Blanche, from Cape Town, South Africa, was a member of our Uganda/Rwanda trip traveling with her friend, Margot, and impressed ex-Marine (husband Steve) and myself for many reasons. First, Blanche wasn’t exactly young at 76 – in spirit, yes – and still up for this active, adventurous excursion. The Uganda portion included hiking through hot, humid forests looking for wild chimpanzees but the entire purpose of visiting Rwanda was to hike up into the Virunga Volcanic Mountains where Dian Fossey did her groundbreaking research, to visit groups of habituated gorillas on two separate occasions.

The terrain is steep, slippery and no one ever knows whether or not they will have to hike for 30 minutes, one hour or four hours before coming to where the gorillas were last sighted by Park Rangers.

Second, this was a relatively expensive tour because of the necessary gorilla permits. You can only visit the gorillas of Rwanda or Uganda with a permit that costs $500 per person for each visit. It doesn’t make the slightest bit of difference whether you are with a group or backpacking and camping throughout Africa. We had two visits scheduled.

Blanche and Sheila, chic in Kisubi, Uganda style
Nothing was going to stop Blanche from visiting the gorillas including the lack of money. To make matters worse for South African citizens, the Rand is worth “zilch” against other currencies making the trip cost almost double for her. What did she do? Consulted with her adult children and asked if they minded if she sold all her jewelry! Blanche’s children said…”Go for it, Mom.” The first sight of the Hirwa gentle giants with the cutest little babies reduced us all to tears and we almost had to physically restrain Blanche who was inching forward on her hands and knees, trying to get into the middle of the Hirwa gorilla group! Blanche’s short, two hours with the Gorillas of Rwanda was priceless.

Blanche looking for game in Uganda
And, because Blanche refused to let either a lack of funds or age discourage her, she is a gutsy woman who travels…

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