The Next Day at Nyungwe National Forest!

This is the view in every direction you look from the lodge! 

After a great, long, relaxing breakfast with strong coffee on 

one end for Kristi and me and weaker coffee at the other end of the table for Nelda and Amy, 

we took off to see if we could conquer the Canopy Walk.

The guide was explaining about the trail and truthfully i wasn't excited about going again, and yet I wanted to.  The first time we went it was during the wet season and i guess between the molds and the trees--not to mention
the rain and humidity... i had an asthma attack on the way back up.  It was severe enough to scare me and Bruce wondered if we'd have to call for life flight.  Not being able to breath and climbing up 1 1/2 miles to reach the top... was quite a challenge.
So, with new meds that work with Asthma and High BP...
I decided to try again. 

We start down the mile and a half ... Stopping here to touch the Toilet Paper Plant... Yes, that's what it is for.

Our guide taught us all kinds of things...
Too bad I can't remember them.

Looking down you can't even see the floor of the forest.
It is so steep.

But there off in the distance is the top of one of the sides of the swinging Canopy Walk.

New trail signs.

This is an Umbrella Tree...
Can you imagine where it got its name from?

Even in the dry season there is some color!

Love the depth of this picture.. and still you can't
see the forest floor.

WHAT???   Kristi stopped this guide coming toward us with another couple...
"It's our guide from the gorilla trek", she exclaimed!
He looked at her funny but then we all realized that indeed he WAS one of our two guides from LAST year.   He is now working here... in the South end of Rwanda instead of the North. Still can't believe that Kristi recognized him!
She must be a Henrichs!

This little Colobus Monkey was watching from afar.

 A bright spot!

And now... the first leg up to the long crossing of the walk..
about 50-60 meters.

I think Nelda is thinking... " Hmmm...that's a long
narrow walkway---and it swings!
Am I really going to do this?"

This was supposed to be the "prom picture"..
but not everyone got the message.

READY FOR TAKE-OFF!

There ahead lies the challenge.

90 meters across!  And I think about 150 meters above the floor of the forest.

REALLY, 90 METERS???  SURE!!

Looking down

Moving slowly, standing close, to decrease the SWAY!!!
Nelda, how did you ever get your hair to look so great?

Looking across the canopy of the forest.
It is hazy but still gorgeous.  Looks like fall in PA, doesn't it?

Looking down!  We made it to the other side.

Looking BACK...  happy at what lies behind. 

 Now we start back across and through the...

deep and wide beds of ferns!

Just can't quite capture the 3-D effect without a 3-D camera.

Another bit of color... soft in palette and texture.

So, we took our time and didn't do the trail in 1.5 hours..  but I
was happy to know that i could do the trail this time with a whole
lot less stress and NO asthma attack!  What a relief!
CHECK OUT THE NAME OF THE TRAIL!!!

The sign of "WE DID IT"!!

Now, truthfully these pictures are out of order because i thought we visited the tea factory in the morning... but whenever we went  the factory was just a ways down the road from the lodge.. 
They didn't want us to take pictures inside the plant.

Their sign.

Their Truck.

The tea running through the factory in the white bags.

And their buildings.

The tea making process is similar to the coffee process.. There were 7-8 different qualities of the tea and they were all divided.
The tea is shipped out loose and then bagged at another location
by a different company.  All very interesting.

Walking up to the lodge

Looking out at the other cabins.

Simply Serene!

Until this guy pulled in..   You can take a helicopter for $500/person from Kigali.... but we drove instead. ha!

Our last tea time with  ?   Wow...  I'm forgetting all the names tonight.  I want to say Philip but not sure.  He was very knowledgeable about how the tea was
processed and we learned a lot from him.   Yes, the fresh tea from the factory--right out of the tea fields around you-- tastes totally better than regular tea.

 We enjoyed another great dinner...where the chef
made every plate have an outline of Africa...somehow.. 
He said he didn't plan it.. it just happened but cool, 
no matter. 

Another great day in the forest and in the tea fields!  
Oh... and a little time in the spa, too!!   oohoohooh!!!!

love,
margie