The limits of an ordinary life

For as long as I have had a memory of me, I have been enchanted by gorillas. They appeared to be a more graceful and vulnerable version of myself. As much as I wanted to see them in the wild, I had an expanding list of why I couldn't:
I was not fit enough.
I had a pervasive fear of snakes and jungles had to have snakes.
I had no jungle survival skills if I got lost.
Ebola virus was a risk and was incurable.

My sister had been to see them before. When she described seeing them, her eyes lit up in the same way as when she discusses accounting standards. It would be the same expression most other people would get describing the best chocolate cake ever. I realise that this is incredibly far-fetched, but she is a passionate accountant and I have witnesses. She is mostly sensible and researches thoroughly so I trusted her rebuttals to my entrenched anxieties. Reassured, I travelled from Johannesburg to Kampala. Then, on roads that were a haphazard mosaic of tar and dirt and potholes, to Bwindi.

Low clouds hung over a thick growth of trees- the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. I started at 8 am with David my guide. The well defined path soon disappeared into a path of least resistance which was discernible only to David. After five hours David said the magic words, “They have been found.”

Branches snapped. Leaves were crushed. The silverback appeared. He seemed battle-weary and naïve at the same time. I felt like I was on the moon, watching the earth slowly spin around. A mother and child were sitting on a branch about 2 meters up. She was picking out leaves or lice. All her attention was focused on this little creature. A pair of gorillas played about 100m away. The silverback moved away. His family were swallowed up by the forest in minutes.

We had a long, long way back. “So a short-cut.” David said. “It will still be several hours walk.” Hope disappeared. After 9 hours, I dreamed about a cable car whisking me back, a pony galloping down the mountain or magically growing wings.
“How much further, David?” I asked, my sister asked, we all asked. David remained patient.

With a tank-engine-sort-of perseverance, I reached camp eleven hours after starting out. My imagined fears proved irrelevant. The incredible experience has inspired me. I might follow whales to Antarctica, conquer Kilimanjaro or most challenging of all, learn to dance like Michael Jackson.

Note: Since writing this, I have attempted to moonwalk. The trek to see gorillas was easier.