Porters

 After our time in Taru working on educational programs for Kenya Keys, it was an easy decision to hire one of the 'porters' to help us on our gorilla trek because these young people use the money they make for education. It was a win-win! At the staging area a group waited to see if they would be hired that day to carry backpacks and help hikers.  The rangers make it easy for us as there is a rotation system so that everyone has a chance to get the extra income occasionally. 

Nicholas was invaluable to me.  He not only carried my backpack and heavy camera, he helped me on the steep parts and as we crossed streams.  Coincidently, he was a high school soccer player whose team had won the Ugandan High School Championship.  I hope that I helped him a little to achieve his dream of going to the university to study statistics.

Agnes was George's porter.  She was earning money to pay her 5 year old daughter's school fees.  We saw so many children walking to school as we drove up to the National Forest.  Some of them walk more than 10 miles on those narrow mountain roads.  I hope her 5 year old doesn't have to walk too far.

Agnes and Nicholas certainly helped make our trek easier.  I hope that our contributions help them achieve their dreams.

Never Dreamed I'd See Gorillas!

About 6 months ago I watched a TV show about Africa that highlighted a 'gorilla trek', since I knew we would be in the 'neighborhood' in Kenya, I decided to get information and amazingly enough it all worked out that we got to add a trip to Rwanda and Uganda to our time in Kenya!

It was something I'll never forget!  I've loved gorillas for as long as I can remember and  seeing them in the wild was a dream come true.

Mountain Gorillas can be found in the countries of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda.  We ruled out Congo immediately as there is a lot of civil unrest.  Gorilla permits are issued by each government.  In Rwanda the cost is double that of Uganda but if you fly into Uganda on a commercial flight the drive to the gorilla areas is a lot longer so our tour company suggested flying into Rwanda and then driving into Uganda for the trek.  That is what we did.  I highly recommend this plan.

An early morning drive up into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to the staging area started our day.  There are 7 gorilla families that are habituated, meaning they are used to being watched by the tourists.  They are still wild but don't mind when groups watch them.  You must go with an organized group. Permit holders are only allowed one hour with the gorillas. You must wear a mask since gorillas can catch viruses from humans.  We were told not to approach them; that if they approached us we should sit down and not run.  We used quiet voices, avoided sudden movements and followed all the directions of our guides.  

At first light, 7 groups of trackers are sent out to find where the gorillas are that day.  They know approximately where each family was the day before so they go to that area and find them again.  The locations of the gorilla families are relayed back to the staging area. 

These are our trackers.  Notice that they are carrying machetes and one has a gun.  The machetes are to clear the paths a bit.  The gun is to scare off elephants.

The tourists are divided into groups.  Because of our age and preferences we were given the closest group.  We hiked about 2 hours to the gorillas spent an hour with them and then hiked 2 hours back . Some others hiked as long as 6 or more hours in total.  And at least one group only saw 2 gorillas.  We were very lucky.  Also the rain held off until we were driving home.  After seeing that rain, I was very glad that we weren't out in it even with our rain jackets and waterproof pants.  It is a rain forest and I have never seen rain quite like it before. I'd call it a torrential downpour! 

Our group.  We added two German couples who were delightful!

At first we hiked on an up and down trail on the right side of the river.  Then we crossed the bridge and starting climbing up into the rain forest.

Sometimes it was steep and the trail covered with plants.  That was a bit frightening as I never knew if I was stepping into a pile of leaves or onto a log.  

Eventually we left even a semblance of a trail and headed up into the thick vegetation because our trackers had located the gorilla family.  We all forgot our nervousness when we started seeing those amazing animals.  

There were several youngsters playing happily.  They appeared to be tickling and rolling around just like a group of toddlers. We could even hear a sort of happy growling sound that the ranger said was like a laugh.

The silverback or 'big boss gorilla' had been watching us warily.  Suddenly he got up, pounded his chest a few times, which was the signal for the entire group to move on.  Evidently we had made him nervous.  What was so adorable was that the two young male gorillas also pounded their chests!  Mimicking the big boss!  Oh how I wish I had gotten that on video! 

Here's the silverback walking by the youngsters encouraging them to move on. We just followed them all.

You can see just how close we were to them.

Gorillas spend a lot of their time eating!
Mountains gorillas, like these, always die in captivity.  They are herbivores and eat leaves, shoots, stems, bark, roots and flowers. An adult male gorilla eats about 41 pounds of food per day. That's a lot of leaves. No wonder they spend so much time eating. The ranger told us that certain things they eat seem to be medicinal.  Unlike lowland gorillas, which can live in zoos, they don't eat fruits and vegetables.  The assumption is that stress and an unfamiliar diet cause their deaths when in captivity.

I just loved watching the interaction between these three.  There is a mother, her 3 week old baby and a toddler from another mother who seemed fascinated by the little baby.

The slightly older gorilla seemed to want the little baby to come and play but mama seems to be saying, "No way!  He's too small."  She kept him pretty close to her but did allow the other young gorilla to interact with him.

I am fascinated by their expressions.

Contemplative

Slightly grumpy - in the mood to be left alone

Nap time

The hour passed way too quickly!  I could have watched them all afternoon.

On our two hour hike back we watched the gathering clouds carefully.  Amazingly, we  didn't get rained on.

Our guards and rangers.

Our tired but very happy group!

This saying came to mind when contemplating this day.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

This day definitely

took my breath away!

Mombasa Tusks

During my previous visits to Mombasa, I have only gotten quick glimpses of the Mombasa Tusks as we drove by.  On this trip it seemed appropriate that we made a stop in honor of Queen Elizabeth whose funeral was the day before. 

The Mombasa Tusks were originally constructed in 1952 by the British Administration of the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commemorating the visit of Princess Elizabeth.  It was during this visit in 1952 that King George VI died and Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth.  Kenyans seem rather proud of this moment in their history when the princess became the queen while on a visit to their country.

I am glad that I could be there so soon after Queen Elizabeth's funeral.

And that I could share the moment with Mwanaisha, the Kenya Keys librarian.

The Queen is Dead - God Save the King

 

Queen Elizabeth has been a constant throughout my life.  Her accession to the throne was in February 1952, the year before I was born.  Her coronation was in June 1953, just two months before my birth.  My Daddy was on a US Navy ship that was sent to England that summer and missed my birth.  My mother was thankful that he arrived home to Arkansas when I was only a few days old.  I read that 1 in 5 people in Britain are like me and remember no other monarch.  

As I have thought about the Queen since her passing last week, the phrase that kept coming to mind is that she has always been a part of my life.  I realize that is a weird statement about someone that I never met, never even saw in person.  Yet I have been interested in her life for as long as I can remember. I have watched documentaries and TV shows and read books and magazines to 'know' her as best a person can.  

I love her because she was the personification of duty, service and commitment.  Of course I don't believe that she was perfect.  I cringe at some of the stories of her 'mothering', like leaving young Charles and Anne with the Queen Mum for 6 months for a Royal tour when they were so young. I am sure that she could have done more to help Princess Diana.  

In her words just after the year that she called her ‘Annus Horribilis,  she said 

“I sometimes wonder how future generations will judge the events of this tumultuous year. I dare say that history will take a slightly more moderate view than that of some contemporary commentators. Distance is well-known to lend enchantment, even to the less attractive views. After all, it has the inestimable advantage of hindsight.

But it can also lend an extra dimension to judgement, giving it a leavening of moderation and compassion - even of wisdom - that is sometimes lacking in the reactions of those whose task it is in life to offer instant opinions on all things great and small.

No section of the community has all the virtues, neither does any have all the vices. I am quite sure that most people try to do their jobs as best they can, even if the result is not always entirely successful. He who has never failed to reach perfection has a right to be the harshest critic.

There can be no doubt, of course, that criticism is good for people and institutions that are part of public life. No institution - City, Monarchy, whatever - should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don't.

But we are all part of the same fabric of our national society and that scrutiny, by one part of another, can be just as effective if it is made with a touch of gentleness, good humour and understanding.”

When I think of Queen Elizabeth’s life, all the drama, the gossip, the divorces and the scandals, I think of my own family and the families of friends.  None of us are perfect.  What would it be like to have every foible and flaw the subject of worldwide gossip, TV commentary, editorials and even movies and TV shows.  Would I react with the grace and humor that she did?  Would I learn from mistakes and do better in the future?  Her treatment of Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle (at least in the early days of Meghan) seem to indicate that she did learn from the tragedy of Diana.  I admire her ability to adapt to a world that is so very different from the world she knew 70 years ago when she became the Queen.  We all have adjusted, grown and learned but few of us had to do it on the world stage as has Queen Elizabeth. 

I will miss her smile, her bright suits, and her big purses. The world will never forget the Paddington Bear Video nor the ‘mission’ with James Bond for the London Olympics.

I am comforted that she is with her beloved Prince Philip who was by her side for 73 years. 

As King Charles said, ‘May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest’

The Spirit of Boise

I often tell people how wonderful it was to live in Portland because it is such a great city.  Last week when Mary and Jackson were here, I was reminded that Boise is pretty great as well!

Jackson loved our visit to the Discovery Center of Idaho. It's small but full of fun things to do.  Our dinosaur crazy boy particularly loved the T-Rex exhibit.

His favorite in the 'hands-on' area was the train set.  No surprise there!

Next we did paddle boats on the Julia Davis Park Lagoon and feed the ducks way too much popcorn!

Jackson liked it much more than his facial expression shows!

I felt guilty about the popcorn when I learned that this duck's deformity is caused by a nutritional deficiency in vitamins and minerals combined with a high level of carbohydrates and sugars - like in the bread people feed them.  He will never be able to fly. Hopefully popcorn wasn't as bad.

Friday evening we joined John, Monica and Isabella at the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic to see the "Night Glow".  Just us and 100,000 of our closest friends! It was spectacular!

The finale was a combination drone and balloon show that highlighted Idaho.

We loved it!

Of course my favorite part was watching these cute cousins playing together.

I love being a Grandma!  And I'm so happy that Mary and Jackson came to visit!!!

The Fun Never Stopped

 Mary called me on Tuesday the 23rd and surprised me with the news that I needed to pick Jackson and her up at the airport on Friday!  We were all so excited!  

And the fun truly never stopped!

From walks around Lexington Hills

Complete with a piggy back ride from Uncle Matt

and a cooperative frog in the lilly pad pond!

To parks and splash pads

We even went to Chuck E Cheese. Ah the memories of birthday parties when our kids were little.  Fun to share it with these cute grandkids!

These two cousins got along so well!

Jackson also got to fish for a few minutes with Uncle Matt. 

And we went swimming at John and Monica's pool.

I had never been to Jump Time before and everyone loved it.

I unfortunately experienced the perfect illustration of Proverbs 16:18 

'Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.'

I was feeling pretty spry for a 69 year old and had asked John to video me.  After a few moments of glory, I lost my balance and took a tumble, bowing my back in a way that was not natural.  It was a blessing that I wasn't badly hurt.  So much for being a cool grandma!

And to work on not being prideful, I'll share this capture from the video.  Makes you want to say, OUCH, doesn't it??

Lots of memories were made!

I sure love this family of mine!