The beauty of Tibet

Tibet is very beautiful. It’s everything I imagined it to be. Flying over the Himalayas was amazing! It felt like we were flying right above them and if we went any lower, we would hit them and crash. But it was a very clear day, so you could see the beauty of this region. You could almost reach out and touch the peaks covered in snow. Tibet is nestled right in the heart of the Himalayas and is surrounded by these majestic mountains from every side. It is known as the highest region on Earth and often referred as the “Roof of the World.” It’s fall here, so you also see the leaves changing colors and there are lots of rivers. It’s quite beautiful. It is so different from China. Not only is the architecture very different and much more interesting and unique, but it’s also very clean with beautiful temples and monasteries build on top of the mountains. People here also have a very distinctive look. They look more Mongolian and not Chinese at all. Even the Tibetan Buddhism is different. They way they pray is very unique. They slide their whole body face down on the ground. Usually they bring their own sheet or mat to do it on (although I’ve seen some that lie face down directly on the ground) and they use what looks like wooden rollers to help them go up and down since they do this anywhere from 200-300 times while chanting. It’s very interesting to watch. Being here really does feel very spiritual. The sad part is that everywhere you go, you see armed soldiers. Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, is crawling with them, especially monasteries and temples. I was told by my tour guide that many of them wear civilian clothing, so you have to be very careful what you say in public places. Yesterday I visited the square that was completely destroyed on March 14th during the riots and where over 100 people died. It’s completely rebuild and you would never know anything happened here. Many monks are still in prison and some monasteries are still closed to the public. There are two that I wanted to visit, but will not be able to. They only recently opened Tibet for tourism (after the Olympics) and I had to go through the Tibetan travel agency to get my permit to come here. You cannot get it using any foreign travel agencies or tour companies. If I was them, I would want to be independent from China as well, especially since they were independent until 1959. Their leader, Dalai Lama, has been in exile since 1959 and most likely will never be able to return here.

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda

It’s the second day of trekking a group of mountain gorillas deep in the rainforest of Rwanda. On the first day of trekking it took us about two hours of trekking through a muddy bamboo forest to get to a group of seven mountain gorillas. It was an amazing experience and I was expecting the same today. But today was going to be quite different. I am assigned to trek another group of gorillas, the second largest group found in these mountains and also known as the most exciting group to watch. This group is called Thirteen (I should have known better based on the name alone). The group has five young ones, including a 1 month old baby, a pregnant female, 11 more females, 7 juveniles (males older than 3.5 years) and the magnificent silverback (the leader of each group). Our group consists of 8 visitors (the maximum number allowed to trek each group of gorillas), 2 trekking guides, 3 porters (to carry our gear), a guy whose sole job is to create a path by cutting down branches (it’s a very thick rainforest and there are no paths) and 2 armed soldiers for protection against wild animals (mainly buffalo and elephants). Early in the morning two local gorilla trekkers trek each group of gorillas to make it easier and faster for us to find them. After locating our group of gorillas, they communicate with our trekking guides via GPS.

We begin early in the morning. After brief introductions, I learn that one of the guys in our group climbed Kilimanjaro (useful information for later time). We are informed that our group of gorillas is at the bottom of the crater and it should take us about 1 to 1.5 hours to get to them. It’s a beautiful morning; clear and a bit misty. A true gorillas in the mist experience...or so I thought. After about an hour of trekking through the muddy rainforest (mainly slipping and sliding on my butt), we descend to the bottom of the crater. What an incredible view! We are surrounded by a lush rainforest and complete silence. We can see the other side of the crater: a tall, steep wall covered by a thick rainforest reaching as far up as you can see. I jokingly say that with my luck the gorillas will be at the top of the crater by the time we get to them. We all laugh. We are told that we are very close to the gorillas and instructed to leave all of our gear, including water and food with the porters. You cannot have any bags, food or water as your approach the gorillas, because they are likely to go after that and can become aggressive. The only thing we are allowed to bring with us are our cameras and our hiking sticks to help with the climb. The porters stay with our gear and so do the soldiers. It’s just the eight of us with two trekking guides and a guy with a machete to cut through the thick rainforest to create a path. I am so excited to see the gorillas again! We start the climb and after about half an hour of climbing up, we don’t hear or see any gorillas. Our guides are communicating with the trekkers who earlier this morning located this group of gorillas, but nothing is being translated, so we really don’t know what’s going on. It’s starting to get hotter and we have no water. The climb is also becoming steeper, more slippery and more difficult. I’ve never climbed a straight wall, not to mention one covered with a thick rainforest and muddy ground. You can’t see the ground at all! It’s wet, slippery and we’re having to hold on to the branches for support and pull ourselves up that way. My arms are starting to really hurt (it’s not the strongest part of my body). Many times my hiking stick goes all the way through the branches, but it does not reach the ground, or I can’t find the ground and I have to try again. All this, while with my other hand I’m holding on to a branch hoping it does not break off. It’s becoming very painful and I’m not the only one starting to feel weaker.

Now, we’ve been climbing for over 2 hours and we’re half way up this steep wall I joked about climbing not that long ago. And still no gorillas. Every time we ask about them, we’re told the same thing. They are very close. But at this point, I am more concerned about my safety than seeing the gorillas. The two trekking guides along with the guy who climbed Kilimanjaro are having to help pull the rest of us up, because it’s becoming virtually impossible to climb. I try not to look down. There are times when I or someone else scream out for help, or I slip and have to use all my strength (or what’s left of it) to pull myself back up. There is no other choice but to keep going up. Finally, seeing how weak, dehydrated and frustrated we’re becoming, the trekking guides inform us that the gorillas are on the move, which is very unusual this time of the day for them. Usually, this is the time they eat and relax. Not only are they on the move, but they’re heading pretty fast up to the top of the crater. We’re starting to wonder if after all this we’re even going to see them. The trekking guides instruct our porters via GPS to climb up with our gear. Now at least we have water and more hands to help pull us up. It’s been over three hours of climbing and I have no strength left in my upper body. Even the guy who climbed Kilimanjaro looks pretty tired. All I can think about is reaching the top of this crater and reaching it soon and praying it doesn’t start raining, because by now the weather has turned on us and it’s very cloudy.

Just when I think it can’t get any worse, the last woman climbing screams that there is a silverback right behind her. Picture this; we’re climbing up in a straight line and now we all have to stop in this practically perpendicular position, kneel down and stay very quiet. You can’t make any sudden movements, or he may become aggressive. And there is nothing that would protect us from him. As I turn around, I see him so close to us. He is missing an eye. He’s just sitting there behind a branch looking at us making the whole climbing thing look so effortless. At that moment, I’m not sure who is more scared or curious, the silverback or us. I almost feel sorry for him. He doesn’t look that dangerous, or maybe it’s because I’m not the closest one to him, so I feel pretty safe. It doesn’t look like he is going anywhere and I can barely hold on to the branch and right now nobody can help me, because nobody can move. The guides tell us that this is the original leader of the group we’re trekking and that he lost a fight and his eye to the stronger silverback who decided to go after his group and won. During the fight several young ones and a couple of females were also killed. This silverback is following us to the group we’re trekking to win back his group. This explains why our group is on the move. The guides tell us that the other silverback can smell this one and is moving the group. It is now that they also tell us that they’ve never had to climb to the top of this crater, so this is the first time for them, too. This would explain why at times we were all wondering if they were lost. They also tell us that we have to somehow loose this silverback, because it will be extremely unsafe for us if we approach the group with him. The other silverback will probably mistake us for his enemy and become aggressive towards us, too. But this guy doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere. Why of all the days did this silverback decide to win back his group today? My hands are shaking. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on to this branch and support myself. Somehow, not giving it much thought, I manage to release one hand long enough to snap a photo of this one-eyed silverback sitting behind the branch. If it’s the last thing I do, at least there will be some evidence! There is no time to adjust the camera or to check if the gorilla is even in the frame because my hand is shaking so bad and I can't hold the camera steady. He is looking right at me as I press down the button on the camera and at that moment nothing else matters. Thankfully, he never approaches us. Moments after I take the photo, he gets up and climbs straight up this straight wall holding on to the branches making it look so easy. I remember looking at him and thinking how much I would have loved to be on his back right now. He probably could have carried all eight of us without any problem.

After about another 15-20 minutes we make it to the top of the crater and the first gorilla I see is a 2 year old baby (attached is the first photo I took of him)....and it made it all worth it. Somehow, the pain was gone, the scratches and bruises did not matter and the one and a half hours I spent with them was the most amazing experience in my life.

P.S. The other silverback never approached the group when we were there. We passed him on the way down just sitting there eating bamboo. There was such sadness in his eye. He looked at us as if he wanted to say: “Hey, I was waiting for you guys to leave. I didn’t want to get you in trouble.” Poor guy, he has no chance against the new leader of the group. He doesn’t look as strong as the silverback who took his eye and his females with babies.

To see the photos from this trip, go to my Flickr account.