Travel really messes with a person’s sense of time. I left home at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, got to Entebbe at 10 p.m. on Monday which was really 2 p.m. the next day in Dallas. I figure about 35 hours of travel time but 22 hours of air time. We had a stop in Kigale, so technically I’ve added Rwanda to my list of countries even though the only thing I could see out the window was the full moon.
People tell you anything when they think they won’t see you again. My seatmate Jimmie was returning from the USA after spending 2 months there as a guest preacher for churches all over the states. He has 3 children, the youngest only 7 months old. He has been gone for nearly 1/3 of that child’s life! Although his father has many wives (and many children), he can afford only one. With 127 brothers and sisters, he says his own family feels quite small. His stories about Uganda under Idi Amin and Obote terrify me, but he admits that even though conditions are much better now, the government is still corrupt. He is hoping that the elections next year will oust the 26 year president who is serving his 4th term in office--the last 2 illegally. Jimmie has many of the same complaints that we do--too many kinds of taxes, government jobs going to friends and cronies, tax money paying for ridiculous things when the country needs better schools, roads, hospitals, and so forth. Aids, drugs, and unemployment top the list of general problems, so large families stick together, share their money, take care of others' children, work farms communally, and divide up resources and chores on an as needed basis. In small villages, if the drums announce a community work day, one is expected to drop everything and run to the town center to help out or face a heavy fine. Conditions are changing and some children who are sent to boarding schools in the bigger cities decide never to return home. Parents complain of modern influences such as cell phones, TVs, and computers that divert children's attention from strong family values. Sound familiar?
After a short night at the Lake Victoria Hotel, we boarded a long boat for a choppy 1 hour ride across a tiny portion of the lake to Ngamba Island to the Chimp Sanctuary--home to 48 orphan chimps rescued from wire snare traps, the illegal pet trade or accidents. Because the small island can support only 3-4 chimps, the care-givers supplement nature's pantry with a morning and evening feeding in the lock-down area and 2 feedings through the electrified fence during the daytime when the chimps can choose to go into the forest. Our first experience was watching the morning forest feeding. The chimps have acquired an internal clock and know just when to show up to catch the vegetables and fruits that the rangers throw to them through the fence. Tempers flare when one chimp invades another's territory or a bigger chimp steals goodies from a smaller one who has been hoarding whatever he could grab in 2 hands, 2 feet, 2 underarm areas, between the legs and piled on his belly. Quite entertaining to watch the hoarder's stash go flying in all directions accompanied by raucous screams when a thief approaches! Some grab a goodie or two and head for cover in the forest to eat in peace while others use tools (long sticks) to rescue food that didn't quite make it through the fence. Some stand on their hind legs holding a hand up in the air as if to catch a fly ball and the rangers try to lob a tomato or banana into the waiting paw. Still others clap their hands to draw attention their way. At this particular feeding, one chimp that showed up late received nothing and sat there looking so forlorn, staying long after the others went back into the trees--perhaps hoping someone would take pity on her. After our lunch a second performance similar to the first took place. We began to recognize 48 different personalities and styles. One really big guy (taller than me when erect) swaggered on two feet, distinctly separated from the others by size and shape (very thin instead of stocky and solid). Summersalts, bluff charges, courtesy bows to elders, wild gallops across the field, and other antics kept us entertained.
Between feedings we were free to roam the 2 acre compound dedicated to the "humans" on the island: visitors (max of 8 any given night in 4 canvas tents), volunteers, researchers, and camp staff (no such thing as a single job--the cook also ran the bar and gift shop plus provided part of the evening's singing and drumming entertainment along with other staff). Our explorations yielded a pair of Egyptian geese with 10 babies, a gigantic tree covered with neon yellow weaver birds and their pendulum nests, several large monitor lizards that persisted in digging large holes in the path in which to lay their eggs, a trio of yellow billed ducks, devoted pairs of spur winged lapwings that jealously guarded their nests containing eggs that looked just like the stones upon which they were laid (built right where guests were likely to step on them so we had to be very careful), and many other species of birds. Although the space was small, it seemed every square foot yielded a different critter, bug, or flower to capture our attention.
At 5:30 we headed to the lock-down area, praying that all the chimps would choose to come in for the night so we could have our forest walk the next morning. Apparently the millet gruel the rangers offered for supper worked as all 48 showed up screaming and scrambling for space at the bars. 48 hands stuck through the fence, each grasping a metal bowl into which the gruel was rationed--chimps stacked on top of each other to the top of the cage--looking for all the world like some giant pinball game. My favorite was watching the staff help the "baby"--the only chimp born on the island because her mamma removed the "implant" that was to prevent pregnancy--learn to drink from its bowl. After the clanking of 48 bowls being thrown to the ground, each chimp received a melon or squash or avocado that was too large to fit through the bars. It was hilarious to watch the various antics as each chimp tried various methods to retrieve his produce. Some juggled the thing to the top of the cage where they could bite it into smaller pieces while others simply crushed and squeezed their prize till it fit through the bars while still others smashed theirs upon the concrete and retrieved the various pieces.
After our own dinner, we retired for the evening. I looked forward to a night of restful sleep in a comfortable cot-like bed, but the chimps squabbled off and on all night, birds tweeted out their love songs, frogs croaked their lullabies and other unidentifiable critters added to the cacophony. Not much sleep that night!
People tell you anything when they think they won’t see you again. My seatmate Jimmie was returning from the USA after spending 2 months there as a guest preacher for churches all over the states. He has 3 children, the youngest only 7 months old. He has been gone for nearly 1/3 of that child’s life! Although his father has many wives (and many children), he can afford only one. With 127 brothers and sisters, he says his own family feels quite small. His stories about Uganda under Idi Amin and Obote terrify me, but he admits that even though conditions are much better now, the government is still corrupt. He is hoping that the elections next year will oust the 26 year president who is serving his 4th term in office--the last 2 illegally. Jimmie has many of the same complaints that we do--too many kinds of taxes, government jobs going to friends and cronies, tax money paying for ridiculous things when the country needs better schools, roads, hospitals, and so forth. Aids, drugs, and unemployment top the list of general problems, so large families stick together, share their money, take care of others' children, work farms communally, and divide up resources and chores on an as needed basis. In small villages, if the drums announce a community work day, one is expected to drop everything and run to the town center to help out or face a heavy fine. Conditions are changing and some children who are sent to boarding schools in the bigger cities decide never to return home. Parents complain of modern influences such as cell phones, TVs, and computers that divert children's attention from strong family values. Sound familiar?
After a short night at the Lake Victoria Hotel, we boarded a long boat for a choppy 1 hour ride across a tiny portion of the lake to Ngamba Island to the Chimp Sanctuary--home to 48 orphan chimps rescued from wire snare traps, the illegal pet trade or accidents. Because the small island can support only 3-4 chimps, the care-givers supplement nature's pantry with a morning and evening feeding in the lock-down area and 2 feedings through the electrified fence during the daytime when the chimps can choose to go into the forest. Our first experience was watching the morning forest feeding. The chimps have acquired an internal clock and know just when to show up to catch the vegetables and fruits that the rangers throw to them through the fence. Tempers flare when one chimp invades another's territory or a bigger chimp steals goodies from a smaller one who has been hoarding whatever he could grab in 2 hands, 2 feet, 2 underarm areas, between the legs and piled on his belly. Quite entertaining to watch the hoarder's stash go flying in all directions accompanied by raucous screams when a thief approaches! Some grab a goodie or two and head for cover in the forest to eat in peace while others use tools (long sticks) to rescue food that didn't quite make it through the fence. Some stand on their hind legs holding a hand up in the air as if to catch a fly ball and the rangers try to lob a tomato or banana into the waiting paw. Still others clap their hands to draw attention their way. At this particular feeding, one chimp that showed up late received nothing and sat there looking so forlorn, staying long after the others went back into the trees--perhaps hoping someone would take pity on her. After our lunch a second performance similar to the first took place. We began to recognize 48 different personalities and styles. One really big guy (taller than me when erect) swaggered on two feet, distinctly separated from the others by size and shape (very thin instead of stocky and solid). Summersalts, bluff charges, courtesy bows to elders, wild gallops across the field, and other antics kept us entertained.
Between feedings we were free to roam the 2 acre compound dedicated to the "humans" on the island: visitors (max of 8 any given night in 4 canvas tents), volunteers, researchers, and camp staff (no such thing as a single job--the cook also ran the bar and gift shop plus provided part of the evening's singing and drumming entertainment along with other staff). Our explorations yielded a pair of Egyptian geese with 10 babies, a gigantic tree covered with neon yellow weaver birds and their pendulum nests, several large monitor lizards that persisted in digging large holes in the path in which to lay their eggs, a trio of yellow billed ducks, devoted pairs of spur winged lapwings that jealously guarded their nests containing eggs that looked just like the stones upon which they were laid (built right where guests were likely to step on them so we had to be very careful), and many other species of birds. Although the space was small, it seemed every square foot yielded a different critter, bug, or flower to capture our attention.
At 5:30 we headed to the lock-down area, praying that all the chimps would choose to come in for the night so we could have our forest walk the next morning. Apparently the millet gruel the rangers offered for supper worked as all 48 showed up screaming and scrambling for space at the bars. 48 hands stuck through the fence, each grasping a metal bowl into which the gruel was rationed--chimps stacked on top of each other to the top of the cage--looking for all the world like some giant pinball game. My favorite was watching the staff help the "baby"--the only chimp born on the island because her mamma removed the "implant" that was to prevent pregnancy--learn to drink from its bowl. After the clanking of 48 bowls being thrown to the ground, each chimp received a melon or squash or avocado that was too large to fit through the bars. It was hilarious to watch the various antics as each chimp tried various methods to retrieve his produce. Some juggled the thing to the top of the cage where they could bite it into smaller pieces while others simply crushed and squeezed their prize till it fit through the bars while still others smashed theirs upon the concrete and retrieved the various pieces.
After our own dinner, we retired for the evening. I looked forward to a night of restful sleep in a comfortable cot-like bed, but the chimps squabbled off and on all night, birds tweeted out their love songs, frogs croaked their lullabies and other unidentifiable critters added to the cacophony. Not much sleep that night!
I hope you post more pictures! I wanna see a snake or alligator too. :)
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