--MGAHINGA NATIONAL PARK--

Dear Friends

There is a National Park not too terribly far away from Kisoro called Mgahinga and I just love it! The coolest thing about this is when you are sitting on the raised deck, you are able to view three countries at the same time- Uganda—Rwanda and the Congo.

Carol and Bill and I were driven there by Sheba and while he wowed the visiting members of Parliament with his communication skills (not saying a thing about his dapper attire) we enjoyed a light meal and a sunset. view of the mountains. We stayed at a Community Camp right outside the entrance to the park, which Sheba had started as means for the local community to benefit from the revenue from the park. Many of them had been displaced from property owned by their families when the Government took over their land, Sheba’s family being one of them.

Apparently we just happened upon a meeting between the community and members of Parliament regarding access to water and the destruction of property and livestock from wild animals. Sheba mediated this meeting, translating the local language to the Ugandan dialect the “city” folk could understand and visa versa.

Some tourist even trek gorilla’s from this park, but the primary attraction is the presence of a very rare and elusive monkey called the “golden monkey. So Bill and Carol chose to trek to see these monkeys the next morning, while I took” the road less traveled” and decided on a quiet meditative day lounging on the deck. Who’s to say who took the better path, but for me reading a bit, praying a bit and lounging a lot of “bits” was just what the doctor ordered.
I plan to alternate between Mygihinga and Lake Mutanda for meditative weekends every 6 weeks or so. Both are comparatively close by and remarkable inexpensive..

Enjoy the photos of Mygihinga, the golden monkey, cave exploration where the Banta people (the pigmies) once lived, and mostly the sheer beauty of the surroundings.
------------------------------MARIE-------------------------