Now it was getting serious. Through the bamboo forest, stinging nettles, narrow, muddy, slippery trails…holding on to bamboos trying not to fall…watching out for vines that would get entangled around our legs…one after anothe in single file…with ex-Marine and myself in the front (I guess we were the oldest). It was around 8:15am when we crossed over the lava wall and started a strenous uphill. Almost everyone in the group took turns sliding and falling on our rear ends in the mud.

Through all this, Francois was constantly on the “walkie-talkies” with the trackers getting Amahoro location updates. It took two-hours before we came to a semi-clearing where the trackers were waiting for us. Dropped our daypacks and sticks in a pile and left them behind with a ranger, porters and guards. Walked for a few minutes and there one was!! Our first wild gorilla…

Gorilla sitting in the shrubs, Rwanda
How do I even begin to describe the emotions, seeing this unbelievably big, majestic gorilla? Fear, awe, tears welling up.. How this fully grown, 500-600 pound animal, could placidly sit there…chewing on some bamboo…while us crazed loonies stood there snapping photo after photo…

…with Francois walking around, cutting down branches and vines with his machete for better vantage points…is beyond me…and beyond my ability to describe what it was like.

There were at least 13 gorillas in the group (the entire family), spread out all over, in clearings and bushes, including two pregnant gorillas (one was due soon), and a little 14-month baby! …View image… I didn’t know where to look first.

Mother and child, Amahoro gorillas, Rwanda 

a trio of Rwandan Mountain Gorillas, Amahoro group 

baby gorilla on mother’s back, Amahoro group, Rwanda 

the baby gorilla stole our hearts in Rwanda
You wanted to run over and pick up that adorable baby with its HUGE eyes, and wonderful little hairdo, riding on its mother’s back. We were allowed to watch for over an hour – the capable Francois moving us from one gorilla to another…one vantage point after another…taking photos of us in front of the gorillas…taking photos of them…and just sitting there thinking how extremely fortunate we were to have this time with some of the endangered 600+ gorillas left in the wild. …View image…Gorillas walked around us…one even grabbed ex-Marine’s leg as it went by! The only sounds were Francois’ soothing coughs and vocalizations to let the gorillas know that everything was okay, and our cameras clicking away.

Mountain Gorillas love their bamboo and even get a little tipsy 

Amahoro silverback in Rwanda
There was one little two-year old who was obviously planning to be the boss one day. Every now and then he’d thump his tiny chest and make a mock dash at us. Francois had us move back slowly each time while he vocalized “…bad gorilla…go back…” and the little one would!

toddler Mountain Gorilla making a mock charge at us, Rwanda
You just had to be there.