Chitwan National Park

March 17 Monday 2014

Green Mansions Lodge

A walk in the jungle was not a walk in the park. Suresh (our assigned guide during our stay) summoned us from our room 15 minutes early because there was a rhino sighting near by. We hurried after him, almost trotting to keep up. The dirt road bordered the fence protecting the park, and we heard thrashing and saw movement in the trees about 30 yards away. He whispered for us to come on, and proceeded to scale a tall fence. I balked, thought no way, then I did it. Precarious. I fell on my ass. Dennis made it over and we crept on. This monster of a rhino munched its way through the forest directly ahead. With his poor sight he did not see us and we were quiet and apparently not too smelly.  I saw his horned head through the trees and his body just kept coming, then his armored hind quarters. I know rhinos are dangerous and can move fast. I've only ever seen them from a sturdy jeep when we lived in Nigeria and went to Kenya for a safari vacation. 

Now, the few trees around us had no low branches although if a charge occurred who knew what I was capable of. The few photos Dennis took are not so great, meaningful only to us. We moved on when the rhino lumbered further into the shaded canopy seeking cooler air - fine with me.

After this exciting start of our jungle walk, we wound through the forested jungle, over a rope bridge that seemed longer than its 60 yards, bamboo side-railing not always within reach or steady when grasped - balance maintenance necessary.

Three hours later we ended up at the government elephant breeding facility just as the sun was setting. I was beyond tired, my wonky ankle killing me. I hoped I would be able to walk the next day. Nepalese time must be like Mexican time, give or take an hour here or there. 

Dinner eagerly anticipated, it lived up to expectation. Buffet-style: lentil dahl (which may be an oxymoron); white rice, hunks of curried pork , a mixture of spicy green beans, cauliflower, carrots, potatoes; a picture-perfect layered raw salad of radish, carrot and tomato, and chapatis.

An orange for dessert. 

I forgot to take a picture. This may be because we are already noticeable in the dining room-the only couple. Long tables are filled with French tourists, although there is a German-speaking couple sitting next to us with two Nepalis. The waiter concocts a quasi-cappuccino for Dennis which is pretty darn good. Suresh hands us our schedule for the next day. It looks a little daunting: 7am breakfast; 7:45 canoe ride (2 hours); lunch at 12; 12:30 jeep safari for 4 hours.

We look at each other and decide to go with the flow. It seems we are not in control.