Gorillas in the Mist

OK...there were gorillas, but no mist. I took the opportunity on Sunday to join my friend James (SIS from UK/FH) and his father John to go see the gorillas at the Par National de Kahuzi-Biega an hour and a half outside Bukavu. Gorilla watching is something I have always wanted to do. You can see them in Uganda, Rwanda or Congo but it is cheaper in Congo and from what I have been told, much better.

Our day started at 7:20 when we picked up the FH driver, Fidel to drive us to the park. Funny thing, Fidel was dressed in his church clothes: black suit, white dress shirt, tie and dress shoes. The drive to the park was fun; the road not so fun. The biggest thing about Congo is it's lack of roads. The road we were on took us along the lake, past the Chinese MONUC base, past the nunnery where the nuns make/sell really good ice cream (I'm told). We branched off before the airport, but the road also leads to the Bukavu airport. Along the way we say fishing boats, a rolled over bus and countless other incongruous sites.

We arrived at the park at 9:00 am and met with the park official. Unfortunately, as it is dry season, the gorillas have ventured quite far away and we had to wait for the guides to find the family before we could head out. Also waiting was a large group of Pakistani UN soldiers. They are funny. A couple of them wanted photos with James, his dad and I. What is that all about! After an hour and a half of waiting, we were off. Accompanying us was a group of four French nationals who lived in Burundi. The park is home to three family groups of gorillas. The group we were going to see had one male silverback, 17 females, 2 babies and one juvenille. The head guide gave us a brief introduction and instructions then we were off. The lead guide went ahead with a machete to clear the path. It was unbelievable. I kept thinking, when is Indiana Jones going to appear. We truly were hiking through the jungle. At times, the underbrush we were working on was so thick you couldn't see the ground. The machete guide had to completely clear the path at times. It was so cool. What was not cool was stepping into the water in the marsh and having to climb over a watery mud hole. Nor was it cool that we had to walk for close to an hour.

But....... ...it was so worth it! We started to come across piles of gorilla dung so we new we were getting close. Then...GORILLAS! It was awesome. They were not afraid of us or the machete wielding guide who cleared the bush around them so we could get a good view. The silver back was huge, bigger than anything I could imagine. And scary looking. Some of the young ones came up quite close. One of the gorillas was in a tree above our head. We watched for sometime, then the silver back got up, yawned, and ran off. It was amazing and scary at the same time. The rest of the family followed their leader and we followed as well. The viewing wasn't as good, so we headed back to the vehicles.

The problem with walking downhill for an hour? Having to walk back uphill. My legs were so tired; I could hardly lift them to walk over the logs and debris. As we walked back I listened. There was the sound of my heart pounding from the exercise and the sounds of the forest: birds and bugs. I was so excited to reach the vehicles at the top of the hill, but sad the experience was over. This is definitely something I want to do again. So if you have ever wanted to see gorillas...come and visit and I'll take you! (see the album on the left)

Congolese Wedding

I went to my first Congolese wedding this weekend. Our FH driver Israel's daughter was getting married. It was nothing like a Canadian wedding. In Congo, the church has not been given the right to perform a legal wedding. Therefore, there is a civil ceremony before the church ceremony. And before the civil ceremony, there is another get together. The first get together was last weekend and the civil ceremony was on Thursday. The church wedding was on Saturday morning at 9am.

The muzungu attendees were myself, Joel, Michael and his wife Holly and Liz (All FH Staff) Since most African (Uganda/Congo) events do not start on time, we decided to leave around 9 am to get to the wedding around 9:30. However, we were late leaving and didn't arrive at where we parked the car till around 9:45. We were met by one of Israel's friends and walked to the church....straight up a very long and steep hill. Have I mentioned I was wearing 2 inch high heels! It was not a fun walk. Then, when we reached the church, when I was red faced and sweaty, we discovered we wer late. And of course, as muzungus, we were seated right at the very front. YUCK!

The wedding itself was interesting. It was in Swahili and French which means I hardly understood a thing unless it was translated by Joel or Liz. There were two choirs that sang and a skit. That was the first hour. Then there was the 40 minute sermon. Then the vows and exchange of rings. There were speaches by the father and mother of the bride and groom. Funny thing...the groom was around 22 years old; his father was 100 years old! The one thing I can't get past, and really taints my view of Congolese weddings, is the tradition that the bride and groom cannot smile. Never! Not in the photo for the invitation, not at the pre-gathering, civil ceremony, wedding or reception. If you smile it shows you are not serious about the marriage. And the bride has turn her face down towards the floor. It was awful; the wedding party looked like they are at a funeral while the rest of the guests are whooping it up. In fact, the bride looked terrified; I have never seen hands shake like that.

I think I am pretty open to the different cultures and customs I have encountered since arriving in Africa. I try really hard not to judge but to accept the differences. This one, the bride and groom not smiling, is just too much. I never felt comfortable watching the wedding party and found the seriousness of the bride and the groom too discordant from the joyful celebration going on around them.

Before the vows After the vows