Venturing from the exclusive haven of Singita Kwitonda Lodge, gaiters guard my every step from stinging nettles as I navigate primordial forest in the high-altitude mountain gorilla sanctuary of Volcanoes National Park. By sheer luck, I secured the last gorilla trek permitted before Rwanda closed its borders. Since disease could decimate the scarce species, rangers temporarily suspended all hikes the next day to safeguard the primates against human transmission of COVID-19.
An agile tracker catches my falling backpack while I clamber up mud-slick Sabyinyo, the towering volcano where Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo
