Gorilla permit: check

Just like the rain in dry season, my creative juices have all dried up. Actually, what’s dried up is my countless hours on my own with time to think and write in this little blog. It’s been a week only but a long week. Let’s review, shall we.

Tuesday I woke early because it was a big day. Off to Kigali to get gorilla permits for July, to VSO to get reimbursed and then off ot the airport to meet a friend, Amy, who will join me for three weeks. I arrive in Kigali early (read: bus ride frightfully fast) and head to the ORTPN.

Me: “I’d like two permits for July 12^th, please”

Them: “Sorry. It’s sold out.”

Me: “Okay. How about the 13^th?”

Them: “Sorry, it’s also sold out.”

Me: “Okay…” (looking at calender to see when I’ll be back in the country) “How about August 12^th?”

Them: “Sorry. July and August are all sold out.”

Me: “I think I will cry.”

__

But I didn’t cry. No, I’m a VSO volunteer and in the face of challenges such as these we perservere. As it so so happened, there WAS a spot in July that had become available because of a cancellation so I asked for this one and if they took MasterCard.

Them: “No.”

Me: “Okay. No problem.”

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And it wasn’t a problem. Not yet. Because I can go across the street to get a cash advance at Access bank which (besides tending to give out counterfit money) tends to be relatively reliable. So I race over the bank and ask for a cash advance.

Them: “Sorry, your card has been declined.”

Me: “What? No!”

Them: “Maybe there’s a limit.”

Me: “There’s not.” (well, really, there is but I don’t reach it ever.)

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So ask it turns out there may be a cash advance limit but we just tried to take out two separate advances and voila! I had cash in my hand (and the serial numbers to go along with them) and I headed back over to ORTPN.

Me: “Here!”

Them: “Do you have your residents’ card?”

Me: “Yes! Here it is.”

Them: “Great, we just need to photocopy…….”

END SCENE.

Okay not really end scene but this in when the power goes out and I stare at the woman behind the counter who is blankly staring at me. There is nothing she cand do. So we wait. And wait. And wait.

But the power goes on and, permits in hand, walk out of the ORPTN smiling! I will be trekking to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda in July! (Not trekking to kill the mountain gorillas as the word “permit” might suggest. Hunting strictly prohibited.)