Whew -- tonight I am tired in my legs -- what an unusual feeling! Usually I collapse into bed tired in my mind and my heart. Sometimes my head is tired from walking in the hot sun, and sometimes my back is tired from carrying groceries and children, but it has been a very long time since I have been tired in the ordinary, bodily way. Can you imagine, exactly a year ago I completed my first triathlon, and I set a personal record for the 5K run, compared to regular runs with no swim and bike attached? which is the last part? And yes, a personal record means that I had run in other races. It is hard to imagine. For the last few months, I have lived my life at hot-sun, baby-carrying, child-walking kind of pace.
This morning we got up early, had a leisurely breakfast (because there isn't any other kind in Ugandan hotels), and went chimp tracking. There just so happens to be an official rule that says that you must be 15 years of age in order to go chimp tracking.... too bad, so sad, I guess the kids have to stay home! This rule did not actually alleviate arguments about going along, but at least it provided a script for the grownups to repeat boringly. Many tourists come to Uganda especially to see the primates, as this is one of the best places in the world to encounter gorillas and chimps. Most of these activities involve going to remote locations and hiking hours in the woods, which will have to wait before our family can even attempt. But here in Budongo Forest, which is part of the park where we are heading, there is a troupe of habituated chimpanzees which you can visit in an under-four-hour walk. I figured with three adults, two of us could actually have this quintessential Ugandan experience and there would be someone left to watch the kids. Actually, after almost five months in Uganda, I wanted to do it myself! I am not particularly fascinated by primates in particular, but it seemed like something special to do if I could manage it.
The difficult part was leaving behind my own little monkeys. Not emotionally, just technically. I felt like they were in good hands with my mother, and felt no guilt whatsoever about taking a few hours off after non-stop care for the last two months!
And oh, how wonderful it was to walk in the forest! How I miss nature and trees and just the forest itself! For almost my whole life I have lived somewhere that a woods was nearby for walking, and I hadn't even realized until I was there this morning how very deeply I miss it. It was like something inside myself just settled into its own quiet place. As we walked along, I was hoping that we wouldn't find the chimps too soon, so we could just walk in the woods, and that it didn't much matter if we didn't find the chimps at all! Why, oh why, am I attempting this crazy, difficult job of helping three needy children figure out how to become a family, without something as basic as a nearby woods to help me out? How come I think I can do anything without a nearby woods? No wonder I'm tired all the time!
But after a couple of hours, I thought it would be nice after all to see the chimps in question, and just about then we did find them. We spent an hour near a small group that was feeding in several trees, and it was indeed an amazing experience.
(to be continued in further notes....)
No comments:
Post a Comment