Although the majority of our time is spent on the boats, jungle walks enable us to experience being in the rainforest and get closer to some of the smaller animals (i.e. bugs). The rubber boots I've been given come in handy the moment I step off the boat... right into a bog. It turns out that the difference between land and water is not so clear cut here.
Rather worryingly Jairo tells us that, during the walk, we are just going to have to trust him; "If I give you something to hold or eat, don't ask questions, just do it". He tests us almost immediately, cutting some bark off a tree and telling us to put it in our mouths. It is very bitter and a member of our group comments that it tastes like their malaria pills. Surprise surprise, pharmaceutical companies make anti-malarials from this very tree, although we’re tells us that a simple tea from the bark if far more effective and is used by locals with success, even after the malaria has taken hold.
The sap from one tree is sticky enough that it can be used to seal leaking boats and the flowers from another are so effective as a contraceptive when eaten that some local women are sterile and it is no longer used.
Before long comes another opportunity for Jairo to test out our faith in him. He asks if any of us are irresistible to mosquitos and when I put my hand up he takes it and places it gently over an ants nest. Immediately the ants begin to swarm all over my hand. When they reach my elbow he tells me to take my hand away and smear the ants on my skin, the idea being that the smell produced by the squashed ants acts as a natural mosquito repellent. Everyone stiffs my arm and agrees that its giving off quite a pungent smell.
Upon reaching a small clearing everyone has a go at swinging on the hanging roots (not vines) of a huge tree - Tarzan style.
When the root breaks, and the root after that, Jairo enlists our help to look for a small colourful frog which will probably be somewhere nearby. Before long someone cries "I think I've found it!" and Jairo leaps over yelling "Don't touch it". Its a poison dart frog, and Jairo assures us that stories about how deadly it is have not been exaggerated. A dart that has simply touched the back of this frog is enough to kill a human and frequently used by locals for hunting deer, monkeys and wild boar with no ill effects to the meat.
Some of the animals we come across aren't so useful, such as the huge tarantula relaxing on a tree until Jairo pokes it with a stick, which makes even the bravest of us take a step back and sends others squealing into the undergrowth… where there are probably even bigger bugs waiting for them.
Luckily I’m not too bothered by the tarantula because on our next jungle walk, a night walk, I foolishly volunteer to ‘hold’ a tail-less scorpion… which then gets put on my face.
This is too much, I might look calm in the pictures but I am actually saying, very firmly, “PLEASE take it off now…. Ok, you can take it off now. GET IT OFF”. My eyes are tightly closed so I can’t see anything, but I can feel how big the thing is – its legs stretching from one ear to the other. The moment it is removed and placed into the undergrowth I jump up and down, shaking my hair and whimpering. No more volunteering.
Other than this the night walk is amazing. Once again, the emphasis here is not on seeing animals lined up to have their picture taken, but to experience being in the rainforest.
At one point Jairo encourages us to turn our torches off and be as quiet as possible. The jungle around us is humming with various animals – not just insects but monkeys and birds too. Most of us have our eyes closed but when I open mine the floor is lit up with glowing fungus. Jairo picks some up and waves it in the air leaving a trail of light, but when I turn my torch on all he is holding is a pile of leaves – the fungus visible only in the dark.
The boat meets us at the end of our walk and I can be sure that all the creepy crawlies are blown off me as we speed to the lodge, just as fast as if we were driving during the day. The air is warm and rich smelling – earth, plants and water – and above us Jairo points out Venus amongst hundreds of other stars. I sit back and let the jungle rush past me, looking forward to falling asleep safely under my mosquito net.
Rather worryingly Jairo tells us that, during the walk, we are just going to have to trust him; "If I give you something to hold or eat, don't ask questions, just do it". He tests us almost immediately, cutting some bark off a tree and telling us to put it in our mouths. It is very bitter and a member of our group comments that it tastes like their malaria pills. Surprise surprise, pharmaceutical companies make anti-malarials from this very tree, although we’re tells us that a simple tea from the bark if far more effective and is used by locals with success, even after the malaria has taken hold.
Above: This ant is a bit bigger than a fifty pence piece. To close wounds locals
allow the ants to bite them before ripping the ant's head from its body,
leaving the huge mandibles pinching the wound together.
Yes I try it and yes it hurts.
The sap from one tree is sticky enough that it can be used to seal leaking boats and the flowers from another are so effective as a contraceptive when eaten that some local women are sterile and it is no longer used.
Above: Sticky tree sap
Before long comes another opportunity for Jairo to test out our faith in him. He asks if any of us are irresistible to mosquitos and when I put my hand up he takes it and places it gently over an ants nest. Immediately the ants begin to swarm all over my hand. When they reach my elbow he tells me to take my hand away and smear the ants on my skin, the idea being that the smell produced by the squashed ants acts as a natural mosquito repellent. Everyone stiffs my arm and agrees that its giving off quite a pungent smell.
Upon reaching a small clearing everyone has a go at swinging on the hanging roots (not vines) of a huge tree - Tarzan style.
When the root breaks, and the root after that, Jairo enlists our help to look for a small colourful frog which will probably be somewhere nearby. Before long someone cries "I think I've found it!" and Jairo leaps over yelling "Don't touch it". Its a poison dart frog, and Jairo assures us that stories about how deadly it is have not been exaggerated. A dart that has simply touched the back of this frog is enough to kill a human and frequently used by locals for hunting deer, monkeys and wild boar with no ill effects to the meat.
Above: Poison dart frog
Above: Slightly less poisonous caterpillar
Some of the animals we come across aren't so useful, such as the huge tarantula relaxing on a tree until Jairo pokes it with a stick, which makes even the bravest of us take a step back and sends others squealing into the undergrowth… where there are probably even bigger bugs waiting for them.
Luckily I’m not too bothered by the tarantula because on our next jungle walk, a night walk, I foolishly volunteer to ‘hold’ a tail-less scorpion… which then gets put on my face.
This is too much, I might look calm in the pictures but I am actually saying, very firmly, “PLEASE take it off now…. Ok, you can take it off now. GET IT OFF”. My eyes are tightly closed so I can’t see anything, but I can feel how big the thing is – its legs stretching from one ear to the other. The moment it is removed and placed into the undergrowth I jump up and down, shaking my hair and whimpering. No more volunteering.
Other than this the night walk is amazing. Once again, the emphasis here is not on seeing animals lined up to have their picture taken, but to experience being in the rainforest.
Above: Fully grown constrictor
Above: Can you see it? Jairo spots this tiny bird,
way up in the trees with just a head torch.
At one point Jairo encourages us to turn our torches off and be as quiet as possible. The jungle around us is humming with various animals – not just insects but monkeys and birds too. Most of us have our eyes closed but when I open mine the floor is lit up with glowing fungus. Jairo picks some up and waves it in the air leaving a trail of light, but when I turn my torch on all he is holding is a pile of leaves – the fungus visible only in the dark.
Above: A huge locust about 4 inches long
Above: Tree frog
The boat meets us at the end of our walk and I can be sure that all the creepy crawlies are blown off me as we speed to the lodge, just as fast as if we were driving during the day. The air is warm and rich smelling – earth, plants and water – and above us Jairo points out Venus amongst hundreds of other stars. I sit back and let the jungle rush past me, looking forward to falling asleep safely under my mosquito net.
Yo! You underplayed the awesomeness of what Jairo did. Navigating us back through PITCH BLACK darkness. Loco!
ReplyDeletehttp://letsgetrealpod.blogspot.com/2013/11/technology-vs-human-instinct-inuits-in.html