Perseverance
It was a pretty quick and easy decision to make in regards to purchasing my visa and trekking permit on the web after a couple of my friends offered me the idea of climbing the Nyiragongo Volcano in the DR of Congo. Those of you who know me well know that I jump at the opportunity to live life on the edge and experience new things and places if I am able; I know for a fact that the risk taking/travel bug will always be crawling on my soul.
Even though I hadn’t received word that my visa to cross the Uganda border over to the DRC had been approved, we all jumped in a luxurious van at 6am on Friday the 6th of January to head towards Kisoro, Uganda (10km from the DRC-UG border). “Luxurious van” is no joke…all of the seats reclined, we had a freezer (which we stored our goodies in after shopping in Kampala on our way out), a coffee and ice maker (which we didn’t put to use) and plenty of leg space; we were set. Our friend and driver Robert was an excellent companion to have along the way.
We reached Kisoro after a 12 hour drive, winding around hills and mountains, dodging falling rocks, and sifting through the dust. After we checked into our small guest rooms (we looked for space in three different places) we rested a bit, showered up and went looking for supper. Just down the road we found the Golden Monkey with an appetizing menu…it was around 845pm…ten minutes later our waiter came to us and asked if we could wait until 11pm, needless to say, we moved on. We walked a bit down the road to find Graceland where we had surprisingly delicious curry and a couple of cold Clubs.
We woke up Saturday morning hoping that my visa pass would be in my inbox but it had failed to arrive so we walked to a little coffee shop where we enjoyed cappuccinos and café mocha’s. Around 2pm we decided to throw in the towel as it would have been too late and somehow dangerous to drive to Goma (capital city of DRC). Therefore, we decided to take advantage of our stay and walk around to the different pubs around Kisoro (which is literally a street) and try out the “local” brews. We started at the Golden Monkey and tried Mutzig (which I have enjoyed before in Rwanda) and then down the street to drink a Primus (Rwanda beer) and then stopping at Graceland for a Smirnoff and chicken. We did the best we could to pass the time, enjoying each other’s company and sharing stories to entertain ourselves.
Then we had to be realistic and decide what to do; as many people back home do not work on Sunday’s we knew the office that was handling my visa would not be able to push it through until Monday and we couldn’t wait until Tuesday to climb…so we made the decision to try and cross the border and be ready to climb Monday. Luckily, Davey, one of my traveling buddies has a friend who lives in Kisoro and he had a name we could contact to help us through the challenge of getting a DRC stamped on my passport. In the morning we met Safari Innocent who milked as much as he could out of us while “helping” us cross the border. We first paid him for the visa stamp, went back and forth talking to the Chief of the Congo border where they talked to us individually and finally after three hours and a bear hug from the “top dog” I was given a stamp and we were allowed to cross.
However, we were unable to proceed with our plans to visit Goma (as they would not allow me to enter the city apparently) and we were told we could not travel with our own vehicle. So they put us up in a small “hotel” just across the way where we were rushed to make decisions as to what to eat and when, when we would be leaving, when we would be paying to stay, etc. A couple hours of lazing around the place, and setting up our own transport from the hotel to Virunga National Park, we went to set out for a look around the area. Suddenly, low and behold Safari showed up and took as around…we went to a small pub after winding through the tiny “town” where we sat at a table that was placed in a small three walled concrete space and a tarp as the fourth wall…we talked and revisited our recent measure of reaching where we had thus far. Then dinner time came and of course Safari escorted us back to our “hotel.” We walked into a room where they had set up our dinner…hen and rice…and to our surprise there were not three chairs but four where Safari posted up and took as much dinner as he liked…very interesting.
After supper we crashed early and woke before the sun was up, to Safari waiting for us, and our transport arrived. Luckily, Safari didn’t join us on the journey to the Park…farewell Safari.
The ride from where we were staying, just at the border, to Virunga National Park was nearly three bumpy hours, where there are literally “no roads in the Congo.” As we bounced around and looked out window, I couldn’t help but feel a sincere difference right away between Uganda and DRC. To me it seemed grey and eerie. It’s hard for me to describe but the houses were much different, there were randomly placed two story houses here and there, the “stages” were entirely different than Uganda, people clumped together here and there and then for a few kilometers there seemed to be no life around at all.
Driving wildly around potholes and other obstacles we watched lorries filled with people pass us by…not quite sure where they were going or where they came from but I have never in my life seen so many people sitting on top of mysterious packages…we passed these truck loads frequently.
Finally, we arrived at the “Park” where we found hardly anyone spoke English, but after signing their registration book, eating a small sandwich at the bottom of the hill, organizing how many porters we would need to carry our bags, we set off, just like that.
Walking into the forest, over rocks, up and down, winding through the trees, the sun was surprisingly hot. We were told we’d have four stops along the way and that the hike up would take between five and six hours. The first stop came more quickly than I had expected, the second as well…but after that second stop up we went…walking on top of broken up lava which was by far one of the trickiest things my feet have done since being here in East Africa. After what seemed to be a never ending hill of lava remains I looked up and saw the peak of our lovely destination far above. From below she looked like a hill, one in which didn’t look so challenging, but after resting at our third stop we knew we were in for it. Thunder started coming along and we thought we’d “hurry” to try and reach before it came…ha, hurry.
The further we went the more steep our climb became, no more lava rocks or tree stumps but a combination of everything. We stopped before our fourth stop at some small little shack to escape the drizzle. Luckily, it seemed we had climbed high enough that the storm missed us and we were able to carry on after a 20minute break. The last stretch…wow, we were literally walking vertically. In my entire life, I have never felt as if I was walking straight up; the guides simply seemed to think that we were professionals as they went along their merry way. The last stretch, though it may have been the shortest in distance as we could see the cabins in which we would be staying took us the longest.
And all of a sudden, there we were. We had reached…they showed us where we’d be staying the night and we set down all of our things and looked down…woa, we had come a far way. After settling in for a bit and lying down, Emmanuel our front guide knocked on our door; it was time to meet Nyiragongo face to face. We climbed just a couple of feet and there we were at the crater of an active volcano. I was stunned…the sound of the lava rang in my ears as if we were standing next to the ocean. We couldn’t see her lava very clearly at first as she was blowing steam/smoke…1000 meters down; we were staring at the largest lake of lava in the world! We stood up there for nearly one hour and then Emmanuel told us to climb back down to our cabin, eat something, and then again we would go up and see her in all her glory after dark.
In our little cabin we had a small gas burner were we heated up milk that came from a box and took tea…a bit later Davey heated up one of his “mountain ready” meals…where all you have to do is add boiling water to a bag of dried vegetables and rice and we all dug in straight from the bag with our spoons. After resting a bit, Emmanuel was back again…this time we really layered up. When we looked up, the sky was a magnificent red…a red sky in which I have never and may never see again. We reached and looked and there she was; waves and waves of lava crashing together…boils and steam flowing from all directions. There was no rhyme or reason to her activity, she was just alive…live earth burning…just waiting, as if she had a secret…laughing silently that soon she would erupt.
To the left was a full beautiful white moon and in the distance, far off, we saw lightening…stars in the sky…Goma lights twinkling as if they would survive generations to come (sincerely the next Pompeii). Despite the coldness (four pairs of socks, stocking cap, two scarves, three coats, two pairs of pants, and gloves), we watched her in awe for nearly two and half hours. Taking photos, I tried to capture one of the most beautiful and epic scenes I have ever seen in my life. I couldn’t help but think to myself that yes, this is where I am meant to be; 11,000 feet high in the sky, literally standing at the crater rim of an active volcano, listening as if to hear her breathe, watching the movements of boiling life, seeing different things, imagination flowing rapidly and wildly like each new wave of lava crashing into the other; sincerely breath-taking. To experience such an amazing creature of this world, to be standing at the crater rim in the DRC, having climbed 11,000 feet, eh, it was an adventure I didn’t see coming yet there I was, there we were. Three of us coming from different backgrounds, one year ago we didn’t even know of each other’s existence yet we had just climbed to the top of a volcano and now we share lasting memories.
After feeling as if we were going to freeze we walked back down to our little cabin built a small fire and had a small bowl of soup. Around midnight we decided to rest our bones…sleeping in a cabin, feet away from the boiling earth…imagine. 6am came with a blink of an eye, we woke up to Emmanuel knocking at our door…”come, I am taking you to the sun”…we layered up, grabbed our camera’s…and we literally walked to the sun. Instead of walking straight up we were walking sideways on the side of Nyiragongo…no railing to keep us from falling all the way down, slipping on rocks, and walking through her steam we reached our destination…the sun was a light yellow and surrounded by dark clouds…the distance was overflowing with white clouds that looked like waves crashing on the shore…Nyiragongo seemed to be resting as only some small smoke was rising from her core. After taking in the sunrise and the surroundings the best we could…we were escorted down to our cabin and told to pack quickly as we were ready to make the hike down. It was such a rush and all of sudden there we were slipping and sliding down the most difficult part of our hike up.
After taking our time for the most part, we reached the small shack we stopped at the day before to catch our breath but not nearly for as long as we had rested the first time. And off we went…on the way up the day before I found myself thinking and having time to try and imagine my life…where I am currently, where I have been, where I may go…all sorts of questions popped up and I tried to allow myself the time to reflect. However, the climb down did not provide such room for thoughts…instead of contemplating my “next step in my life” I was literally searching for my physical “next step.”
And there I found myself placing one foot in front of the other trying to avoid making the wrong choice which could have easily led to a twisted ankle or a chance to fall. And I thought to myself, maybe this is one the best lessons I have learned along the way thus far…that there is only so much I can do in trying to plan the “next step” in my life…but right at this moment…I can only focus on what is in front of me. All other distractions disappeared and there I was in the current moment looking for the best way to protect myself and provide myself with the best opportunity to make it down the mountain in one piece. And of course we did after only stopping briefly along the way to take a sip of water and photos of our tracks; we reached the bottom of the hill in three hours where we stripped our layers and extra socks and threw on our flip flops to give our toes a chance to breathe. Going from freezing weather to the hot sun was no joke like night and day…and there we were the three of us successful mountain/volcano climbers.
The rest of the trip was a breeze; we checked back into our humble abode, took a shower, celebrated with a cold club, water and soda…met a few wonderful people for supper at the Golden Monkey, shared stories, and went to rest our bones. The next morning we were on the road towards Jinja at 6am…we stopped at the Equator…the EQUATOR, I type and even say that to myself as if it’s just one more thing we did, took some photos and traveled along our merry way. We reached in good time, found our friends congratulating us at our success and home to Wanyange I went.
As I reflect now a bit more on the journey…and yes, it was a journey…the experience in itself is one I shall never forget. You know, these last few weeks I have found myself confused, unsure, sincerely living the unknown. To be honest, I have never been so free in my life. Over and over I repeat that living in Africa was my ultimate goal and here I am…again, I failed to think about the “next step” after living some of my life in Africa…and climbing up, standing at the crater rim of an active volcano, and climbing down (along with all the other small adventures within our journey), I felt and still feel as if this place…Uganda, East Africa, what have you…holds so much…adventure, experiences, work opportunities, life lessons…and it’s as I have to decide what kind of lifestyle I want to lead right here and now.
It’s not just the thrill of walking across the Uganda border to the Democratic Republic of Congo, climbing Nyiragongo Volcano, swimming in Lake Bunyonyi, visiting the Rwanda Genocide Memorial, riding on coasters to and from Kampala, sitting on the back of a boda boda on the way to Bujagali Falls, etc. And it’s not just about meeting with my women in Ntinkalu every week, watching them progress in their diligence of truly making Lazarus Community their programme, and searching for better ways to make it sustainable; and it’s also not about visiting here in Kyarusozi (which I just arrived today, Day 1 of my 2 week experience), trying to help start another HIV/AIDS support group and doing administrative work for the Sisters….it’s about living my life. LIVING my life. All of these amazing, wonderful, unexpected, adventures, challenges, trips, etc., have come together to make up my Ugandan/African life and how do I go from having all of these opportunities literally at my doorstep to deciding when enough is enough?
My mission in coming to Uganda has reached so many generous and interested people, and the potential of truly making Lazarus Community sustainable is sincerely there. As I continue to fill you in on my different walks of life and trying my best to give you a feel as to what it was like to climb a volcano or walk through the streets of Jinja…what I am really here for is what you all have continued to support…and my heart is simply beyond invested in completing this mission.
The longer I am here, the more I feel that I am called to be here. The more I experience, the more I realize that this is a life in which I was born to lead. The more people I meet the more potential I see come from my original mission. The more I do the more I recognize I should be doing.
The experience of a lifetime doesn’t have to ever end; of course a trip to DRC has designated timeframe, and the adventure will continue to run through my veins…but the experience of living life in Uganda…the feeling of making this place my home away from home…it resides within. I continue to ask for your prayers…as I continue to discern and look for ways of doing more for what I have come to do…what have I come to do? I have come to Uganda to offer what it is that I have, to remain open hearted and open minded as to what I can do, and to truly invest in what can be done.
I have been in Kyarusozi which is about 30km from Fort Portal (which is what you will find on a map and about 7 hours from Jinja); for two and a half weeks. I just arrived back home in Wanyange (Jinja) yesterday afternoon! I had been requested to go there to help with administrative work and helping to revamp the Sisters HIV/AIDS support group for positively living individuals…the connection to the internet and even the outside world is not nearly as clear and easy as it is in Jinja…I did my best to record my daily activities so that I will be able to share with you this chapter of my life…that update will be coming soon!
I want to thank you for continuing to follow my journey…for your generosity, understanding, and patience. I only hope that you too take the time to reflect upon your most recent adventures, experiences, day to day life to see where you are, where you have been, and where you may be heading…you don’t have to climb to the top of a volcano to truly feel and see the beauty of this life.
Much Love and many blessings,
Anne Therese
Ps- I’d like to welcome home Joseph Ryan Deitchman who has been serving our country as a soldier in the United States Army in Afghanistan for one year…he sas arrived safely in the U.S.; I could not be more grateful for his safe journey home and his selflessness. Welcome home Joey!!!
