Queen Liz, part 3

(Queen Liz part 1, Queen Liz part 2.) We stayed at two different settlements in Queen Elizabeth National Park—two nights in Mweya and one night at Ishasha. While we were stopped at the gate on the way in, a baboon with a hurt paw (a piece of barbed wire stuck in his skin! so sad!) sidled up to the car and seemed to be begging for food.I looked down and gasped. I had seen my first (and only, so far) baboon willie. It was bright pink and as long and thin as a drinking straw.  Ishasha is not renowned for its exhibitionist baboons, however. People go there to see the climbing lions.  Two lionesses asleep in a fig tree. (HOW AWESOME IS MY LIFE??)    The Ishasha campsite was in a pretty clearing in the woods by a river. Baboons and hippos in close proximity, but there were guards keeping us safe.      There were lots of highlights in Ishasha—the lions, our hearty alfresco dinner that night, and a nature walk with Bernard, who proved himself an excellent guide. I picked up a lot of animal facts (elephants are sexually mature at the age of twelve, and their pregnancies last 22 months; hippos spend 90% of their time in the water, and grow up to 3½ tons; colobus monkeys don't have thumbs), but my favorite part was when he explained why he believes the first Homo sapiens lived in Uganda. "When you are here," he said, "you are at home." A lovely thought.    (All Uganda and Rwanda entries.)