As my one-track mind is thinking of Africa and I'm anxiously awaiting the orientation meeting, I begin wondering about that mountain gorilla adventure mentioned somewhere in my preparation paperwork. Just as I decide to write a quick e-mail to the coordinator well lo and behold, she sends the entire team an e-mail saying she has 8 permits costing $500 per permit (not including the extra $350 for transportation, food and lodging) sold on a first come, first serve basis. HELLO, I'm all over that and within virtual minutes I secured my spot. I later learned that all 8 permits sold out that day and they were unable to get any more permits from the Rwandan government. Can you say, BLESSED & BLISSED! It made me realize that not everyone has the "luxury" of sitting behind a computer all day, namely, doctors and nurses. I need to be more cognizant that some people still prefer to communicate by phone although I'm definitely not one of them.
For those who don't know, the mountain gorillas are located in Volcanoes National Park and they are an endangered species. Trekking to see the mountain gorillas is the biggest form of tourism in Rwanda and the government is in the process of obtaining world heritage status. Since we will be trekking/hiking up the Virunga mountains to observe a gorilla family, I asked the coordinator about training, here is an excerpt from her e-mail:
As for training, I recommend that you do some hiking before the snow starts to fly and perhaps stair master training would be good after that. When I went to see the gorillas, we hiked for two hours before getting in to see the gorillas. Rwanda is called “The Land of A Thousand Hills”, and the gorillas live in the most mountainous terrain in the country. You will probably be going up and down hilly terrain, and someone with a machete will be clearing the path for you. The gorillas families move around and trackers stay out in the jungle to keep track of each family.
To that end, I will be throwing in some training / camera practice blogs in preparation for my trip to the "mother land" which is also EXACTLY what I need to do to stay on track with my weight loss goals I started about a year ago. I used to be an avid hiker (more about that personal history in another blog) and had recently made a conscious decision to "return to my roots." Little did I realize it would come at a very busy time in my life but hey, what's another hobby/passion to add to my growing list. This immediately brings to mind 2 quotes from my quote collection:
1. I can sleep when I'm dead - I don't know the author
2. If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room - Dr. Roger Teel
Here is a website link containing Rwanda tourism information including the mountain gorillas:
http://www.rwandatourism.com/
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