GORILLAS!!!

WE DID IT!!!!! ( and we didn't die!) A beautiful day for a peak experience !! 8 people in a group (3 groups a day)with a gorilla guide and 2 others front and back with AK 47s. And we each opted for a porter to carry our pack and pull us up the hill! It was NOT easy. And it did go UP. The trail near the top was thru thick vines and tropical vegetation which was slippery. But Sao, my porter, took me by the hand up the steep parts. :-). AND , after 1 hour 40 minutes, ( and plenty of breaks to get our heart rates down ) we found our family! ( well, the trackers found them). Then we leave our packs etc with the porters, and go on our own to where the gorillas are-for 1 hour! In all the U tubes I've seen the gorillas are in a clearing with the humans sitting around on the ground. Well these were in the trees and all over the ground in a very steep jungle-y area, but oh my did we have a show. From the silverback to black backs and females and teenagers and babies we got to watch them eat and play. I kept wondering what they were thinking about us - they are certainly habituated. I chose this blip from many great portraits I have with one of our group sitting on this path to show you how close they came. We had to move to the other side of the path... to let them pass... The silverback was eating leaves and the rest had to wait til he was done to get any of those for themselves. There are 408 in this park and the population is growing. They are very keen to spread the word about conservation and saving the wildlife....
OK I'll stop .... This was an awesome awesome magical unforgettable day to see these magnificent a creatures where they belong. And we're also happy to have survived!! :-)

And I have back blipped yesterday with more lions....