After the mosque we came back to the hotel and had lunch. It was delicious, but its so hot outside and I got a headache.
Many baboons and other monkeys hang around the compound. At breakfast this morning, one stole sugar and marmalade from off the table! It had to be chased off. At lunch, they hung around our periphery and made everyone nervous.
I forgot to explain about the hike this morning in my earlier post...our hike ranger, Christopher, told us of the park's history. The land here used to be a huge forest area but in the 30s and 40s, the so-called Sleeping Sickness broke out. Many forest people died in the epidemic and as a backlash killed all sorts of animals, not knowing which spread the sickness and wanting to contain it. Once researchers found the source, the tsetse fly, and discovered a cure, the Park was established as a safe haven for the wildlife.
After lunch I took a long nap. It was nice because for once I didn't have to set my alarm (we had the afternoon and evening off), I just slept until I felt like waking up. Through the evening we all sat out by the pool, under the awnings of the building, when a huge rainstorm started, and talked about a lot of things. What we've seen so far, more of our backgrounds...our topic strayed to adoption at one point. I found out that especially from foreign countries, it is extremely expensive and time consuming! I also brought up prenatal care and pregnancy in Laribanga...I did see a couple expecting women this morning and was wondering. The women there obviously didn't have the medicines and hospitals we do. They're so strong! It's really something to ponder.
Talking it out helped wash away some of the stronger emotions from this morning. Overall it was a calm and relaxing rest of the day, with some beautiful storms.
Medasi,
Padma
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