Amazon Updates
13 October 2001
Last night when we arrived back at the house we had a late night
barbecue and our hosts told us that they have a jaguar in the
area that sometimes comes through after a barbecue. Then there
was some joking about who gets to sleep on the second floor.
In fact there wasn't even enough room in the house and four of
us slept under another open shelter with just a straw roof, sand
floor and some beams for hammocks. Luckily there aren't many mosquitoes
in the area because of the clear acid water, so we could sleep
outside in only hammocks. But I wasn't as worried about the mosquitoes
as the jaguars after our dinner stories.
It had cooled off considerably and as I curled up in my hammock
with the wool blanket I brought from the ship, I didn't think
I could possibly get to sleep. The sounds from the forest were
overpowering and my imagination was racing, but it had been a
long day and I was asleep before long.
During the middle of the night, as I was half asleep, I heard
a sound that I imagined must be a jaguar and then felt something
large brush beneath my hammock. As soon as I was fully awake in
the morning I checked around my hammock for tracks but saw nothing,
it must have been a dream or a mythical flying monkey.
 |
We set out early for a hike through the Tapajõs National Forest. We went with two guides from the local village and formed a gringo conga line behind them as they cut a path through the forest with machetes, wearing only small sandals and shorts. We were in hiking boots, pants, shirts and hats with cameras, water and several kilograms of VR equipment. I can only imagine how ridiculous we must have seemed to them. |
We hiked for over an hour through secondary forest using the
path the villagers use for hunting, gathering and rubber tapping.
After climbing what might ordinarily seem like a small hill, we
entered primary forest that has seen little impact from humans
and is above the flood line during the rainy season.
When I've hiked through the rainforest on the west coast of Canada,
I usually emerge soaked from the rain and brushing up against
water soaked ferns. It is the dry season in the Amazon, and although
the forest was dry, most of us were completely soaked by the time
we reached the high point of the hill from the heat and the humidity
and the extra effort it took to climb the small hill.
Here the forest was cooler and darker as the canopy filtered
out the sun. This forest is considered an open forest, but is
still quite dense in areas and several times our guides tried
to find an easier path for us. We heard the sounds of the forest
all around us but did not see any animals, the noise of six gringos
walking through leaves and snapping twigs would scare off even
the boldest animals.
We saw many flowers, including orchids that had fallen from
the trees and some growing on the forest floor. We only shared
the path with one snake, but our guides were already too far
ahead of us to identify it at the time. The most interesting
insect we saw was one bigger than my hand that looked like
a long twig with several long twig-like legs, and we also
saw some frogs the size of my thumbnail. As well as many,
many ants. It was unavoidable to disturb them and I received
a few fire ant bites for the intrusion. |
 |
Stopping
for a coconut break with our guide |
Although the hill we climbed wasn't very high, this is
considered high ground in this area of the Amazon basin,
since it does not flood. It is also likely habitat for jaguars
which have been spotted by the villagers in the region,
luckily we didn't disturb any walking through the forest.
It has been weeks since we have seen rain and as we headed
back out of the forest we heard thunder in the distance.
The clouds rolled in quickly and the rain that began slowly
turned into a heavy downpour. The smells of the forest intensified
with the rain; the sweet smell of the rich topsoil, the
pungent smell of wet wood and the fresh smells of wet leaves,
which were barely noticeable in the heat, were all around
us. We were wet once again, but much cooler.
|
We returned to the house in time for lunch and after, as people
napped in hammocks, I went for a last swim in the river by myself.
The river was absolutely calm and the forest was reflected perfectly
in the clear waters. The reflected image was only disturbed here
and there by large jumping fish. Birds flew over head making a
variety of noises I had never heard before. It is a paradise and
I can see why the people that live here what to preserve this.
|
I have always thought Nova Scotia is beautiful and was
a great place to grow up, but if I was like many of the
people that live here, and only ever saw this one place
on Earth, I think I would be completely content.
Tracy
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