Over the last 25 years my husband David and I have traveled the world from the Amazon to Zaire. Our concern for endangered primates has taken us to exotic places such as Borneo and Rwanda to work with orangutans and mountain gorillas. Then 12 years ago on our first trip to Costa Rica, we looked around, loved what we saw and said, "Wouldn't it be great to have a house here someday?" The wildlife, rain forest, beaches, and incredible sunsets kept drawing us back. And there was an added bonus?Costa Ricans are friendly and they like Americans! We were looking for a combination of three things: an ocean view, monkeys in our front yard, and volleyball on the beach. After combing every shore along the Pacific Coast we found the perfect place for us-Manuel Antonio?where the rain forest meets the sea. Several islands dot Manuel Antonio Bay making it the most spectacular view in Costa Rica, perhaps in the world. We got our ocean view, monkeys in our yard, and volleyball on the beach.

Nairobi, Kenya
Thursday, September 10, 1998

Woke up to sunbirds singing outside my window at 4:00 A.M. Four trips later and I'm still overwhelmed by the tremendous sense of belonging I feel in Africa—with the people, the animals, the landscape. Perhaps this truly is the cradle of humankind.
I'm here to write and shoot photos for a book about Gladys Kalema, a 28-year- old Ugandan veterinarian responsible for all the wildlife in that country's ten national parks and ten game reserves. My husband David and our partner Jim are along on this trip to videotape Gladys for a documentary about her we're planning as well.
Drove by the American Embassy in downtown Nairobi and took photos of the building. The outer walls were demolished by a terrorist bombing. Our driver pointed out a van full of FBI agents here to investigate the bombing. We're the only Americans in sight.
This trip is particularly important because 6 months ago I lost 42 rolls of film I shot here to camera failure. Every photographer's nightmare. When I found out I laid on the couch curled up in the fetal position and cried for a week. Big girls do cry. So here I am, back on the horse for another ride. Gladys e-mailed that our mountain gorilla viewing permits are for September 15th. Can hardly wait. I have a great feeling about this trip. Think it will be the best one yet. Leave for Uganda tomorrow.

Kyambura Game Reserve, Uganda
Wednesday, March 18, 1998

Spent last night at Mweya Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park overlooking breathtaking views of Lake Edward and Lake George. At 1:05 A.M. I awoke to the sounds of grunting and snorting. Bolting upright under the mosquito net I spotted two hippos walking single file, snouts to the ground, munching on grass like enormous lawnmowers just three feet from my window. Until then, I'd only photographed them in the water. They emerge only late at night to feed. What a thrill to watch them up close! They were so intent on their task they didn't even glance up as I stood in the doorway and watched.
Set out for Kyambura Gorge at 7:00 A.M. this morning. At 16 meters long and 100 meters deep, it's quite spectacular. The deeply forested chasm is surrounded by sharply contrasting cactus-laden savannah. It supports chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, black-an-white colobus, giant forest hogs, hippos and several bird species.
Until today, all attempts at photographing chimpanzees had been very disappointing. Last week, Kibale National Park yielded only two chimpanzees in as many days. Two Kyambura park guides led my husband and me on a six-hour trek. When I asked why one guide was carrying a rifle I was informed it was for "security." Lions occasionally wander down the gorge. Finding yourself in an unenviable position between a hippo and the water is even more dangerous. As it turned out, the only real protection I needed was from a nasty wasp that stung me without provocation.
The chances of spotting chimps looked bleak during the first three hours of the trek. We finally heard them call across the Kyambura River at the bottom of the gorge. This meant traversing 8 meters above the river over a single log. It's times like these that I'm reminded of my lack of fondness for heights. For the next two hours the chimps seemed to be playing a cruel joke on us. We'd follow the call and find nothing. Then we'd hear another chimp call from the direction we'd just come from. Were the chimps calling then silently watching as we passed back and forth below?
While we were waiting for them to call again Thomas, our guide, told us that even though Kyambura chimps are afraid of snakes, they are very good at killing them. One chimp will grab a snake below the head while another grabs the tail. The two chimps then saw the snake back and forth across a thick branch literally scraping the life from its body. He told another story about a poacher who went into the forest to hunt chimpanzees. In the path ahead of him he saw a chimpanzee beating a poisonous viper with a large stick. When the poacher realized the chimp had saved him from a deadly encounter with the snake, he said "Long live chimpanzees" and returned to his village, sparing the chimps life.
After several hours, we finally spotted chimpanzees across the river. They apparently used the same log we'd crossed to return to the other side.
Though 30 chimpanzees live in the group inhabiting the gorge, we only saw six. There were two males, a female, 2 juveniles and a baby. They sat feeding in a fig tree for an hour and a half, interrupting their feeding with bouts of grooming. Three of them sat in a chain carefully picking bits of vegetation and dry flakes of skin from each other's backs. They reminded me of a wood carving sitting on my bookshelf at home of three chimps with eyes, ears and mouth covered in a depiction of the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil proverb. Grooming not only serves a hygienic purpose, it also solidifies bonds among members of the group. It makes you wonder if humans would get along as well if we groomed each other once in a while.

Entebbe, Uganda
Friday, March 20, 1998

Before leaving for Uganda I made some inquiries about visiting a few schools during my trip. Wilhelm Moller, the Director of the Uganda Wildlife Education Center (formerly the Entebbe Zoo), e-mailed me after hearing this news from a friend. He helped arrange visits to four schools.
Today was quite a contrast from the 300+ schools I've visited in the U.S. Most schools here have 42-80 students per classroom. Often they share only a handful of books among them. Students all wear uniforms. When I wished them a good morning at the beginning of my presentation, the entire assembly of students stood up and responded in unison, "Good morning, madam." A few minutes into my introduction I realized they were going to remain standing until I gave them permission to sit. Once they were seated, I gave my slide-illustrated presentation about the orangutans of Borneo. The added twist was comparing orangutans to their close relatives--the indigenous chimpanzees and mountain gorillas of Uganda. Most had never heard of or seen photographs of orangutans before.
Since Uganda was formerly a British colony and the students all speak English, you'd think we'd have no trouble communicating. However, I was advised by a teacher at an international school to speak slowly so the children might understand my decidedly un-British accent. The students were gracious, polite and inquisitive. They spoke so softly, I had to ask them to repeat their questions. After their curiosity about orangutans was satisfied, they had questions such as, what subjects do students in America study? Is it true that every student in every school has a computer? Do they all wear uniforms? I shook hands with several students as they left the room. The boys gave a slight bow and the girls curtsied. The visits to both Lake Victoria Primary and Chadwick Namate Primary were enlightening, rewarding and gratifying. I'd brought along some questions for Ugandan children from students at Rosemont Elementary in Los Angeles. My husband recorded their answers on video for us to share at Rosemont when we return. In 23 years of travel, this is the first time I've ever visited schools abroad. I enjoyed it so much, I want to include them in all future trips!
Back at the zoo, Wilhelm invited us to sleep in the guest house. It turned out to be a round, thatched-roof hut with a ladder leading to a loft, an outdoor shower nearby and an outhouse about 30 meters away. Before turning out the solar generated light I notice several eight-legged critters sharing the loft. It's best to let them do their job of eating insects while we sleep. We're all part of the same ecosystem after all. Tomorrow, Wilhelm has invited students in the Wildlife Clubs of Uganda to come and see my presentation here at the zoo.
A lion just roared and the chimps are creating a hooting, panting, screaming ruckus.
My birthday isn't until October but I can't get this silly song out of my head, "Happy Birthday to you, you live in a zoo. You look like a monkey, you smell like one too."

Personally, I like the smell of monkeys.


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