Nkuringo, Bwindi National Park

October 11-12, 2017

By Hector Gonzalez

October 15^th, 2017

On our way out from Queen Elizabeth, this family came out to say goodbye.

The road to Ngurinko was frequently terrifying but always breathtaking. This might be some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen.

Our hotel was in Nkuringo, which is so close to the border that my cell phone switched to a Congolese service provider. Those volcanoes you in the pictures are shared by Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

From our room we could look out into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Apparently it's not just a clever name.

Our room and balcony.

Instead of going on a gorilla trek, we went to visit the Batwa people, or pygmies. These particular people put on a cultural program for tourists, which is both entertaining and informative while being respectful to the culture and beneficial to the people, a rare feat.

The taught the boys how to hunt, or at least tried.

They taught the boys how to build a fire.

And how to trap forest creatures.

We were thoroughly charmed, and they, I think, were at least a little taken with Asa.

Later, Laura and I took a "village walk" to see a little of what life is like in Nkuringo. We visit a blacksmith first, and watching him make a knife out of scrap metal.

Then we visited an herbalist (who was totally not a witch doctor—"I only make good medicine," he said, though he didn't explicitly state that he didn't know how to make bad medicine).