Searching for the Golden Monkeys - Rwanda

My gosh does this trip ever end?  And I still have Uganda to do!  I have a new level of respect for all those who write and post everyday..it's getting old.  So, I will finish Rwanda and get to Uganda next week.  Then you will never hear from me again...that is until my Anthro dresses come in.

Off we go!

Thursday we were back at the Parc to visit the Golden Monkeys.  This trip you do not have to have a permit.  My mom and dad were just not up for this after their trek to the gorillas.  So it was the four of us.  We were placed in a group of 10 with two guides (one guide, Bosco, was with us yesterday at the gorillas).  The average age of the others in our group was roughly 65.  Darn it, maybe my folks coulda/shoulda gone.  Short ride to the trail, get porters, 15 minute walk to wall where Parc begins...damn if it isn't the monkeys.

Over the wall and into the forest we go.

This family has over 160 monkeys.  We were told that the Golden Monkey is every bit as endangered as the Mountain Gorillas, they just don't get the press.  They were everywhere.  A bit shy but curious.

Aren't they cute? Once you find them, you get one hour with them.  We began following them and that is when I was glad Mom didn't come.  There was a lot of slipping and even falling because the ground was quite slick..and remember the porters stay back with your bags.  Soon, I could hear voices and a lot of whispering between the guides.  More trackers showed up and so did a family of gorillas.  Wow.  This was the Sabinyo family which has the largest silverback, he was huge.  Because we did not pay for a permit we were not allowed to take pictures and were only allowed to watch them for five minutes...then back to the monkeys.

The Rwandans will farm on any piece of available land, right up to the Parc.

My little monkeys.  When did Tyler get that beer belly?

We had a great time in Rwanda.  If I had to do it again, I would have stayed one more night and gone gorilla treking again.  I loved both the gorillas and the monkeys.  Friday it is off to Uganda.