1.  Be prepared to work.  See that mountain?  You WILL be climbing it.  You won’t know how far until you arrive at base when the trackers tell you where your gorilla group is located that day. Gorilla groups move to a new “camp” every day to find food.

 

2. A reasonable level of health and fitness is called for, though you don’t have to be super-fit.  In our group of eight six of us were over fifty.  The guides will take things as slowly as you need but, because of the steep terrain, it isn’t long before you feel your heart rate increasing. 

3.  Wear suitable attire.  It’s cool when you set off at 6 am but soon heats up as the morning wears on – and the climb gets steeper.  

• It's best to dress in layers so you can remove bits of clothing as you go. 
• Wear long sleeves because of giant stinging nettles and thistles.  Gardening gloves are a good idea for the same reason.
• Take a waterproof jacket in your rucksack – Rwanda gets plenty of rain especially in the mountains.
• Wear thick, long socks and pull them over the top of your trousers.  Otherwise stinging red ants will find their way up your legs. 

4.  Invest in a pair of heavy duty walking boots. It’s muddy and slippery up there and especially tricky on the way down.  Wear your boots in before the trek.  We climbed 3000 meters – you don’t want to do it with blistered feet. 

5.  Make sure your travel insurance covers you for high altitudes. 

6.  Take plenty of water in your rucksack.

7.  Take advantage of the “porters.”  These are young Rwandan men who, for a few dollars, are happy to carry your bag.  You’re not allowed to take anything but your camera when you reach the gorillas so the lads will mind your stuff for you.  

8.  Make sure you have a decent camera without a flash.  No flash photography is allowed around the gorillas. 

9.  When you reach the gorillas listen carefully to your guide’s instructions. 

• Keep a distance of seven to ten feet away – yes you CAN get that close.  They are peaceful animals and will pretty much ignore you as long as you don’t do anything to upset them.  Having said that –
• Don’t annoy the teenagers.  This adolescent male got a bit rattled when we got a little too close for his liking.  The photo is blurred because he was moving towards us at quite a rate.  The noise from his chest-beating echoed all around the mountain.  His tantrum was over quickly though and wasn’t as big a deal as it sounds.

• If this happens to you, do not try to run – though with undergrowth higher than your head it would be difficult.  Simply avert your gaze and stand still.

• The forty-stone silverback may turn his back on you, but you mustn’t do the same.
• If you need to cough or sneeze, turn your face away.  It is imperative that the gorillas don’t catch any human germs.
• Don’t touch a gorilla.  They may approach you, especially the babies.  It’s okay to let them touch you.  Actually, I’m not sure how you would stop them and who wouldn't want a cuddle from this little girl?
  

10.  Finally, savor each and every moment you have with them.  You’re only allowed to stay one hour before they become stressed.  It was the fastest hour of my life.

Beyond all the negative aspects hunted sometimes by journalists or tourists who don't know and refuse to learn about the positive side of Romania, I would like to bring to attention some things that might draw interest to people. I'm also curious to find out why some people who visit Romania look only for negative and can't get the positive where it's obviously around the corner waiting timidly to be noticed and marked down in the sentimental diary.

Then I would like to inquire why people who didn't visit or read about Romania too much are so tempted to believe only what media says and not filtering through their own mind.

I've seen movies about sadness in Romanian orphanages, street or abandoned kids, rude vendors, abusive situations, corruption but not too much referring to the old traditional culture and values.

I honestly intend to suggest travelers ,writers or journalists to try opening "the mind"s eyes' as Romanians say, so to be able to depict through studying the people's way of being, living, their mentality, to do a psychological investigation in the Romanian's heart. A professional journalist visiting any country in the world should be able to

notice first the cultural differences, then to have the desire and respect for the foreign culture he/she chose to discuss. Maybe it would require even more than these: a special sensitivity towards unknown, Eastern cultures, and communication.

Most of the articles with critics about Romania are written by journalists who explore for a short time the country as an old fashion country, strange place and picking only sensational negatives for bitterness and hurting the feelings, gossip that some people like to watch on TV news in the evenings .

Romania was under communism so many years and still struggles to get its "wings" for the political and economical transition; this takes time and maybe some generations for changing and rehabilitation. Only with severe critics and harsh comments I don't believe somebody can be helped….

It needs a special tone of voice and writing, a type of compassion, cross cultural understanding and desire of appreciation and honoring cultures outside the native boundaries.

The negativist journalists should rather contact humanitarian organizations and encourage them or getting themselves involved in helping the sadness.

Also, they should find time for knowing step by step some valuable things in Romania. This would be certainly a help for people around the world to look at Romania with more objectivity.

I've recently studied some discussing forums to find out about the tourists' and exchange workers' impressions about Romania after "89. They refer to the changes they"ve noticed after the democratic revolution. This in order to find out the good parts and make them popular to those ones who might be interested in traveling some day to Romania.

I have myself interest in cross cultural integration and experience of foreigners who worked and studied in Romania or came for helping in different fields of activity. Talking to people who visited Romania, I was curious to hear their voice and put together thoughts and impressions. I was happy to find that there are many good things to be considered and many tourists expressed their desire to come and visit again Romania.

According to a recent general survey, the tourists who visited Romania were impressed by:

• the people and their special hospitality of inviting guests in their house and offering the best even under very modest financial possibilities
• the Romanian children who are usually much more polite than in Western countries and struggle very hard in schools showing respect and consideration for adults and elderly
• the national treasures of Bucovina in the North of Romania: the monasteries of 14th and 15th century that are protected by UNESCO as part of world heritage
• the Carpathians and the large variety of natural resorts and valleys
• the Romanian food based on seasonal organic fruit and vegetable
• the special cultural traditions on Christmas where the carolers fill the heart with the real significance of this religious holiday
• the folklore and many various celebrations all year round: folk dances, songs, fairs, costumes
• the people's pride in preserving the cultural traditions and transferring to the young generation

These would make just a brief summary to motivate people for visiting Romania. To be more convincible, I will add a foreign traveler's opinion about Romania:

'It gave me the feeling that I belong there somehow and would like to go again. Then a type of being a part of the huge Romanian family going through everything together'.

In Cyprus, we are well placed to take advantage of the health-giving aspects of the Mediterranean diet: the olive oil, salads, fish and of course red wine. What a pity so much of the wine is insipid. It need not be so.

The amount of sun should produce intense reds. Look what comes out of the Southern Rhone or even the softer Herault reds…. Even comparing like for like, some of the reds from Greece like Nemea or the big-bodied fella' from Santorini offer a satisfying mouthful.

And leading the way under extreme duress is a gentleman in the Lebanon - Serge Hochar. He produces a magnificent red, complex, aromatic and mouth-filling that rivals some of the big wines from the Rhone or Bordeaux where he trained.

Some years his acclaimed wine, Chateau Mussar, does not declare a vintage. The problems of a vineyard six checkpoints away from the winery in the Bechaar Valley; picking and transporting while shells burst around, defeat even his enthusiasm. But when he makes it, the wine is long-lived and delicious.

Here, winemakers are only just cottoning to the fact that there is more to it than pouring cheap alcohol down holdymakers' throats. Try Keo's Heritage, a vintage wine from rediscovered Cyprus varietals; at the moment limited to 15,000 bottles a year. Another good drink is Kannavera from Vouni Panayia Winery and let's not forget Fikardos' succulent Lefkarda.

You might also keep an eye on some of the wines coming from Kathikas like Vasilikon. Providing these producers don't get inflated ideas on cost, we should all heartily support them. After all it is for the good of our health.

Amedei's Porcelana chocolate was first produced in Tuscany, Italy in 1990. It won three World Chocolate Awards. It is so exclusive that each bar has a number on it.

Malagasy Mora Mora is grown, processed and packaged in Madagascar. It is a blend of three different types of cocoa bean and has a light texture and an almost floral scent. It is not as rich as some other dark chocolates.

Valrhona Cao Grande is made by a French company that blends a mixture of beans from Venezuela, Madagascar and Trinidad. Cao Grande has a unique flavour more suited to the connoisseur.

Green and Black organic dark chocolate is 85% cocoa. It is very strong with a slightly bitter after taste and a strong smell. This is not a chocolate bar that even the most dedicated addict could eat a lot of.

Dark chocolate is thought to be healthier than milk chocolate. It has higher anti-oxidant properties and can help protect the heart and blood vessels from oxidative damage. Tests have also suggested that dark chocolate may have a positive affect on depression.

Although there may be benefits to be had from eating this highly addictive confection, chocolate is high in fat and sugar, so too much of it can counteract any beneficial effects it might have.