Jambosana... glad to be back, dearest of all frogs. I can't even begin to describe what these past two weeks have been like, overland-trucking my way to see the mountain gorillas, of whom only 600 or so remain on this world, all of them in the civil war border triangle of the D.R. Congo (Zaire), Rwanda and Uganda. Most of it will have to wait until my website is up and running again, complete with picture accounts of some of the most incredible days spent during the past year. Montain gorillas are probably the most magical thing you will ever see in your lifetime, the final reward after 1500km of rough trucking on dirt roads, countless hours spent fighting corruption at land border crossings and bribing greenbacks to grinning and gun-carrying bureaucrats, and a day like no other you will ever experience - several hours of a triumphant ride on the bed of a pick-up truck, looking in amazement at peace-starved villages in Zaire with the most incredibly happy people running out of their mud homes to wave at you and jump up and down like it's the final stage of the Tour de France. To top it off, an exhausting final 4 hours of jungle climbing await, not to mention at higher altitudes with the weather changing from hottest and extremely humid air to ice-cold mountain winds and torrential rainfalls. Two machete guys were attempting to clear the non-existent path, one guide ranger explained stuff in broken French, and 9 Kalashnikov and AK47-equipped soldiers tried to watch out for poachers and guerilla fighters... in a nutshell, just another day in a civil war area, which it has been for decades. The reward is an emotionally overpowering encounter with a family of gorilla gorilla beringei - some moments in life are unforgettable, and the first sight of a silverback in his jungle is one of them. We watched a mother carry around her big youngster, were thrilled to hear the silverback mate with some of his girls several times, loudly hammering his chest after every round, and we fended off curious attempts to have cameras stolen by an inquisitive younger male. The moment the silverback turned his attention on us made us freeze with fright and sheer amazement - an unbelievably dominant and huge animal to face, yet so peaceful, almost sensing the close bond of sharing virtually our entire DNA. He approached so closely that we could have touched him, making it hard to take pictures (no worries - I got some awesome shots). We tracked the group for about one hour until we had to retreat and embarked on our return treck. Not knowing something is bliss, as they say, and we got our dose of this - while there, Congolese guerilla rebels invaded our basecamp village Kisoro in Uganda. They were fought by UCPF militias, who killed three of them and pushed the rest of them back across the border. At the same time, we later learned from newspapers, two former Congo generals fled with 305 rebel soldiers into Uganda and were subsequently pushed south into Rwanda, which temporarily closed all borders the day we arrived back. We continued on to heavenly Lake Bunyonyi and its islands with pygmy people, where we relaxed for a day before heading to Kampala and Jinja, the source of the nile. On the way, I visited the Chimpanzee Sanctuary on Ngamba Island on Lake Victoria, almost two hours by boat from Entebbe. If faces could talk... these wonderful critters have a hillarious human-like behavior (or was that the other way around?) and an impressive range of facial expressions. What a peaceful two days were the last ones, in comparison to everything else - Lake Nakuru in Kenya, with more pelicans, flamingos, rhinos and all other sorts of stuff in one spot than you can imagine. A big mirror-like soda lake saved by the 1997 El Nino rains, with beautiful camping in a forest of acacia trees, this national park should be on everyone's list of things to do. Crossing south into Tanzania to Arusha tomorrow, but not before enjoying the Saturday night feast served up by Carnivores, easily the most spectacular restaurant in Nairobi. If zebra, kudu and all other sorts of game meats are your thing, this is the place to be - vegetarians need not apply. Next week will see the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Park with its famous wildebeast migration, as well as the trip to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar - Spice Islands, here I come!

Jambo Junior... As expected, La Reunion turned out to be a wonderful "DOM-TOM" with everything that good old France has to offer, plus the incredible mountain circuits. Enjoyed the baguette-and-cheese culture thoroughly, went all over the island to see Salazie, Hell-Bourg and the Piton de la Fournaise volcano with its moonlike Plains des Sables. Relaxed on the beaches of St.-Gilles-les-Bains and Bucan Canot, admittedly taking in the view of female sunbathers a-la-francaise. Hopped back via Mauritius and the Seychelles to Kenya, where I am now in Mombasa. The dirt and the traffic are incredible, so are the mix of cultures and the muslim influence on everything. Spies everywhere... how went that joke about the islamic gentlemen's club? "Show your face, show your face!" Anyway, the call for prayers are very frequent and loud (and annoying for me) but the city does kind of grow on you after a day or two, even though the humidity is killing me. Wednesday it's back to Nairobi and on to Masai Mara - yep, more safaris for me!