Promptly after arriving at my new home in the jungle, I drained whatever amount of chicken broth that my body would allow and fell asleep. I awoke to my cousin shaking me saying that it was time for our first hike. We were about to embark on a 2 hour hike through a non-distant trail at roughly 9pm when I realized that I was not going to survive carrying my bag. Regrettably, I decided to leave my camera behind and we set off on foot.Did you know that tarantulas in this part of the jungle are nocturnal. They, like you're average Whistler party hound, don't like the light very much. We were fortunate to run into a few along the trip and much to my delight, my cousin was a bit squeamish. One thing that was extremely notable about this hike was the sounds the jungle made at night. It was reminiscent of those rain forest cds my parents used to play, but with an insane quality boost like that of a good live concert or of a vinyl record. It is a sound that soothes my dreams today.
If you are unlucky enough to be caught in the sun during the day, you'll know what it is like to be in the heat of a conflagration (word of the day). Therefore, we were told by our guide that we should wake up at 5am to begin our day. So, the next day we were up early to canoe up river and hike to an oxbow lake.
On the way there, our tour guide, Hugo, began teaching us about the jungle. Amongst the many fascinating things there are, he told us of this strangler tree that grows from the top down. It spreads in the bird's poo on leaves, and starts growing when the sun hits it. It slowly grows downwards from the tops of trees until it hits the ground. It envelopes the tree beneath it and robs it from nitrogen and solar light, killing it.It really is a "only the strong survive" mentality in the jungle. Even the trees eat each other.
Are you crazy
Gonzo
