Rwanda

A mother in the Karisimbi Family of Rwandan Mountain Gorillas, carries her two week old baby. 

The Silverback Guarding the entrance to the bamboo cavern his family, the Karisimbi Family, were devouring. 

A three year old Mountain Gorilla of the Karisimbi Family. Taken on Karisimbi Mountain, Rwanda. 

The members of the Karisimbi family, are the least visited family of the Gorillas, due to their fondness of high altitudes. the Karisimbi Mountain is Rwanda's tallest, so it's often too complicated for tourists to reach them. 

A Blackback Gorilla of the Karisimbi Family. 

The Silverback was temperamental. He challenged the group multiple times, charging past twice, and even pushing one member in our group. he was unharmed, just a few bruised ribs and a good story. 

A Black Back sits in front of one of the mothers in the Karisimbi Family, holding her baby.

On Safari at Akagera National Park in Rwanda. These are two of the 90 Elephants in Rwanda's only Game Reserve

On Safari at Akagera National Park, Rwanda.

Seen on Safari at Akagera National Park, Rwanda.

On Safari at Akagera National Park, Rwanda

Rwanda's bustling Capitol Kigali is a central hub where you can take a bus back to the village, or a bus all the way to Dar Salaam, Tanzania. The road to Musanze, or Ruhengeri as it's officially called now, is a windy lush mountainous road that often opens up to stretches of untamed jungle like this. The land bubbles and dips as it leads to the active Virugna Volcanos, the home of the famous, and endangered Mountain Gorillas. 

A young gorilla male of the Karisimbi Family looks at me looking at him.

Huye, Rwanda 

November 6, 2014

A massive crowd walking toward Amahoro Stadium from the government building in Kigali. This was a banner being held in the middle of the crowd. There was an equally large number of people behind me too. 20 years after the Genocide against the Tutsi, there is no more ethnic classifications. There is only Rwandan. It's a sensitive balance, but when the spirit is unified, the balance becomes strong. 

Rwanda's hills seem endless, which is surprising for such a tiny country. 

Rwanda's border with the Congo is shared by the enormous Lake Kivu. One of Africa's Great Lakes, it also sits on a giant bed of Methane gas that is being explored as a new clean energy source, that also minimizes the risk of explosion. Fishing and substance farming provides the main source of income for the local economy. 

Fishing and substance farming provides the main source of income for the local economy. I took a boat from Cyangugu/Rusizi up to Kibuye. The 6 hour journey lasted from sunrise to high noon, and provided sights that only could be found on one of Africa's great lakes. 

Beautiful Kibuye, six hours on a tiny boat filled packed with sweaty local transit passangers, just trying to get to where they were going. As was I. Lucky for me the boat had a deck albeit tiny and packed. I carved a seat in the corner under some shade on a bag of shoes for sale. 

During the rainy season, the Ridgeline of the mountains looked like Japanese coastline, the valleys filled to their brim with fog before the sun could burn it off.