And now for our feature presentation . . . .

     The day started out inauspiciously.  I was awakened from a sound sleep by the sound of terrified screaming, seemingly just a few yards from my window.  I was simply paralyzed--couldn't think what to do.  I was relieved to hear some authoritative-sounded voices raised, and the screaming stopped.  I hoped for the best.  I asked the desk attendant about it later in the morning, but she only apologized for my sleep being interrupted, which was hardly the point.
     So I breakfasted early and had a pleasant chat with a group of Dutch tourists who had already been gorilla trekking the day before.  They were a little disappointed, saying they had hoped for a good long hike before getting to see the gorillas whereas it was only about a quarter mile.  They said the brush was so thick they could hardly get any good looks at the gorillas, much less good photos.  I was, however, prepared not to be disappointed.
     What I WAS, though, was nervous.  I knew we'd be climbing, possibly for a long distance, and we were already at a pretty high elevation.  I was afraid I wouldn't be up to it physically.
     Moses, Jackie, and Emma and I drove up one of the worst roads I've ever seen.  It was more pothole than road and sometimes very steep.  Emma had to negotiate so very carefully.  I couldn't believe we were actually going somewhere, but soon

we arrived at a place where there were several vehicles parked and people were selling little carved gorillas and walking sticks.  We walked to a nice little pavilion where the four of us tourists were briefed on what was going to happen.
     It turns out that what they do is send out trackers who know where the group of gorillas was the day before.  They leave early in the morning and follow the trail of the gorillas.  They do leave a pretty clear trail.  They sleep at night and upon waking, they browse for about an hour or so and then they usually settle down for a nap for an hour or so.  The trackers communicate back with the guides at the pavilion and tell them where to head, and the hope is that the guides and the trekkers will get to the gorillas before they wake up from their morning naps and move on.  
     We were offered the services of "porters," ostensibly to carry  our packs, but we had almost nothing in our packs--a couple of bottles of water and a sandwich was about it.  But I had learned earlier that it was a good idea to hire a porter, first of all because they are local people who need to make a living from gorilla-related tourism, and secondly, that they would help pull one up over steep terrain and obstacles.  So I got the services of Erock, and I was SO glad I did!
     At first the terrain was only mildly uphill, as we trekked through agricultural fields.  It was easy walking, and all Erock had to do for me was warn me about colonies of fire ants.  I was grateful for that.  The farther up into the mountains we got, the less agricultural the landscape became.  Eventually we crawled over a stone wall (made, apparently, to at least slow gorillas down from raiding crops) and found ourselves in a much more jungly area.   

  
     It was very humid--being a rainforest and all--leaving some of the trees covered with moss.
    And we passed a structure which covered an opening to a cave, where in the past, a Twa king had held his court.
     Our guide stopped frequently, before we even got winded, and I was hardly feeling the exertion at all.  I'd estimate that we walked about three miles before he told us that he had been contacted bv the trackers, and that we were very near a group of gorillas.  He reiterated the rules:  do not approach the gorillas.  If they approach you, do not run but remain calm and hold your ground.  Avoid sudden movements and avoid eye contact.  Leave all food and water behind.  Keep your voice low.  No flashes on your camera.  Be prepared to leave after one hour with the group.  Our excitement mounted.

     The first gorilla I saw was so sound asleep I thought he was dead.  But then I saw that his eyes would sometimes slowly open and then close again.  He was laying on his side, and his left arm would suddenly twitch when he was falling back asleep.  I do exactly the same thing.  He VERY slowly emerged from his sleep.  I felt sleepy just watching him.
     He treated us to a MIGHTY yawn.  My, what a mouthful of teeth for a vegetarian!!  And WHAT a black tongue!!
    

 

He ju-u-u-u-ust managed to get himself right side up, but had to contemplate for a bit before preceeding any farther.

And then he managed to get in another semi-supine position and found something else to contemplate.  I could have sat where I was--about 6 feet away from him--all day and just watched him go about his routine, but the guides reminded us that if we wanted to see any of the other gorillas in the group, we'd better get a move on.