After our long weeks of doing Bonane’s shifts, it seemed to be time for a party week! Getting the taste for vodka and tonic we had a tough weekend with the dj’s from coco jambo’s! After a weekend of no sleep and staying out till the birds were singing and the sun was up, we thought the week ahead would be relaxing and quiet. But as Wednesday arrived we had some bad news… After Liz’s break of a month in South Africa extending to 3 months due to her illness, we discovered she is unable to return to us! Feeling a little bit down we decided the only way to raise our spirits was a trip to coco jambo’s for some vodka and shakira! After a mad rush of Russian roulette with shots of vodka, gin and aftershock, we headed down to our local place to join the dj’s. As the night closed in, a suggestion was made to go to the infamous Sun City, a Congolese hang out, passed frequently but never entered by the crazy chimp girls. With protection from security guards from Coco’s (plus half the bar staff from every joint around) we made our way to Sun city. A little intimated when we arrived, we attached ourselves to the chairs and decided we’d be better off not dancing…. Till Shakira blasted out from the speakers! Then there was no stopping us! Thinking logically, we thought it best to stay till daylight, just to make sure it was safe for us to go home…. Not because we wanted to party and drink, and drink and party….
Thursday was a day to recover, before heading out to Coco’s again! The weekend was reasonably civilized, bar Friday night! During our crazy weekend we met some folks from an Irish NGO called GOAL, who introduced us to lots of other NGO staff, many who were English! Up until now I’d only met one English guy, the rest being French and South African. Made a change to meet some more NGO staff, as opposed to all the SA army! And we had our first introduction with someone who doesn’t work with people! We met a guy, who works for WWF – so we’re not the only people in Goma working for animals! Sunday was a relaxing day, round at the GOAL residence for a swim in the lake and mastering the art of the pirogues. The guys didn’t have much luck, sinking as soon as they touched the water, but the girls were pretty impressive!
Other things have happened here besides the consumption of large quantities of vodka- honest! After trials and tribulations of deciding the best time for Bonane to return to work – he was adamant to return the day after his cast was off- we were a little bit reserved as his arm would need some exercise. We came to an agreement that 10 days after the removal of the cast he could return to work – after letters from the doctor and signing papers to ensure he won’t sue us if anything goes wrong!
The chimps are as naughty as usual. They have taken to climbing on to the roof at every opportunity. Even Gari, the smallest has managed it now! Shege is becoming naughty, creating whatever mischief she can! It seems like she’s a teenager amongst kindergarteners- she’s becoming more adventurous and mature as the days go on – refusing to come down from the trees at dusk, preparing her nest for the evening (which is lovely to see!) But once we move to Lwiro she will be able to be with older chimps and reach more of her potential.
And Etaito lived up to his reputation of being the spawn of Satan last week- He’s as gorgeous as the rest but there’s definitely a little bit of devil in him! One thing we can count on with our gate guards here, is that they will never be without their bible… Our newest member of staff was inside signing his contract, when Etaito managed to enter the house. As soon as he was in, he knew exactly what he wanted- ran straight up to the table and ran off with the bible! Strange eh!
Gari aka hero and loverboy, our youngest chimp has to be the toughest of the lot. With his little pot belly and gormless looks, he is definitely a Buddha in disguise. Prone to landing on nothing but his head, he must have knocked all sense out of there by now- but he picks himself up without so much of a by or leave, not even noticing the gash on top of his little head! A hero if I ever saw one. And even though he’s the youngest, he seems to know what he’s doing! When either me or Nicole are in the garden, after trying to make love to our wellies, he then proceeds to unzip our clothes and make his way inside, giving love bites all the way! I think he’ll be a heartbreaker when he gets to Lwiro and meets all the other chimps!
And Kanabiro, Principessa the dainty princess who seems to have a crazy 5 minutes once a day, acting as wild as the others unlike most of the time, being the softest and gentlest of the bunch. Only the constantly dirty bum could contradict the princess in her!
Yongesa, the tomboy, definitely makes a match for the males. She changes within a matter of seconds from a peaceful, solemn chimpanzee to a crazy daredevil, jumping from heights that the rest are to scared to attempt!
Thursday was a day to recover, before heading out to Coco’s again! The weekend was reasonably civilized, bar Friday night! During our crazy weekend we met some folks from an Irish NGO called GOAL, who introduced us to lots of other NGO staff, many who were English! Up until now I’d only met one English guy, the rest being French and South African. Made a change to meet some more NGO staff, as opposed to all the SA army! And we had our first introduction with someone who doesn’t work with people! We met a guy, who works for WWF – so we’re not the only people in Goma working for animals! Sunday was a relaxing day, round at the GOAL residence for a swim in the lake and mastering the art of the pirogues. The guys didn’t have much luck, sinking as soon as they touched the water, but the girls were pretty impressive!
Other things have happened here besides the consumption of large quantities of vodka- honest! After trials and tribulations of deciding the best time for Bonane to return to work – he was adamant to return the day after his cast was off- we were a little bit reserved as his arm would need some exercise. We came to an agreement that 10 days after the removal of the cast he could return to work – after letters from the doctor and signing papers to ensure he won’t sue us if anything goes wrong!
The chimps are as naughty as usual. They have taken to climbing on to the roof at every opportunity. Even Gari, the smallest has managed it now! Shege is becoming naughty, creating whatever mischief she can! It seems like she’s a teenager amongst kindergarteners- she’s becoming more adventurous and mature as the days go on – refusing to come down from the trees at dusk, preparing her nest for the evening (which is lovely to see!) But once we move to Lwiro she will be able to be with older chimps and reach more of her potential.
And Etaito lived up to his reputation of being the spawn of Satan last week- He’s as gorgeous as the rest but there’s definitely a little bit of devil in him! One thing we can count on with our gate guards here, is that they will never be without their bible… Our newest member of staff was inside signing his contract, when Etaito managed to enter the house. As soon as he was in, he knew exactly what he wanted- ran straight up to the table and ran off with the bible! Strange eh!
Gari aka hero and loverboy, our youngest chimp has to be the toughest of the lot. With his little pot belly and gormless looks, he is definitely a Buddha in disguise. Prone to landing on nothing but his head, he must have knocked all sense out of there by now- but he picks himself up without so much of a by or leave, not even noticing the gash on top of his little head! A hero if I ever saw one. And even though he’s the youngest, he seems to know what he’s doing! When either me or Nicole are in the garden, after trying to make love to our wellies, he then proceeds to unzip our clothes and make his way inside, giving love bites all the way! I think he’ll be a heartbreaker when he gets to Lwiro and meets all the other chimps!
And Kanabiro, Principessa the dainty princess who seems to have a crazy 5 minutes once a day, acting as wild as the others unlike most of the time, being the softest and gentlest of the bunch. Only the constantly dirty bum could contradict the princess in her!
Yongesa, the tomboy, definitely makes a match for the males. She changes within a matter of seconds from a peaceful, solemn chimpanzee to a crazy daredevil, jumping from heights that the rest are to scared to attempt!
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