hear some chatter over the radio and suddenly we deviate from the track and start to push through the forest.  Initially the going is relatively easy however after a short time we are descending a very steep slope.  The hardest part is the thick vegetation that is under our feet and every few steps we seem to be trapped by vines.  Making it even more challenging, the vegetation is very wet and extremely slippery.  During the descent I think it is fair to say that everyone went over, to varying degrees, including our escort which sent an AK47 crashing to the ground; needless to say that we were all very happy that the safety was on.

After some effort we found ourselves back onto flat ground and we are gathered close together so that the ranger can give us instructions on how we must behave in the presence of the gorillas.  While he is talking I must admit that he does not have my full attention and out of the corner of my eye I catch a flash of black fur and then the gentle grunting of a mountain gorilla which signifies that I have arrived and just witnessed the forth wonder of the day, my first mountain gorilla.  I am now very restless and it seems an age before we drop our bags in a small clearing and are met by another 4 rangers who are going to escort us for the last leg of our trip.  After walking only 10 metres we are met with the grunting of a young black back who is sitting amongst vegetation just below our position.  I can now feel the electricity amongst our group and we are all stunned to silence. 

The rangers set to work clearing some of the vegetation between us and the black back and before too long we are marvelling at the young male.  The beeping and clicking of cameras echo around the group as we are all keen to capture the moment which is the climax of our trip to date.  My greatest surprise is just how close we are to the gorilla, only being about 2 metres away.  We all stood in awe barely wanting to breathe.

After spending some time with the black back, we shifted our position to be close to a young silver back.  The dominate silver back was above our position and to the right, always keeping an eye on what was going on.  The rangers set to work once again chopping down the vines that were blocking our view.  We were all surprised how comfortable the gorillas were with the machetes, given their use in the past against these animals. 

As before we were very close to this majestic, yet obviously incredibly powerful animal.  Most of our group move on about five metres to watch another of the gorilla family and it is just Dinah, Steve and I left observing the silver back.  All of our hearts skipped a beat when he decided to stand and walk past us to be within about one metre.  He paused, taking a moment to look at us, and then pushed on through the vegetation.  None of us really said anything; we just smiled, each of us processing what had just happened.

With my heart still beating hard in my chest, I reflect on what I am experiencing for up until now I realise that I had been running on adrenalin and the drive to capture some nice pictures.  It begins to dawn on me that I am actually with wild mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.  I look around and there is not one single bar or cage, there is only the green of the forest.  Looking around the fifth wonder of the day becomes apparent to me.  The gorillas have accepted us into their family unit, we are not strangers standing on the outside looking in, but rather we are surrounded by the gorillas sharing in their day; we are in amongst their group.  Behind me over my left shoulder is a young black back; to my immediate left there had been the young silver back before he decided to move up-slope and the to the right; behind me and to the right is the old silver back that has lost his dominance; up-slope and to the right we can also hear another gorilla, perhaps a female; ahead and to the right the dominate silver back; down-slope and to the left a female with her young baby and close by is the female’s four year old boy; in the same area another juvenile is playing up a tree; and another female is further off to the left.

I begin again to take photos of the family members and I am trying to get a good angle on one of the young silver backs.  I lean in as close as I can get and then the sixth wonder happens.  As I am looking through the view finder in my camera, he looks back at me as if piercing straight through the camera.  I take a photo and lower the camera as he continues to hold my gaze.  The two of us in that forest now hold eye contact, everything around us seems irrelevant and it is just he and I.  Staring into his eyes I feel an acknowledgement from him and I feel a connection to him.  He is not a broken being sitting in a zoo, his eyes had a depth to them and at any stage he could stand and walk out into the forest away from me and away from where I could follow; he has freedom in his eyes.  Yet for the moment he was choosing to stay and share this moment with me and that by far is the greatest gift I could have received today. 

‘Four minutes to go’, the voice of the ranger shocks me as I cannot believe it has been nearly one hour, the time has just slipped by.  As if on cue the seventh wonder is delivered; the mother and baby move out of the cover where they had been sitting and are now in clear view.  The baby begins to play and enjoying the company of its brother, jumping and rolling around much like a human baby; just keen to have fun and explore.  The baby also runs up and starts to climb all over the mother and at one stage she puts her hand up to her head, as if to acknowledge ‘give me a break’.  We soak up every second of those four minutes and feel so fortunate to have seen the mother and baby interaction.

‘Time to go’, slowly we have to pull ourselves away from the family but all of us continue to look back savouring all that we can, while we can.  After collecting our bags we are climbing back up the slope, climbing out of the Impenetrable Forest so much richer with the memories that we now carry with us.

United Kingdom 02/09/2011

I do not have many words about my time in London because by far the highlight and in fact the main purpose for my visit was to catch up with friends and meet their baby for the first time.  Brendan, Mary and India made me feel really welcome, as if I was part of the family.  Little India was a bit unsure about me at the start but I think that was because I had not shaved for a little while and was looking a little scruffy; once she got used to that, we were great friends.

Switzerland (Part 5) 30/08/2011

Stumbling upon a Glacier

The bus slowly winds its way up the mountain pass, just squeezing past the rocks in some locations and the loud horn sounding to warn oncoming traffic that we are approaching.  Our final destination on the bus is the top of the pass which is at about 1950m and both Karen and I are glad to finally be stretching our legs.  The bus has dropped us next to a small shop, which we walk past and are immediately on the walking track which is slightly muddy.  The temperature up at this altitude is fairly cool so our walk is brisk to get some warmth into our body.  We have intermittent stops during the initial part of our walk as the blue berries are in season and are a delicious treat to pick off the bush.

Behind us some clouds cling to the opposite mountain but where we are walking the skies are clear, making the colours of the landscape stand out; which consists of many shades of green and the grey of the rocks.  In the distance off the track I spot the blinding white of a small patch of snow, smile a little sheepishly to Karen and say that I am sorry but I have to go and touch the snow.  She gives a little acknowledging smile back to me and we are heading off the track.  The snow itself had seen some days of sun so was a little closer to ice crystals but I still run my hand across it with a childlike joy.

We are at the base of a small rise and it seems that we both have the same idea – ‘it looks interesting up there so let’s continue to walk off track’.  We come to the top of the rise and before us in the distance are a lake with a glacier at one end that runs up a valley and it is backed by a steep mountain.  We both agree that this is the ideal location for lunch and take a seat on whatever looks comfortable as the rise is covered in small to medium sized rocks.  Karen and I share a simple meal observantly watching over the glacier.  The sun is now warm and yet again I find myself amazed to be looking upon a scene so unique, so special and to be sharing it with great company.  What is even more special is that Karen and I are the only two people and there are absolutely no signs of any other human activity; Karen remarks that we could be on the moon.

We slowly gather our things and start to move again, although I know that we both would have been happy to spend the day simply appreciating.  Once again we have decided that it seems more interesting to continue off track so we head in the direction of the lake and glacier.  We continue to walk along the small rocks and as we approach the lake we are fairly high above it.  Before too long we start to hear cracking sounds and the sounds of rocks falling into the water.  After a few more steps we realise that we have in fact stumbled upon the glacier and are now walking on it.  Actually in that moment it is the first time in a very long time that I felt a little nervous, a little uneasy.  This was heightened somewhat as we had been walking fairly close to the edge and we were next to a perched pool of water, which was obviously the glacier melting and would have been a fault line that could have given way at any time.  The glacier also seemed to be very busy as there were always sounds coming from around us. 

After realising we were on the glacier we made our way back from the edge and then walked down to the shore of the lake.  We then had a very good view of just where we were standing and my nerves (perhaps intuition?) had been right as where we were walking was undermined by the lake to the point that I would say we were walking on an overhang.  The view across the lake with the ice-bergs floating in the foreground, backed by the glacier and ultimately the mountains were stunning. 

I would not have described the glacier as a ‘clean’ glacier as there were a lot of rocks mixed into the ice but there was still a depth of blue in some places that just seemed to grab my attention.  I walked up to the edge of the lake and picked up one of the smaller pieces of ice that was floating close to the shore.  I then bit down feeling the crunch of the ice and the cool fill my mouth; I could not help but to wonder how long the water that was now cooling my throat had been frozen for.  As I stood there, starting to feel the sting from the ice in my hand, listening to the melting glacier, I pondered what are the legacies that we have left?

Switzerland (Part 4) 29/08/11

Canyon

A brilliant red cliff surrounds us on three sides and two waterfalls fall into the dead end canyon that Sonja and I have just walked into; being surrounded on three sides by a rock face magnifies the sound of the waterfalls.  The only other person that we have past is a farmer earlier in our hike, and therefore we have the place to ourselves which makes it feel a little extra special.  The sun has not discovered the canyon and there is a breeze from the waterfalls which makes it very cool.  I breathe deeply the mountain air, which has some mist from the waterfalls giving it a refreshing quality.  I am fascinated by the falling water as it seems to come down in waves, slowly separating apart before it crashes into the rocks.  I watch inquisitively as the water then makes it way out of the canyon along the path that it has been carving for thousands of years.  I feel as though I am lost, deep in the Swiss mountains and I must say I enjoy this feeling.

Switzerland (Part 3) 28/08/11

Wrestling

High in the mountains on a clear autumn’s day, I approach a field where there is a buzz of activity and excited chatter from a crowd.  The field has been fenced off and there is an entrance gate with people milling around.  In the background mountains stand proud, looking down on the day’s events.  As we enter there are three rings about 10 metres across with saw dust as the base.  Temporary bench seats have been constructed on a hill to create a bit of a grand stand to provide clear viewing of the rings.  Two men stand in the middle of each ring doing battle, seeing which is the most skilled at Swiss wrestling. 

I sit in the grand stand for a long time with the sun on my back simply enjoying.  One of the most surprising things for me is that I think I may have been the only tourist even though this seemed like such a ‘postcard’ event.  The locals were genuinely enjoying the day and because it was not overrun with tourists I also felt that I was part of the day; sampling everything that was Swiss, I was not an outsider looking in.  There was traditional music, flag throwing which was accompanied by the alphorns, yodelling, bratwurst & beers and lots of wrestling.  There was even 5 francs on the bench next to us, which was meant to keep the wasps way.  I can honestly say that I felt I was absorbed into the day.