Just about then we did finally find a group of chimps feeding, and we were able to spend the full hour with them. The guide was very knowledgeable about their behavior and we got to learn about what we were seeing. The chimps were very calm around us, and sometimes watched us but didn't mind if we talked or moved around. We saw babies and a huge male moving through the trees. As I said, I had never sat around and imagined communing with the primates, but it was a magical experience. They were beautiful and powerful animals, and in so many ways amazingly similar to ourselves, and in other ways so exotic and special. My neck got very cramped looking up into the trees, but other than that, the hour passed very quickly, and then it was time to walk home.
We had also signed up for a long birding walk. I thought that two of us could go chimp-ing and two of us could go for a different kind of forest walk, and all three adults could get out into the forest. Of course I kind of wanted to be the lucky one who got out twice, but I wasn't counting on it. When we arrived and were preparing the kids for someone leaving for a while, my mother warned them that "Mama would be gone for a little while and Gramma will stay with you, and then later Gramma will be gone and Mama will stay with you." My father had been pretty frustrated with the kids' (dare I say?) chimp-like behavior, so I agreed and understood that he might not be willing to deal with them by himself for several hours. However, after the chimp walk, he said his foot was bothering him a little bit, and that he would stay with the kids while we went out. What a treat for me!
They were being a bit of a handful, but we have all been very pleased and fortunate that it has been pretty ordinary busy, lively kid behavior. The violent sibling rivalry that dominated the first few weeks has faded into ordinary competitiveness and play, and the tantrums that have overwhelmed our lives for so long have become occasional instead of constant. What is left is three children who are very lively, active, imaginative, possessive, curious, and very noisy! Fortunately, we were the only guests staying at the forest lodge that weekend, so there was no one else to bother. My observation is that the local people have no patience for children being rude or disobedient, but they do not mind children simply acting like children. I think they all have little children or siblings or cousins at home, and they just smile at the children playing the drums for sale in the gift shop, swinging off the railing, and stopping them to eagerly tell them some disjointed but suddenly important story.
The animals are most active early in the morning and in late afternoon, and in late afternoon our guides seemed to be MIA, so we again woke up before 6 in order to leave by 7, soon after the sun was up. Fortunately for everyone, the children seemed to have figured out the routine and the disappearing mama after the first time, and they were much calmer for their morning with Bubba. He was very proud of how much Hibiscus helped get her little sister ready, eating the big hotel breakfast took up a good chunk of the morning, and then the children worked on their projects and played until we got back.
The birding walk was very different from the chimp walk. I have been really enjoying looking at all the different birds that we see here in Uganda, but this was my first time on a real birding walk. Apparently I did it all wrong! Mom brought binoculers for both of us, but we were also supposed to bring our bird identification book, notebook, and pencil to record what we saw. The ridiculous thing was that I actually had all of these things, but I left them in the room because I didn't think I'd use them in the forest! Oops!
We walked very slowly, and spent a long time on the road, because we could see the birds in the treetops more easily. Again, the guide was very knowledgeable, and shared information not only about the birds, but also about her own story and her life (as we asked and asked). I think she was kind of bemused about how we were totally inexperienced, but then enjoyed showing us things that were totally new to us. I get the impression that many people stop at the Budongo Forest on their way in or out of the main park to do a chimp walk, but fewer people actually spend time there, and maybe only real birders stop to do a bird walk! There are a spectacular number of species in the forest, including some that are endemic to only that exact area. We were fortunate to see the little brown groundbird, Purvells illadopsis, which only lives in this exact forest. All in all, we saw twelve bird species, and clearly heard and could identify five more. Some of them were glimpses, but other ones we got to watch through the binoculars for a long time. Although there are so many birds in the forest, they are very difficult to see because there is so much vegetation.
I think possibly getting into birding could be an interesting hobby. I am not so naturally interested in all the specific names and details, but I really enjoyed having something else to look for and examine in the woods. I felt like I am getting to know and be involved with nature much more closely as I learn to know the birds. In some ways, I enjoy seeing the birds even more than the animals, because they are so prevalent. We can see and hear birds all the time!
We had another special bonus on our walk. The day before, we had walked for a couple of hours before we got near to the chimps, and then they were feeding very quietly, but while we were birding we heard the chimps whooping, calling, and drumming right near to us! They were talking to each other and getting ready to cross the road. It was amazing to hear all their different sounds and communications so near to us. Even though we weren't officially tracking the chimps we saw several of them as well, and through most of our walk we could hear them talking in the distance. I was happy to get to experience a new side of the chimpanzees, and I was even more happy that my mother got a chance to experience them.
Well, since I am not winning any journalism awards for this disjointed entry, I will skip around and describe the lodge a little bit. We debated whether to spend one night or two, and we were all very happy that we spent two days. The lodge was tucked into the forest in a very natural and beautiful way. There was one fairly large building with the kitchen and administration, with local-wood couches set up inside, and dining on the veranda. As I said, it seemed like most visitors didn't make it past that main area, but then we followed little paths into the woods where the bandas (cabins) were tucked in the trees. I think there were smaller ones, but we were lodged into one building with a room on either side -- and unfortunately no door in the middle, but we could knock or call back and forth. The rooms were clean and they were set up to be fairly elegant but also made with natural materials and fitting into the forest environment.
There were nice porches and chairs, but we couldn't take much advantage of them, because of the baboons! Since the lodge was just in the forest, the animals could come by any time they wanted to. It sounds like most of the truly dangerous animals, like leopards, are very shy of people, but baboons are real pests and not shy at all. Apparently they would get into anything we left out and ruin it. Also, they do eat some meat and love to hunt monkeys, so we didn't want to let any of the children run around alone, especially Buttercup. The baboons apparently know better than to take on an adult human, but also know that they are bigger and stronger than little children!
There was also a giant row of safari ants making a path between their nest and their food going right across the path near the lodge. Safari ants are fascinating and cooperative creatures, and it would be interesting to stop and watch them, except they also start crawling up and biting anything that disturbs them, like people-feet. They don't have venom, so the bites don't continue to be irritated, but it hurts like the dickens when they suddenly start crawling along and biting over and over again! We all got some bites, but pants tucked into socks and close-toed shoes solved most of the problem. However, Buttercup kept getting ants mysteriously in her legs or arms that started biting her at totally random times, like the middle of dinner. We don't know how they got there at all, since Buttercup always got carried over the ants! It kept our bigger children close-ish to us, though, because they didn't want to go over the ants by themselves, so there was no running off to the cabins when we didn't expect it!
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