Justin's blog

I am currently trapped in a hotel room with only one door which is locked from the inside and I don't have the key. That is not to say that the key isn't here it just means that I don't have it. The key is the possession of Dr. Jennifer Szerb, my captor. My freedom is reliant upon writing my first and what will most assuredly be my last blog. Therefore...... October 8, 2011. It is currently 19:04 PM and I am sitting in just the loveliest hotel room on the edge of Lake Kivu gazing at the water through glass doors which I can't open. The day started with an early wakeup at the Kinigi guest house where Jennifer, Lynn, Louise and myself gorged ourselves on African spiced tea, pineapple and and some sort of African plum whose edible parts were not entirely clear. We were then driven to the Volcanoes National Park where we divided into our gorilla tracking groups. Our particular group consisted of 3 matriarchs, 2 adolescent females, 2 adolescent males and a subservient older male. The group of gorillas we were tracking consisted of 3 silverbacks, 2 male blackbacks, 3 females and 3 juveniles. Within 10 minutes of starting the medium "plus sportive hike" one of the adolescent males, a Brazilian Australian, twisted his knee and Louise announced that she in fact was missing a kneecap. Using my belt to tie around the Brazilian Australian's knee, I did my best Steve Erkel impression by tucking my shirt and fleece into my waistband to keep my pants from falling down. This was how the day started. But the day only looked up from there... about 1950 feet up. We huffed and puffed and made several stops but eventually reached the zenith of our trek. Suddenly we were upon them. They were much larger than I had expected and frankly was a little intimidated. It turned out, about 8 seconds later, that my intimidation was greatly justified as the largest of the three Silverbacks charged our group in a terrifying display of bravado. We all cowered in his presence which seemed to satisfy and pacify the great leader. As soon as we realized we were all safe and had not soiled our underwear the sound of snapshots being taken filled the crisp mountain air. We proceeded to track this group through dense vegetation and trails freshly cut by machetes and the nimble men yielding them at the front of our group. The gorillas were magnificent. Such noble and family oriented creatures. They glided effortlessly through the forests often stopping along the way to munch on bamboo shoots. We were told to maintain a distance of 7 meters from the gorillas at all times. However, the guides clearly forgot to notify the gorillas. They would saunter wherever they pleased and if that meant brushing up against Lynn's leg then so be it. We followed them for about 3 hours before we made our way back down the mountain. Safe and mostly sound we were all jubilant at having just witnessed the majesty of the Rwandan gorilla. We collected our certificates of completion (which Lynn has promised to hang by her Medical diploma by the way) and headed towards Lake Kivu where we will spend a very relaxing day tomorrow. The day will be well deserved after the arduous climb. I am extremely proud of Jennifer, Lynn and Louise for making the climb look easy. Jennifer has promised not to set an alarm or shine her headlamp in my eyes at 5:40 in the morning to check if I am still sleeping.

Justin