Mom and Grammy's visit!

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of introducing my mom and grammy to East Africa.  We did it ALL.  I’m so glad we did.  Here are a few snapshots of our time together:

Stop 1: Lake Bunyonyi,  a finger-like lake wedged into a patchwork quilt of terraced hills.  This place is magical.  The colors alone took my breath away.  The hillsides are terraced with shades upon shades of green.  Forests are blanketed with mosses of blue, orange, and green.  Dugout canoes are worn tree trunks, sliced in half, and dug out into a canoe, worn with water and time.  We stayed on a little island in a treehouse made of wood.  We were the only guests on the island, so the service was top notch.  The island is full of small hiking trails, swimming beaches, little look out points, and beautiful, towering eucalyptus trees.  We had a great 2 days of bird watching, hiking, reading, eating, and catching up. 

The beautiful lake.

Grammy and Evas, our hostess with mostest.

Natalie, Grammy and I paddling away in a dugout canoe!  The people who live on the lake create terraces of vegetable fields on the side of the mountains and row their vegetables to market in a dugout canoe - amazing.

Stop 2: Queen Elizabeth Park, Uganda.  We ventured 6 hours northeast to Queen Elizabeth park in Uganda for a true safari experience.  My favorite animals were the elephants, which were literally less than 5 feet from our car, escorting their babies to a watering hole of some kind.  Elephant babies are CUTE.  I can’t say I want one as a pet, but seriously, so cute.  Other animals spotted: lions, hippos, monkeys, water buffalo, many exotic birds (including the African Eagle!), crocodiles, water bucks, cob, warthogs, and of course, the elephants.  Although this sounds super American, it just really felt like I was in Lion King at times. 

Grammy and I searching for lions, probably. 

Elephant - up close and personal.

The gorgeous view from our lodge.

Stop 3: Volcanoes National Park, Musanze, Rwanda.  Mountain gorilla territory.  

We woke up early the morning of our gorilla trek and were astounded by the beauty of the mountains in the morning (see picture below).  Breathtaking, right?  The morning went like this: we met our guide, hiking group, and heard the do's and don'ts of gorilla trekking. Next we drove to our starting point: a 45 minute ride through a few villages.  Children waved and ran after our truck, mzungu!  Mzungu!  We arrived to farm fields and started our trek up to the forest.  After hiking up through thick rainforest and bamboo forest, we reached the gorilla trackers, who spend their days following the gorilla groups around the mountainside.  Grammy led the group (behind our guide, of course) and was the first to spot a baby gorilla up in a tree, chomping away at leaves.  It was absolutely unbelievable to see mountain gorillas in person, and practically touch them!  There were a few times when I had to move out of the way so a gorilla could pass.  We were able to hang out with them for an hour.  Babies played with their brothers and sisters.  Two males started showing their stuff to one another - beating their chest and showing their power.  They barely started fighting and then immediately stopped when the chief came striding in.  It was just amazing to be that close to such amazing animals.  If you come to Rwanda, spend the money and see the gorillas.

The incredible landscape of Rwanda. I love when the clouds roll and and envelop the mountains.

Mom, me, and our friend the mountain gorilla.

Stop 3: Gisenyi, Lake Kivu

On the shores of Lake Kivu we found an incredible little piece of paradise – appropriately named Paradise Malahide.  This place had a funky, eclectic style.  Think a mirage of African fabrics on pillows, couches, and walls, wooden boats hanging from the ceiling, a big old fire pit in the middle of the thatch-roofed lobby.  Food was served on big old wooden platters complete with wooden silverware.  We ate wonderful fish, caught fresh from the lake, including these small fish (pictured on the blog.)  They were actually really good!  Especially with a little pili pili hot sauce.  We spent the morning watching the fisherman come in with their nets full, singing songs, and rowing their long wooden boats.  It was truly wonderful.

Beautiful Lake Kivu.

Small fish, fresh off the boat.

Our beautiful view from the hotel.

Stop 4: Back to Kigali.

Our last few days together were spent in Kigali, spending time with my friends, students, and the kids at New Hope.  

 Grammy and the kids. (She is holding Salah, Desami is crouching below her.)

It was SO great to show them my new home.  Who's next to visit???