First, let me say, thank goodness we had the Bwindi Cultural Centre in Kanungu, Uganda as our base of operations for our expedition thru the (aptly named) Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.... read more Both to prepare before, and recuperate afterwards from our (successful!) ordeal climbing up and down rain-forested mountains in order to encounter the closest nonhuman intelligence there is (i.e., gorillas). We set out at 0-dark-30 from Entebbe on the north shore of Lake Victoria for the all-day drive to Bwindi, 400km to the southwest way down by the tripartite border with Rwanda and D.R. Congo. This journey was topped by a thrilling ride on curvy roads clinging to the sides of precipitous gorges of the Virunga Mountains. Arriving in late afternoon at the end of a dirt track atop one plateau, the front gate was swung open by a fella named Abdullah to reveal a quintessentially African vista: red soil, intensely green things growing absolutely everywhere, low clouds scudding across the sky in front of range upon range of beautiful blue mountains after a recent rain, and the entire staff (4) standing in front of the peaked roofs of Bwindi Cultural Centre, welcoming us with big smiles, open arms, and refreshments. I don't know how it's possible for a place to be both primal and peaceful, but BCC is that. Racheal, the quiet manager, is an impeccable hostess, well-educated and well-spoken. Strong, like all African women. I tried to carry my... First, let me say, thank goodness we had the Bwindi Cultural Centre in Kanungu, Uganda as our base of operations for our expedition thru the (aptly named) Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Both to prepare before, and recuperate afterwards from our (successful!) ordeal climbing up and down rain-forested mountains in order to encounter the closest nonhuman intelligence there is (i.e., gorillas).
We set out at 0-dark-30 from Entebbe on the north shore of Lake Victoria for the all-day drive to Bwindi, 400km to the southwest way down by the tripartite border with Rwanda and D.R. Congo. This journey was topped by a thrilling ride on curvy roads clinging to the sides of precipitous gorges of the Virunga Mountains. Arriving in late afternoon at the end of a dirt track atop one plateau, the front gate was swung open by a fella named Abdullah to reveal a quintessentially African vista: red soil, intensely green things growing absolutely everywhere, low clouds scudding across the sky in front of range upon range of beautiful blue mountains after a recent rain, and the entire staff (4) standing in front of the peaked roofs of Bwindi Cultural Centre, welcoming us with big smiles, open arms, and refreshments.
I don't know how it's possible for a place to be both primal and peaceful, but BCC is that.
Racheal, the quiet manager, is an impeccable hostess, well-educated and well-spoken. Strong, like all African women. I tried to carry my own bags since I have two functioning arms, but in a hospitality-oriented society, that's not gonna happen. They won't allow it. She toured us around inside the large secure compound, featuring a little museum inside the big central hall, a small sample of the dense forest, comfortably-equipped and -crafted individual bungalows, and a large open-sided restaurant. (The place is off the grid, so forget about surfing the Web; just unplug and enjoy what Nature and these people provide.)
Two little schoolchildren came walking along one of the dirt roads on the other side of the hurricane fence, so I got to try out my limited Runyankole, greeting them with a bright "Agandi!" (means hello in the local language). The kids busted out laughing, doubled over--they just don't expect that to come out of someone who looks like me. They replied shyly, and continued on their track home, still laughing. I got as much a kick out of it as they did. Delightful.
The talented Chef Francis prepared an excellent dinner, washed down by big cold bottles of Uganda's excellent local lager, Nile Special. Racheal also served a typically huge east African breakfast, again at 0-dark-30, before we set off for our encounter. I shall never forget the quiet, the never-ending breeze, and the moonlight in that twilit dining room.
When we got back late that afternoon from the jungle, my clothing was *trashed*. I figured I'd just throw it out or burn it. (To this day, I cannot believe a fat old guy like me actually completed three traverses up and down the mountainous rainforest of Bwindi. My wife can't either.**) I slammed three beers to celebrate surviving the adventure, then to my great regret, took "just a little nap before dinner". Rachael says the whole staff tried to rouse us, but we were *zonked*, dead to the world. (I suppose they took our pulse to make sure we hadn't actually croaked). So I missed another of Chef Francis's no-doubt superb creations made with the typically brilliant local produce. In the morning I found, much to my amazement, the hardworking Valeria had not only managed to get all the green plant juice and red clay stains out, everything was cleaned and folded and pressed, How did she do that?!
Sunsets and sunrises are typically brief so close to the Equator, but we saw all four. I only wish we could have hung out at the Centre a bit more, but we had another long drive northward through more primal landscapes (like savannah) to get to QENP ("Queen Elizabeth National Park"), with elephants and tree-climbing lions to meet.
If you are lucky, you will get Edward to drive you around on your tours. A man of few words, but they're all meaningful.
**unbeknownst to me, as I ("tail-end charlie") was approaching the treeline to rejoin the main group, my guard radioed ahead and the head ranger turned to the others and said, "the silverback is coming".
Robert "the silverback"
(note-our travel actually occurred in late November 2017, but the pull-down menu doesn't provide that choice. The Cultural Centre is still under the same ownership/management/staffing as described above.) More
Lutz H