Saturday, August 9, 2008

A Day in Paradise

I woke up on Wednesday morning in a light sweat, to new bird calls and to the sound of a buzzing fan. Breakfast is at 7:30 every morning in a beautiful hut by which gorgeous parrots like to laze and communicate. At breakfast I ate the freshest fruit I've ever had in my life: a really deep yellow, sweet and juicy pineapple and thick red watermelon. All bread was freshly baked, with home churned butter and home-made jam, all served with freshly squeezed passion fruit juice. After breakfast my trekking group, made up of six girls and the guide, went back to our cabins to get ready for the full day jungle hike. We wore tank tops, jeans tucked into long socks, sneakers, and caps.


Joanna and Joseph led us into the jungle once again. The Amazon Rainforest during the day looks very much like it does on the Discovery Channel, only being there feels like being in a completely different universe. It never occurred to me that the things I see on National Geographic and on the Discovery Channel, in all those beautiful photos, is truly real. There in the Amazon Rainforest, walking past medicinal and poisonous plants, careful not to step on armies of leaf-cutting ants, and trying to avoid snakes, I finally realized how incredible it feels to discover nature. I knew it was moving all around me; there were thousands of snakes I couldn't see and wildlife I would never discover, which could recognize my scent from afar.


We stopped many times along our trek so that our guides can explain the functions of various plants. We found trees which when cut a certain way, release about ten liters of fresh drinking water, and a tree whose bark is used in anti - malarial medicine. We also came across many unique flowers, one with long tubular yellow petals and another with blue buds that looked like blueberries. We even did a little bit of bush-whacking! At one point we ventured off the trail into an unexplored part of the jungle, where we spotted an anteater really high up in a tree. A while later, after having hiked for a while longer through the miraculous jungle, Natasha noticed a snake ready to strike right next to Yolanda’s ankle. She called out to the guides, and Joseph came over to get the snake out of the way; he picked it up and explained that this is one of the most poisonous snakes in the Amazon Rainforest. One bite from it can shut down a human’s nervous system. I have an overwhelming fear of snakes, but somehow looking at it coiling from Joseph’s hand I overcame my fear and took very close photos of it. I couldn’t believe how well camouflaged it was! Had Natasha not spotted it moving, it may have struck Yolanda’s ankle. Joanna told us later that our group is incredibly lucky for having seen the wildlife that we did; anteaters are particularly difficult to spot.


We hiked for three hours before coming to a cleared bit of land in the jungle where the eco-lodge built its “rest area”. Here we waited for the other trekking group to come and have lunch with us. We were so hot by this point that we got down to our underclothing and washed ourselves in the stream. The water in this stream is also safe for drinking. Joanna doesn’t even bring bottled water when she hikes, because she just drinks directly from the fresh water sources in the jungle. When the other group arrived, we relaxed and dined on barbequed meets and fresh fruit. Upon finishing lunch, our guides informed us that we had two options. We could either take the long and more arduous route back to our eco-lodge, or take a shorter, less intensive route back. I opted to take the longer route. This time we were led by Evo, a young Dutch reptilian expert.


After having only hiked a few meters back through the Rainforest, Evo spotted a bullet ant making its way up a tree. A bullet ant is large and extremely poisonous; one bite and the infected area will become paralyzed for twenty-four hours, and the pain will feel much like that caused by a bullet. Evo had just been bitten by one recently and described how he could not move his arm for an entire day. Amidst intense bush-whacking we began to hear thunder. My heart pounded in anticipation of rain. One of the experiences I had been looking forward to most is rain the Rainforest. The wind came first. Millions of leaves up ahead rustled, making a loud chattering noise. Then the rain came down. Hard. Suddenly the rain forest came even more alive with sound. We hiked through the applause of jungle rain for a half hour more before coming out near a lake. The lake glistened and sparkled with raindrops; wet, sweaty, and hot we said nothing before running towards the water. We stripped down to our bras, underwear, and boxers once again and ran into the lake. Swimming in the lake was like taking a warm bath, only we were surrounded by rainforest. We spent about forty five minutes in the water just relaxing and having races from one side of the lake to the other. The rain stopped and a light fog formed over the top of the lake. I felt like I was in a movie, and at that moment I really missed Nick. The scene was incredibly romantic, but it was missing the protagonist couple. Instead we frolicked in the lake and I had the time of my life in a paradise I don’t think I will ever be able to accurately describe.



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now I know what I am going to do when I can no longer work. I am going to put together your writings using my rusted editorial skills and pound publishers to have it published! It's so fresh and vivid. I can actually see myself following in your footsteps in that rainforest... Wow!

Anonymous said...

Hey Julio,

finally read through the entire brazil blog...very epic! i was reminded of my trip to the amazon, which unfortunately took place at the immature age of 16...the most beautiful rainforest fauna in my opinion are the frogs, esp. the cute deadly ones painted in loud colors...how were the mosquitos? i remember swarms...any horseflies?

your group project was a great idea...there is too much focus on short-term solutions and action-based efforts to problems in impoverished areas. the true trouble spots are always education and communication...

Anonymous said...

Idea for new post: "A Day in TOFURKEY!" ...ok, so that is lame, which is why you are the writer and I am not :P CHRONICLE SOME ADVENTURES DAMN YOU!!!