In the wee morning hours of January 14th we landed at Kigale Airport; back in Eastern Africa. We slept for a few hours before getting picked up by Divine, a friendly and ambitious Rwandan woman who volunteers for Shooting Touch (an NGO promoting education and leadership through basketball). We headed north through the winding roads of the mountainous country to cross the most south-western border into Uganda. Throughout the two-and-a-half-hour ride Divine shared some of the history and culture of Rwanda. She was not even born at the time of the Rwandan genocide but was well informed, explaining the country's Genocide Memorial Day on April 7th and the week following, where the community discusses the events to ensure that it will never happen again.As we neared the border we were greeted with gorgeous views of three large volcanic peaks - Gahinga, Muhabura, and Sabinyo - rising high in the sky, serving as a natural barrier between Rwanda and Uganda. At the border we were picked up by Michael, a wonderful and attentive driver who took care of us for the rest of the week in south-western Uganda. If anyone needs a driver in the area, contact me and I would be happy to provide his contact info - highly recommended. After a month of constantly figuring out exchange rates and new languages, it was great to be back in a country which is so familiar.
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| Kisoro District Hospital, 2011 |
The nearest town to the border is Kisoro, which holds a special place in my heart because I was here as a fourth-year medical student. Twice yearly Dr. Jerry Paccione from Albert Einstein College of Medicine brings a group of four to six students to Kisoro to work in the district hospital and also pairs them with local village health workers on education projects in the community through the Doctors for Global Health NGO. I was fortunate enough to participate in one of these trips. The memories of my time here came flooding back: the restaurants where our group had many a night out, the veranda where we celebrated match day for residency, and the cute cafe called The Coffee Pot where a lovely German woman bakes amazing cakes, including one for my Kisoro bachelorette party in 2011! 
We settled in at the Virunga Backpacker Lodge and quickly set off for an afternoon hike to Lake Mutanda. I had taken the trek many times during my previous stay in Kisoro, but six years having passed since the last hike made finding the paths a bit harder. Along the way groups of kids would help to guide us if we veered off track, then asking for a pen, cookies, our water bottles, or anything else they thought we might have. At times the hills would ring out with tiny voices shouting "Muzungu!" from all directions.
That evening we had a lovely dinner at Traveller's Rest, where the famous primatologist Dian Fossey made her second home. During happy hour we began talking with a couple who were originally from Poland and now living in Chicago. We joined them for dinner along with their travel guide, hailing from our own Mbale. He was shocked when we began speaking with him in his native Lumasaba language. The next day we were up before the sun to set out on an eight hour hike of Mount Sabinyo. This is one of my all-time favorite hikes: you pass through thick bamboo forests with the occasional sound of golden monkeys overhead, moving on to trees covered with furry moss, and on to varied terrain as you continue on to each subsequent peak. There are three peaks in total, the last of which requires you to climb up a series of ladders to maneuver the steep sides and reach the top where the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda meet. After a hikers' lunch at the top, it was time to reverse the trek, heading down, up, down, up, and finally down again to reach the base of the mountain.
There wasn't much time to rest as we made it back to Kisoro, grabbed our gear, and went north to Bwindi Impenetrable Forrest. Upon arriving at Rushaga Gorilla Camp just after sunset we realized that we had the entire lodge to ourselves - such luxury! January 16th we celebrated my turning thirty-three by trekking to find the Eastern Mountain Gorillas! We were designated to track the Bweza gorilla family, alongside a lovely couple from Australia and two hilarious travel guides from Adventrue, a Polish tour agency. The guys, fully equipped with serious cameras and recording devices, were researching and gathering footage to promote an upcoming trip to Uganda for their clients.
The trek to see gorillas can vary based on which gorilla family you are assigned to, where the family has been found, and their movements throughout the day. The trail to reach the Bweza family was anything but flat, with lots of peaks and valleys throughout the lush surroundings. Bwindi is known as the Impenetrable Forest for a reason, as there are no permanent trails. There are paths that are well delineated and others where the guide has to cut down branches with his machete to make it possible to pass. After an hour and a half of hiking, we spotted a gorilla high in the trees. We then went into the very thick brush to gain a closer perspective of the beautiful creatures. 
While we were watching one of the male silverback gorillas munch on some leaves, a female who was close to us decided she wanted to move to another area nearby. We were in her way so she gave an indication of wanting to move, then started going her way whether we were there or not. As we made ourselves small and ducked out of the way (general rule of thumb - do not run, whatever you do) she pushed passed us, as if we weren't there, grazing my leg. Everyone was fine, and I was touched by a gorilla - awesome!
As we continued moving to see more of the family, the gentleman from Australia got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend right in front of a large gorilla. The tour guides' cameras swung around, capturing the moment with the gorilla in the background. Talk about an engagement story. For those of you wondering, she said yes! After that moment of excitement we watched in awe as two young gorillas played and fought each other in the dirt, leaves, and on top of the sleeping adults. Intermittently throughout their playing the young ones would show each other their strength by pounding their chest before lunging at the other to wrestle some more.
In the morning we left the beautiful Bwindi, slowly making our way east to Lake Bunyoni, believed to be the deepest lake in Uganda and second deepest in Africa after Lake Tanganyika. Staying at the Bunyoni Overland Lodge, we had a gorgeous view of the lake and plenty of spaces to hide out and enjoy reading while overlooking the lake. As the afternoon became slightly cooler, we hiked up to the Arcadia Lodge for a fantastic view of the island-filled lake. The evening was spent enjoying the serene setting and watching the sun set behind the Mgahinga mountains in the far distance.
The following day we set off from the dock in a traditional hollowed-out acacia tree canoe to traverse the lake with Edirisa Tours. Compared to fiberglass or plastic canoes, the traditional tree variety is incredibly heavy and requires a significant amount of effort to move. After cruising the lake for a bit, we docked at one of the islands and hiked up the ridge, through a lakeside village, past the elementary school still closed for the Christmas holiday break, then on to a small bar, the walls of which were made of wood and filled in with bricks of dung and mud, to enjoy ubushera with some locals in the village. Ubushera is a traditional fermented drink made of sorghum flour and ash that is very popular in the southwest of Uganda, much more so than in the east; definitely not sweet, and just a touch sour. 
The next stop was a traditional herbalist. While he was organizing the local medicinal plants, children were wandering in the yard, seeing what the strange looking people were up to. Once the kids were comfortable, they were in our laps, singing village songs. It was then time for the lecture about the different plants and their preparations to cure common ailments. It is always intriguing as a physician to see these traditional medicines, as much of our modern medicine is based on plant-derived compounds found in nature. A short distance down the road, a woman who makes and sells crafts as a living taught us how to make bracelets out of local dyes and papyrus, all-the-while tightly sewing a small basket out of dried grass. Once we were back on the water in the acacia tree canoe, we slowly made our way around a few islands, each with its own history and story, to arrive back at our lodge. We took advantage of the waterfront tables to enjoy a lovely afternoon reading lakeside.
On January 19th we traveled from the lake to Mbarara, where we met up with fellow GHSP volunteers Sara, Laura, and Mark. We enjoyed catching up on their travels over the break, and marveling at the fact that Dennis and I had a similar trip to Laura and Mark, only in reverse. The rest of the afternoon was spent on a long drive to Kampala. After taking care of some Peace Corps business for a couple of days, it was finally time to head home. We hopped on the Y.Y. bus with music videos entertaining and blaring for the five hour drive from Kampala to Mbale. As we picked up all of the luggage we had carried over the six weeks, we were glad to be back in our home away from home. We were even greeted by several locals saying "welcome back" as we carried our gear through the streets. Once home, it was time to prepare for the next adventure: teaching the second semester of students.
The gorillas most have been exhilarating!!
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