Chase after the chimpanzees! (Day 5)

Today we started early in the morning again, because we had a lot planned for today. In the morning, we started with a hike through the swamp, where we could observe various monkeys and birds. From there, we went straight to a village where we were shown how the freshly harvested coffee beans are ultimately processed into drinkable coffee. Of course, we also got to try some things ourselves! There was also a stop at the village healer, who explained to us how he treats malaria and rabies with herbs, among other things. The basket weavers even sang and danced for us before we could try the banana beer made from banana juice in the next house, which was very tasty and reminded us more of Federweisser than beer.

For lunch, we finally got to try local food in a guesthouse that our stomachs could trust!

With a full stomach, we finally went on the long-awaited chimpanzee trekking. After a very leisurely walk through the jungle for the first time - first on man-made paths and later on elephant paths, the pace suddenly accelerated after we heard the first chimpanzee call! Because chimpanzees are fast in the jungle. Here and no - there. Then it was back again - the chimpanzees changed direction once again. They must have encountered another chimpanzee family. Our guide heard over the radio that another trekking group had encountered elephants - no wonder, there were fresh tracks of them everywhere. In search of the chimpanzees, we went deeper and deeper into the densely overgrown jungle - at the same time, the speed was becoming faster rather than slower. And then finally! The first chimpanzee ran just a few meters past us after about 1.5 hours of searching. And as quickly as he came, he was gone again. Then it was: Run! After the chimpanzee! Quickly! And suddenly we were right in the middle of them - they were everywhere. Some of them not even 2 meters away. We were lucky that they eventually took a break, so we could still take some photos. Not that easy, because our hands were shaking from the effort, the mask had to be worn on the nose to protect against the transmission of diseases, and the chimpanzees, even when they were sitting, were always on the move. Our guide told us the names and a few stories about the individual animals - the boss, who is 30 years old and the strongest in the family; the vice boss, who was coughing and probably infected with Covid; then there was Buddha and the short-sighted one, who was the closest to us because of his poor eyesight. The half-torn ear he had was testament to a punishment by the boss who caught him having sex with a female without permission. We didn't see the females because they are very shy due to their young. But we were very lucky that on the way into the forest, a mother with her baby on her back crossed the road, so we at least had a brief view from a distance. Overall, the three hours of chimpanzee trekking was an incredible experience that will take us some time to process.