The day started off pretty rocky.  I was supposed to meet Isaac at 6:45AM to go tracking the endangered golden monkeys. I waited in the lobby for him but he was not there — very strange because he had always been so punctual.  At 7:15AM I became concerned and asked the desk if he had left a message for me because there are not phones in the rooms.  Anne, the lady who works at reception told me there was no message.  At 7:30AM, I went to my room to get his number, but I left my notebook in the car so I took the number for the main office and the 24-hr emergency number with me.  Anne was very kind and called the numbers.  She was able to reach the Kampala office and they gave Isaac’s cell phone number to her.

Anne called Isaac and he said that there was a problem with the car and that he would be there in 15 minutes.  Thirty minutes later he called to say there was a problem with the engine and he would arrange for another car to get me so that I could still see the monkeys.  Around 8:15AM, another lady who works at the lodge came and said that Isaac called and I had to go down the road to meet the other driver.  She came with me to show me where to go.  It was a 15 minute downhill trek on the rocky road I came in on.  When we got to the bottom, a ranger hopped out of an SUV and said Isaac had arranged for me to ride with another family who was also going trekking.  I got in their SUV and thanked them for giving me a lift.  I climbed in the back and sat in the extra pop-up seat.  The family was from Los Angeles. They looked like modern day hippies.  The father and daughter were lawyers in the non-profit sector and the mother had Parkinson’s disease and with the help of 2 porters she had been able to trek for the gorillas and now the golden monkeys. There was a son, who was in his 3^rd year of law school, but he opted to do a 2^nd trek for gorillas.  The daughter was very talkative and we engaged in the usual traveler’s banter: where are you from, where have you been, what did you see, where you headed next, etc.

When we got to the starting point, Bernice, the guide, gave us a quick briefing on what to expect and how to behave.  Basically, we could get as close to the monkeys as they would allow without touching them. We started the walk to the forest and passed through farms and crops along the way.  The children were quick to wave and say hello.  Bernice pointed out various plant like the eucalyptus, which is used for both making wood charcoal and the leaves a used for medicinal purposes.  She then pointed out a plant that produces a fruit called the bitter apple.  She was quite the jokester and told us to pick some if we did not bring a lunch and then quickly added that it was a joke.  The bitter apple had been used by local women who wanted to terminate a pregnancy.  The bitter apple induces contractions, which lead to miscarriage.  The fruit is also given to cows when giving birth and they are having a hard time pushing out the placenta.  So for you fertile, frisky, fillies out there, I am packing a carton in my luggage.  Meet me at the airport if you don’t want to go the old Planned Parenthood route.

When we reached the edge of the forest, Bernice told us that the golden monkeys had shifted and that we needed to trek for two more hours to reach them.  The LA family was pissed because they had picked this activity to give their mother a break.  Bernice laughed and said she was kidding.  She told us to leave our stuff with the porters and just bring our cameras.  The monkeys were in the bamboo section of the forest just inside the retaining wall that blocks the buffalo from coming into the community.  They were way up in the trees jumping around from limb to limb and feasting on leaves.  It was hard to get a photo of them because they were shrouded by the leaves and branches.  It was fun and like a mini hunt trying to get a glimpse of them let alone a photo.  We just stood there looking up as the tree tops were jostled about by the jumping golden monkeys. We would dash from one tree to the next trying to get a glimpse.  Then Bernice got a call on her walkie talkie for us to head back out of the forest because there were about 6 monkeys on the wall and eating some of the farmer’s crops.  So we all dashed out (a group of about 12 adults and 1 child) to see the monkeys.  I was able to get great photos of them before they dashed back into the forest.  Then Bernice led us back into the forest to search for them again.  Unfortunately a bunch of fire ants were waiting for our return and attacked a few in the group.  I was lucky to escape their wrath this time.

Once inside, I spent the hour chasing the little buggers around and trying to snap photos of them when they came down from the tree tops.  It was fun. They are so cute with golden/reddish backs and black forearms and legs, and a long black tail.  They have big puffy blonde cheeks and little brown eyes that look like black slits when they are closed.  They were a lot of fun to chase around.  They were jumping around so much it was hard to decide which one to follow.  I was lucky to get some great close-ups before Bernice said it was time to go and let the monkeys eat in peace.

But one big save: for once my inflexible hips were a plus! As I was dashing about hopping fallen bamboo twigs and roots and shimmying by and between bamboo shoots, I stepped in a pile of runny buffalo dung (don’t know what they eat, but they need to mix in a little binding agent) and my left foot slid out from under me. Never able to do a split, my poor Suzy was 7-inches from the blackish pool of fly covered dung.  Thank god for my tight hips and hamstrings! Suzy was barely saved from having the trauma of her life – no amount of clothing or big girl panties would have shielded her from the horror.   Just felt that tale needed to be shared.  Anyway…

So we all exited the forest and walked back to the cars.  Unfortunately Isaac was not there so Bernice found a ride for me with a Russian family who were driving in my direction.  The husband spoke English and told me they were from Moscow.  We went through the usual travel chitchat before arriving at the road to my lodge.  I said goodbye and thanked them again for the lift. So I traipsed back up the rocky road to my lodge.  I was greeted by the staff and helped out of my gaters and boots and given slippers.  Anne told me there had been no update from Isaac so I asked if I could call the main office.  I spoke with Ether and asked what was happening. She told me that she would get in touch with Isaac and have him hire a car so I could at least get around and do a little shopping and sightseeing. She would make sure that I had a working car to get me to Kigali the next day.  She also apologized that no one had contacted me in the morning to let me know the issue with the car.

Isaac showed up at about 2:00PM with another car and driver they took me to a few local shops and the fabric and agricultural market.  I looked around and bought a few things before heading back to the lodge.

Isaac told me that the fuel pump had broken and that the part was coming from Kigali, which is two hours away.  He said the jeep would be fixed by the end of the day and we would be able to leave in the morning at 8am as planned.  Even though the day started badly, all ended well.

Tomorrow, I head to Kigali (I hope) for a quick day tour and overnight stay, then onto Nairobi to visit my friends Daun and Georgia for a few days. WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!