Tuesday, July 6 Kiko and Tea

Today was our first day teaching and we were starting at Kiko Primary School. The schools in Uganda are based on the British system. Primary schools are universal. That means that each community must provide a school that goes from P1 (our kindergarten) through P7 (our 6th grade). Kiko is a small primary school that is on the far side of tea field. Thus the color of the student uniform is green.

When I say small I mean that there was only one classroom per grade level in this school. Christie and Chris were teaching in P1 and P2 today. The first classroom into which we went was P1. This classroom has 140 students in it, and the room was about the same size as a classroom in Weston, perhaps a bit smaller. The classroom consists of a blackboard, a teachers desk and then a large number of benches. The students sit on the benches 4 and 5 to a bench.

As the headmaster enters the room all of the children stand and greet him in unison and in English. Students in P1 through P3 are learning English. Starting in P4 students’ instruction is mostly in English, but they are still not fluent. The teachers tell us that students in P7 have excellent English, however, in order for us to be understood we must speak very slowly to these students. English may, in fact, be the key to these students’ achievement. The Primary Leaving Exams are given entirely in English and a students familiarity with this language is likely the key to whether or not they receive a Grade 1 pass and are eligible for a scholarship.

Janis and Steve’s lesson in P3 required quite a bit of translation and it was modified quite a bit in the next class (P4). But in each classroom we were able to leave behind a book that the students had created themselves and that would help them practice their English. Chris and Christie’s lesson in P1 and P2 went very well we could hear the students singing the song that they had been taught from outside the classroom.

Sometimes the kind of teaching that you see here is what I call “heroic teaching.” Chris and Christie happened upon that kind of teaching when they visited a P5 class at Kiko. The subject was Science and Christie reports that the teaching was some of the best that she has seen anywhere. The teacher demonstrated with gestures when using an English term with which the students might be unfamiliar. He stuck with every student when he was confronted with an incorrect or incomplete answer. It was a remarkable performance in spite of the tremendous obstacles that are faced here everyday.

We left Kiko after lunchtime and were scheduled to visit the Kiko Tea Factory in the afternoon. Christie, Janis and Steve decided to walk as the factory was only a mile down the road. Students in P1 and P2 leave school at 1:00 and so we had an escort of about 15-20 small children as we walked to the factory with tea fields all around us. Sometimes you just feel like the Pied Piper here.

We were joined at the Tea Factory by the Krimsky/Kee family and four students from Kiko along with their teacher Sam. One student, Gloria, told us that she walks an hour and 20 minutes to school each way. The other students lived more locally, but even they were quite unfamiliar with the growing and processing of tea despite the fact that they literally live in the middle of tea growing country. The factory visit was quite interesting. The most fascinating part of the visit was that we learned that new plants are grown from cuttings from old plants. These old plants can be literally hundreds of years old. The oldest plant from which we saw cuttings was initially grown in 1560. That’s 250 years ago!

Christie decided to buy a Kilo of tea after our tour. So we went to the store but unfortunately there was none to buy (Tea, tea everywhere but not a drop to drink). That didn’t stop our host. Sunday Godfrey said that he would find the manager and have him make some. Christie protested and said no that it was late and we were tired and she could didn’t need the tea that badly. But that would not stop our hosts. Off he was to find the manager. The assistant manager then showed up about 10 minutes later to inform us that this would cost 4,000 shillings ($2), and we said yes that was fine. Another 15 minutes went by and finally the Kilo of tea showed up in an unmarked plastic bag. So now Christie has a Kilo of tea with no receipt and no marking on the bag. How is she going to get that past security??

Going to the bathroom in Uganda can sometimes be a challenge. Thus we restrict our water intake somewhat, because what goes in has to come out at some point. Here at the Field Station we have flush toilets, that flush at least most of the time. But the facilities at the schools are latrines. A latrine is basically a hole in the ground. There is cement around it and in the more sanitary versions there are little cement blocks on which you stand to reduce the amount of splatter. For men this is not so problematic, but for women not used to this kind of facility it can be quite difficult (open toed shoes and sandals are not recommended in these facilities). This let’s you know why Chris announced at dinner tonight that she didn’t have to go the entire time while she was teaching at Kiko, and that for her this was a minor miracle. That comment prompted Christie to wonder why depends were not on the “essential to have” list for visiting Uganda. Such is the level of conversation at dinner at the Field Station.

Tomorrow we go to Mugusu Market. Power shopping in the third world. Don’t worry, Scott, they don’t take VISA.

July 5 – Opening Ceremonies at Kasiisi

The concept of time in Africa is significantly different than that in western cultures. We were told that our van would be here by 9:00 a.m. and that we should be ready to leave by about 9:30 a.m. To be fair we were also told that the time would depend on the arrangements at Kasiisi School. So we were in the dining room ready by 9:30 a.m. Our van arrived a few minutes before 11:00 a.m., but we couldn’t leave because John and Lydia Kasenene hadn’t yet called to give the OK. As they say in Africa, “the event is unfolding.”

An unfortunate and very traumatic event happened on the way to the ceremony. Driving here in Uganda is unbelievably bad. We had felt so safe with our Wild Frontiers guide, Joseph. But now we are using local drivers from a local service in Fort Portal. The usual situation is that cars and bota bota’s (small motorbike taxis) drive way too fast and they drive all over the road to avoid potholes. Pedestrians and bicycles usually go off the road to get out of the way of fast moving vehicles.

Today, however, our driver was driving too fast and quite erratically. He veered to the left. Janis screamed and he hit a pedestrian with a very loud bang. The driver stopped, while Matthew Koojo got out to check the condition of the man that was struck. The driver seemed only concerned with the fact that his mirror was broken. Mathew reported to us later that the man was in some pain and had damage to his arm and shoulder. He also reported also that the owner of our transport service would pay a sum of money to the man to settle the issue, but that the accident would not be reported to the police. There are sometimes when the cultural differences are so great that you feel like you are on another planet. We have been promised that our drivers from this point forward will be more reliable and safety conscious. Those who had considered walking to school with the children have reconsidered that decision and will be riding in a van instead.

While Matthew dealt with the injured pedestrian he sent the rest of us on in the van. We disembarked at Kasiisi Trading Center, where we were met by Kagaba Joshua, a brass band and student representatives from each of the five Kibale area schools, Kasiisi, Kigarama, Kiko, Rweterra and Kanyawara. We marched behind the brass band and the students marched behind us for about a quarter of a mile to the grounds of Kasiisi School.

We started the official ceremonies with the Ugandan National Anthem, the Kingdom of Toro Anthem and the U.S. national anthem. The children watched us during the U.S. anthem, and I noticed later when they sang our anthem again, they put their hands over their hearts as they had seen us do. It’s that kind of touching and polite respect that endears Ugandans to everyone they meet.

We had a quick tour of Kasiisi School before the ceremonies started in earnest. The improvements that have been made there in the last two years have been quite remarkable. We started in the new school library, which is very impressive. It’s full of books and also contains a large number of the small green and white laptop computers from the “One laptop per Child” program. We were told that students use these between 3 and 4 p.m. everyday and sometimes stay late to get additional work done on these machines. We then went to the kitchen where we viewed an operation that feeds lunch to 1300 students every day. The Kasiisi project sponsors this program also called the Porridge Project. Students are given a lunch each day consisting of a fortified maize porridge. Kasiisi School is the only school in this area of the country to feed its students.

We then saw the new dormitories being built for students (some students in the future will board at Kasiisi School). We saw the new teacher housing that has been built on site. However, the most meaningful for us to see was the Preschool Complex. It’s more than just a single building. The Preschool consists of three classrooms, a room for the students to rest at mid-day, a preschool office, a planning area for teachers, and an area built for flush toilets for the children. Once again this level of sanitation and facility planning to meet the needs of young children is unheard of in public schools in Uganda. This entire project has been funded by fundraising by Chris, her preschool colleagues, the preschool parents in Weston and some matching grants. It’s a remarkable testament to the relationship between Weston and Kasiisi.

Then the official ceremonies started. There must have been over a thousand people in attendance; dignitaries, educators, parents and children. There was singing and dancing by groups from each of the five primary schools. There were speeches seemingly with out end from educators, dignitaries, and politicians. We were fed lunch. They even baked a cake for us, which Christie and I were required to cut. This ceremony went on for the better part of six hours. But there were moments of sublime joy and celebration mixed in with the long speeches. Janis dancing across the entire presentation area with some students was one of those moments. She dances very well for a Muzungu. Christie attracting and meeting two preschoolers Tina and Cassie, aged 2 and 3, was another moment. These two danced with her, had their photos taken and didn’t want to leave her side.

We received also a letter of gratitude from the parents of the Kasiisi scholars which read in part, “May be others would now be in the village as thieves, prostitutes, robbers but now we hope to have doctor, Engineers, Accountants, many more important generation thus a bright future.” What a statement of the difference education makes for these children.

There are also times when completely incongruous things happen that are so unexpected. During some of the singing and dancing one little boy in a winter coat and backpack (it’s 80 degrees out) kept walking slowly back and forth in front of the performance, completely oblivious to what was happening. At another time there was a brief interlude in the singing and dancing and so they played country music over the speakers. This was Musak country music, not the more modern things we’re used to hearing in the U.S. these days. One other surprising event was the canned applause track that was played at the end of each speech. I am proud to say that my speech was interrupted by this canned applause much to our amusement.

Unfortunately Greg Kee was not feeling well. Fortunately that meant we all had to leave. I have a feeling that the singing and dancing would still be going for as long as we stayed. Back to the Field Station we went with a new and slower driver and arrived safely in time for supper.

We reviewed our lesson plans tonight, because tomorrow we teach students at Kiko School. More about that in the next installment.

July 4, 2010 Independence Day At the Field Station

Sunday at the Field Station and the Krimsky/Kees along with Janis, Christie and Steve went to church. Chris was unable to go to church because she had an IEP meeting. Well, not exactly, but a man showed up with a young boy and wanted Chris to work with him and explain to him why the young man was 15 and not yet reading. Given the cultural differences, and the language limitations this was a difficult (at best) task. But Chris has her experience to rely on and she did some sample teaching with him and then talked to the father. We will have a chance to see this young man in his school setting and meet his teacher later on this week. This may be the furthest distance anyone has ever gone for an outside evaluation, and it may not be the last one that Chris does on this trip.

Church was a trip in and of itself. The Church of Uganda, is or was, an Anglican Church and so the service was somewhat familiar to many of us. However the service was all in Rutoro with little translation so it was difficult to understand everything that was happening. What we did understand is that we were, once again, honored guests. We were sitting in a place seemingly reserved for such guests and processed into the Church to the sound of the Kasiisi Girl Guides singing and clapping. In fact the entire congregation was singing and clapping as we arrived.

The music in the church service is quite remarkable. It consisted only of a man playing a set of three drums and the choir, dressed in red robes. The voices and hand clapping and drumming define the service in this church. They are its lifeblood and every song and hymn gets it rhythm from the drums and the clapping. It’s quite an experience. We were allowed to take pictures in church (we asked) and so when we get a better Internet connection, we’ll post some of those.

As I said the service was difficult to follow, and it was at least 3 hours long so there were parts that were less than thrilling. But so much of what was happening was compelling to watch. We noted the little children who often sat by themselves, were extremely well behaved, and sometimes young ones would pick up and care for infants themselves. Children in Uganda are used to doing a lot of work and taking care of younger sibs is one of those tasks.

The offerings were also quite different than we were used to and fascinating in the way they unfolded. First there was a regular offering in which people came up to the front and gave money. However, some members of the congregation didn’t bring money but they brought “in kind” goods. They gave pumpkins, avacados, ground nuts, bananas, millet, sugar cane, lettuce, and corn. These items were all placed up front and just to the side of the alter.

Next came another offering, which we didn’t understand at first. People started coming to the front rail and kneeling (but not for communion), then more people came and knelt behind them, and more and more came until there were four rows of kneeling people in the front of the church. Then the basket was passed among these people and they gave additional money. When we asked about this we were told that this second offering was an offering of thanksgiving and if people had a specific thing they were thankful for they went forward and offered additional funds while giving a prayer of thanksgiving.

But the best was yet to come. At the conclusion of the regular service all of those “in kind” items to the side of the alter were brought forward and auctioned off with a great deal of spirit and humor. Each bid was emphasized with a beating of the drums in the best game show tradition, and members of the congregation with money to buy things did so, enabling everyone to contribute no matter whether they had money or not. Christie bought a bunch of bananas and later shared them with the children after the service, and Steve bought a large bag of ground nuts, which was also given back.

The service over we were provided with lunch on the grounds of St. Steven’ s Church which are immediately adjacent to the new Preschool building with its brand new blue roof (more on that tomorrow). Once again speeches were made and a formal welcome was extended.

After lunch we were treated to a demonstration of the boy scouts efficiency in camping and building. However the real treat was the performance of the Girl Guides. Their rhythmic singing, clapping and dancing has to be seen to be fully appreciated. It is just engaging to watch. We do have some video of this and it is certainly worth seeing. Children in Uganda are “loud and proud” when they sing and dance, but when they speak to you they make little eye contact and use very soft voices. It seems to us that children in the United States are much the opposite.

We didn’t get back to the Field Station until 4:30 in the afternoon from a church service that started at 10:00 a.m. By that time we were all tired and canceled the afternoon trip to Ft. Portal so that we could rest. We had planned this to be a rest day from the beginning, so a half a day relaxing, visiting the Oasis and sitting and chatting in the Banda (google that word) was just the thing for us. Christie, the party girl, brought some patriotic head gear with her from the U.S. and we toasted Independence Day here in an African Rainforest, complete with a baboon and colobus monkey audience looking on.

Perhaps you thought the official welcoming to this trip was done. Well think again. Tomorrow we get the double official welcome at Kasiisi Primary School. It’s scheduled for five hours. Did I mention that the Ugandans like ceremony, protocol and ritual. Yeah.

Saturday, July 3, 2010 Mweya

Being from New Jersey Janis thought we were saying Moya (rhymes with Goya), but it’s really pronounced mWAYah. Mweya Safari Lodge is like a 5 star hotel in the middle of the African bush. We just finished lunch at the Lodge overlooking the Kazinga Channel and we’re now on the road to Kibale and the Makarere University Biological Field Station (hereinafter referred to as the Field Station).

We started on the road to Mweya early and saw our first elephant (this trip) at about 200 yards on the right side of the road leaving Ishasha. Before this day was over we were to get much closer to elephants than that. We got to Mweya right on time for our 11:00 boat ride through the Kazinga Channel. In fact we had enough time to order lunch first before we left for our trip so that it would be waiting for us when we returned.

Much to Chris and my surprise we were booked on a small boat (seats about 10) and we were the only 4 guests on the boat. This was to be a custom trip. It seems that Wild Frontiers has moved all of their tours to this smaller boat and the results were significantly better than our last trip. The Kazinga Channel is about 37 kilometers long and connects Lake George and Lake Edward while dividing Queen Elizabeth National Park into two parts. The wildlife and birdlife in this Channel is incredibly abundant and diverse.

Our boat guide Robert was, as usual, extremely knowledgeable and accommodating. We got great pictures of hippos and the many different bird species. The black and white kingfishers were putting on a show for us as they helicoptered above the water before diving into the channel for fish. We saw great white egrets, cattle egrets, sacred ibis, malachite kingfishers, lapwings, hammercocks, grey herons, and a pair of nesting fisher eagles. These were just some of the bird species seen. Our guide explained that the migratory species were not expected back to Kazinga until next week.

We also got close to some Nile crocodiles. The crocs were sunbathing among the birds on the shore with their mouths open and we were close enough to be able to look inside. Our guide explained that these crocs just feed on fish from the river. They are not meat eaters and thus live in harmony with the birds and mammals on the shore. We also saw a small monitor lizard and got close up pictures of that famous hippo yawn. Halfway through our ride we spotted a herd of elephant coming down from the hills above towards the Channel. So we moved a little more and waited for them to come down. We were rewarded by being able to see and hear about 15-20 elephants as they came down to drink or take dust baths by the Channel. Our driver parked our boat into a small set of vegetation just off shore so that we could view them closely and hear the big mama elephant trumpeting. She probably thought we were too close, but later we were to get even closer.

We continued up the Channel towards Lake Edward and saw the fishing village that is allowed to remain inside the park. This village is partially supported through tourist dollars and thus have been able to make improvements to their village school and to their water system. Our guide mentioned that there once was a lion that killed 13 people (over time) in this village. As a man eater that lion had to be hunted down and killed. It is now stuffed and on display in the visitors’ center in Mweya.

It was on the way back that we were to get the double overtime bonus to this ride. We spotted three more male elephants (small medium and large) on the shore. Our boat driver cut the engine and let us drift in towards shore. We got so close to these elephants that we had to take all the zoom off our cameras in order to take pictures. We were all shocked at how close they allowed us to get. We left the elephants and thought that our trip was about over, but then the driver once again pulled in very close to shore. We had gone there to see a hippo, but when we got close in, the guide spotted a very large monitor lizard in a tree. This lizard was at least 4 feet long! All in all it was quite an amazing ride through an ecosystem teeming with wildlife.

During lunch at the Mweya Safari Lodge overlooking the Kazinga Channel we toasted our good fortune and our driver Joseph. We were to be with Joseph for only the next two hours as he drove us to the Field Station and said goodbye. We knew that our experiences were about to change as we began and/or renewed our journey into the Kasiisi Project Schools. As we expressed over lunch those experiences would be different but just as rich or in many ways richer.

At the Field Station

We arrived at about 5:00 p.m. from Mweya and were properly welcomed by the staff. We were shown to our rooms and unpacked and settled in. For the first time we are staying in one place for over a week and will be able to stop living out of suitcases for a while.

Dinner at the Field Station was not surprisingly a ceremonial affair. We were joined for dinner by Kagaba Joshua (Headmaster of Ft. Portal Secondary School), John and Lydia Kasenene, Sunday Godfrey, Matthew Koojo, Claudia Krimsky, Greg Kee, Julia Kee, Laura Kee, and _____________ a chimp researcher from Harvard. After much introducing and sharing we went over in some detail the itinerary for the next 12 days. I’ll post some of that when I get a clean copy. For tomorrow we are going to St. Stephen’s Church (immediately adjacent to Kasiisi School) and then to Ft. Portal to visit King Leo’s, Kiabambe and St. Maria Goretti’s Secondary Schools in order to visit with a number of Kasiisi Project scholars. I’ll try to post the last few days blogs tomorrow as Mathew informs me that there is Internet here in Chimp Building 2.

Friday, July 2, 2010 Ishasha Day 2

Our second day at Ishasha was notable for a number of events; sub adult lions, a leopard, an impromptu def poetry jam and wood owl calls at night. We started with a before breakfast, before sunrise drive through the park. Joseph had heard lions in the night. So with only coffee and a biscuit we were off to look for lions. We started with a gorgeous sunrise over the Savannah with literally hundreds of Ugandan Kob around us. Shortly after sunrise Joseph spotted two lions hunting. Surprisingly, they were hunting on the burnt side of the park. To us they looked like females, but Joseph explained that these were young males who had not yet developed a mane. Joseph referred to them as “sub-adults,” a term that was new to us but one that we felt applied to many other contexts. The two males were not successful in their hunt as far as we could tell. We followed them for a while and watched as they ran and played with one another. Like other “sub-adults” we know they didn’t seem to be able to walk from one place to another without putting their paws on one each other.

Later in the drive Chris pulled out a small guitar that she had purchased at a shop in Bwindi and started to play it. Janis then accompanied on the little drum she had bought much to Joseph’s entertainment. This inspired all to engage in an impromptu def poetry jam. Chris, being a child of the 60’s was clearly the best at reciting “deeply meaningful” poetry as she played and Janis provided emphasis on her drum. Joseph was quite entertained with this esoteric bit if American culture. He’s pretty sure he has a crazy groups of Muzungus in his truck.

Joseph, our guide, has very little use for the Congo, or its people. If we have not seen elephants, he will say, “Oh, those elephants have gone to the Congo.” This means the elephants are not worth seeing. Or he might say, “those people in the Congo, they will eat anything.” So now when we don’t see something we want to see, we too say, they have gone to the Congo. It’s a useful phrase. Other animals we sighted in the morning drive included a large group of baboons, a crested eagle, cape buffalo, and a yellow throated crow.

An early game drive meant a late breakfast and a very leisurely day by the river in Ishasha. They are diverting the river here at this Wilderness Camp because it is eroding the ground on which the camp sits. Something like this would never be allowed in the U.S., but “this is Africa.” So each morning a vehicle goes out of the park to pick up “the boys” as Joseph calls them, and they proceed to dig a new channel for the river, literally by hand. This shoveling is back breaking work and as we noted the Ugandan’s did almost all the work, while the white overseer watched and read a book. It’s still very colonial in many parts of Africa.

Today was hot in Ishasha, but we left camp at 4:30 p.m. for a sunset game drive. The sun sets here at about 6:30 p.m. and it sets quickly with very little twilight. Once again Joseph was masterful in his game spotting as he stopped the truck, then backed up so that we could take pictures of a leopard that was out hunting in the early evening. The leopard saw us and hid in the grass with the sun going down behind it. It was difficult to get good pictures, but Chris did get some excellent video of the leopard checking us out. Other sightings this evening included a white browed cukoo, lots of white backed vultures, and a harrier hawk.

Joseph surprised us by pulling up to a Banda (a small round brick structure) in the middle of the park. After checking to make sure there were no lions in the Banda, he told us we could get out and stretch our legs. He then brought out a cooler with exactly the kind of beer we like and we drank our beer while the sun set on the Ugandan Savannah in the middle of a wilderness park filled with predators, prey and our small group.

We invited Joseph to dinner with us tonight, as it will be our last dinner with Joseph as our guide. His knowledge, skill, patience and attentiveness to our needs is quite remarkable. A superb guide like Joseph makes all the difference in terms of the quality of the experience of a Safari. He has been our anchor in our travels in this very different culture and land. We will miss him greatly when he leaves us at Fort Portal tomorrow. Dinner was superb and typically Joseph could identify every night sound made by animals or birds. The African Wood Owl both male and female were calling all during dinner, although to us the hooting sounded like a person doing a bad imitation of an owl.

An early start tomorrow as we need to be at Mweya for the Kazinga Channel boat ride by 11:00 a.m. Hopefully, we’ll see elephants tomorrow.

Thursday, July 1. 2010 Ishasha

As I write this blog post I am sitting by the river in Ishasha Wilderness Camp in Queen Elizabeth National Park. We have just come back from a game drive in which we saw two of the tree climbing lions for which this portion of the park is famous. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning.

The distance from Bwindi to Ishasha is not great so we asked Joseph our driver if we could have some time shopping in the small shops just outside the park grounds in Bwindi. We all bought a few baskets and beads in these very small huts that are run by locals in the area. Chris, Christie and Janis found a shop that was run by the Batwa tribe. The Batwa are the local tribe of pygmies that have a community nearby. Proceeds from the sale of items in this shop support that community. We also found a shop that supported the local school and we bought some items there as well. Christie likes her beads so well, that she is not sure she will give them to her sister to turn into other kinds of jewelry.

By mid-morning we were on the road to Ishasha, but there was a problem. It seems that that incredibly bad road we used to go to Ruhiga yesterday damaged one of our tires. It was not holding air very well so we had to stop in Kihihi at a service station in order to get it fixed. Since they had difficulty locating a tube for this tire (yes, they still used tubed tires in cars in Africa) we had some time to kill in beautiful downtown Kihihi.

Kihihi is a very small African city which consists of a few streets (some of which are actually paved) and numerous shops. These shops consist of at least half a dozen beauty shops and another half a dozen or more stationary stores. No Internet unfortunately so I couldn’t post a blog anywhere.

Once again it was Christie who provided the unintentional “this is Africa” moment for our group and for the entire main street of Kihihi. After purchasing some paper and other items for the lesson they will teach in Kasiisi, Chris and Christie left the shop and headed for the street. As in Entebbe there is a ditch that goes across all these shops with mere boards and logs going across it to go from the shops to the street. Christie unfortunately chose a particularly tippy half log (round side down) and promptly fell into the ditch “screaming (as she puts it) bloody murder.” Of course all of the good citizens of Kihihi turned to watch the Muzungu attempt to climb out of the ditch in the center of town. Christie did eventually get out with Chris’ help and with damage only to her dignity.

Back at the car Christie was once again covering herself in Purel, even though this sewage ditch was dry. Yesterday, at Ruhiga Christie had purchased a Gorilla t-shirt that said “Muzungus in the Mist” on the back. But today, as we told her, it was a Muzungu in the ditch. Later Christie would respond by saying, “I’m so glad I was able to provide you and the entire town of Kihihi your daily entertainment.” It seems that being the “daily entertainment” is indeed Christie’s fate for this trip.

Back on the road with our tire fixed we entered QENP and Ishasha in a relatively short time. We first stopped by the River for a lunch we had packed at Bwindi. The river itself represents the border between the Congo and Uganda, but the animals have no respect for this political boundary. We saw hippos in the river in two different areas. On a sandy bank on the other side of the river was a very large hippo momma and her not as large hippo baby, sunning themselves. Directly across from our lunch area were two hippos, grunting, roaring and opening their mouths into a very large yawn. Chris got some good video of this activity on her super duper HD video camera with 200X zoom.

We also saw a black African Bee Eater bird that Joseph pointed out across the river in the Congo. Joseph often guides bird watchers and he points out that they can be a curious group of clients. One time he pointed out the Bee Eater (which is a fairly rare bird) to a client, but the client refused to write it down on his list because the bird was in the Congo (on the other side of the river) and not in Uganda. Another time as they were leaving this lunch area, Joseph noticed the lions beginning to hunt in the area and pointed this out to his bird watching client. The bird watcher was not in the least interested in the lions, but instead wanted to add more feathered species to his list. The bird here are neat, but that is a bit of what we would term “unexpected behavior.”

After lunch on a game drive in the park, we saw a number of animals, hundreds of Ugandan Kob, and many Topi and White backed Vultures. But we were looking for Lions. After much driving we went into the Fig Tree area of the park and Chris eventually spotted a tail hanging from a tree straight ahead. We went strait for it, parked our vehicle under the tree no more than 30 feet from two female lions who were absolutely unconcerned as we photographed and videoed them. They looked at us and yawned and went back to their afternoon nap.

The Tree Climbing Lions of Ishasha are not a different species from other lions. The fact that they climb trees and spend most of their day in them is a local adaptation in this part of Africa. Naturalists believe that this behavior started because the lions wanted a place to nap during the day out of the hot sun and away from biting insects on the ground. At sunset these lions will come down and go hunting for Kob of which there is a plentiful supply.

Lion spotting accomplished, we started back to look for the Wilderness Camp. Much of Ishasha has recently been burnt in what Joseph tells us is a controlled burn to renew the vegetation and get rid of material that would cause a disastrous fire. We drove for quite a while spotting a number of different bird species including eagles, vutures, shrikes, grey backed lapwings, and yellow throated crows. At one point in this long ride Janis turned to Joseph and asked “Where are we??!!!” Joseph just laughed. But Janis’ point was valid. If you looked around us when she asked this question all you could see was Savannah and no matter which direction in which you looked it all looks the same. But Joseph knew exactly where we were and he eventually got us the Ishasha Wilderness Camp, where we were met with cold towels and apple juice by the attentive staff. This is a tented camp, but it is quite comfortable and we will stay here tonight and tomorrow night as well. Perhaps more lions tomorrow and maybe Njojos (elephants) and the resident leopard as well.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Chris slept in as she was not going Gorilla Tracking on this trip. She had done this on her previous visit with her old hip. Christie, Janis and Steve were at breakfast at 5:30 at the Bahoma Lodge and left shortly after in order to drive to the start of Mountain Gorilla Tracking. It seems that we were headed to Ruhiga to start. The ride to Ruhiga was over an hour and a half long over the worst road any of us had ever traveled. The most beautiful scenery one could imagine accompanied this spectacularly bad road. The villagers who live in the Ruhiga area live in an almost vertical world. They are either going up or down, because there is no flat in this mountainous region. We were thinking that perhaps The Impenetrable Forest was referring to the road, but that was before we got to see the forest itself.

After the very formal briefing by the Park Ranger we were off to find a family of 13 Mountain Gorillas. These are among the most endangered species in the world with only a little over 600 of them know to still be alive. A little more than half of those 600 live in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and we were going to view these animals in their natural habitat for slightly over an hour today.

We started out walking almost straight down into a Rainforest canyon that was at least 150 feet below from the road. Each of us hired a local porter to carry our bag and to help us with the terrain. Hiring these men is an important way to provide employment to the local population, and for them to understand that protecting these Gorillas brings economic benefit to the community. Besides that we would all end up needing the important help these men would provide.

About halfway down to the bottom of this canyon (which ended up in a swamp) we met the Gorilla Trackers who had been locating this family earlier that morning. Leaving our hiking sticks, helpers and bags behind we went forward. We went a few feet when we noticed a young black back about 30 feet above us in a tree looking for food. This particular black back is known as a troublemaker by the rangers and he would prove to live up to that name before the day was over. We continued down the trail toward the valley floor and met a couple of silver backs. Silver backs are the older males and one of them is always the dominant male of the group. This family is unusual in that there are four silver backs in this group, a dominant male and older male, a younger silver back and a less dominant male. We saw all four of them and we were able to get within 20 feet of these beautiful animals in what is seemingly a magical rainforest.
As we moved to follow the silver backs, the young black back started down the slope towards us. I was trying to take pictures of him when he started to charge us. As I had been briefed I averted my eyes away from him as he charged the Ranger to my left and gave him a very strong push out of his way as he continued his way down the slope towards the rest of his family.

After the excitement subsided we continued to follow the group. The rest of the Gorillas seemed very relaxed to have us around. They were lounging, napping and feeding with little concern for us being there. Viewing these animals in that environment for the hour we had with them was a remarkable experience. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a place that is extremely remote and to which you can go only with a great deal of hard work. When you are there with the Mountain Gorillas you are transported to their world for just an hour, but it’s worth all the time and effort to get that one hour in that mystical place.

Today was my last official day as Principal at Country School. I’ve been taking vacation days since the 25th of June to finish out the remainder of my contract. I cannot think of a better way to have spent that day than with the Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Off to Ishasha. Joseph tells us that the lions have not been spotted recently. We are hoping to change that when we arrive there tomorrow.