Back to the begining... forest experiences

La vida en la selva – life in the rainforest

Here's a bit more detail about some of my first days in the rainforest...

Arrived in rainforest: 9/11/06
Date written in journal: 7/12/06

Where to Start?
The first few days were a confusion of green and frogs. The other RNs, Vikki, Vika, and Gino, were most welcoming and keen to show me the forest.

I arrived in Explorer’s Inn in the afternoon of the 9th of November 2006. Vikki and I travelled by local taxi (5 adult passengers and 2 children in one car, plus the driver, of course!) and the Tiberande (local taxi boat). The Tiberande (it means “shark”) is probably my favourite journey so far.

The central area of the lodge, the Comodore (dining room)

The lodge was quiet when we arrived. It looked much like the photos my friend, and inspiration for coming here, Geertje, had shown me back in Leeds. The walkways are made of wooden planks, the buildings of wood with thatched roofs. There’s a long path down from the port, past the football field and some guest bungalows, to the commodore – the central space of the lodge – a meeting room, dining room and bar. The main room is hexagonal and beautifully made from wood. It has several large tables and all the chairs are hewn from tree trunks –no two are alike! It smells strongly of … creosote…or something like it. Later Vika tells me that they have rubbed the floor with gasoline as a preservative, something which is done when there are no tourists. Up a spiral staircase, which circles a huge tree trunk in the centre of the room, is the Discovery Centre, an information area run by the RNs. At the back of the commodore is a door leading to the kitchen. I meet a couple of the guys who work in the lodge. We grab a drink of water from the tank and then head to the RN bungalow to drop my things off.

On the tree outside our building it a huge tarantula!! My first wildlife of the lodge. Goodness only knows what other creepy crawlies are in store!









Me with amazingly blue tarantula! No, I didn't get any closer, they can jump a long way, you know!


The RN bungalow is certainly older than the guest accommodation, or at least not as well maintained. It’s dirty. I’m to share a room with two other girls, Sonia and Roxanne. I get the top bunk. The mattress is a piece of foam, stained and torn, which doesn’t cover the bed. I am glad I bought my inflatable mattress. That was ₤7 well spent!

The room feels dark and dirty. It has no windows, but around the top of three walls runs a foot-wide line of mosquito mesh. Two walls are adjacent to other rooms and the third with the work area of the bungalow. The fourth wall holds a door to the bathroom. The bathroom is indescribably disgusting. There are holes in the floor where the wood has rotted away. The toilet and shower are stained brown, and the sink boats a bar of filthy soap sitting in a puddle of wet, mouldering cockroach poo [ note: I never did take a photo of the bathroom, mostly because it was too tiny to get the full picture, but also partly because I didn’t want to freak out my mum too much! ]. I can’t believe I will live here, but determine to make the most of it. I decide to leave unpacking until I’ve met my new room mates and can ask where I can have space.

There is another room for the boys with two bunk beds, and a nice room which Vikki shares with Liz, a guide. Their room has some nice personal touches – photographs on the walls, and some paintings covering the bare wood of the walls. There is one more small room which Vika has to herself, although she shares our bathroom. Before the rooms is a central shared area with a work bench along the wall in front of the windows. Photos and articles cover the walls. This is clearly the hub of RN activity.

We soon hear a most welcome sound – a guitar playing and many voices singing. A lot of people are approaching from the rainforest and it sounds like they are having a great time. Vikki recognise the others returning from a walk and we head to the kitchen to meet them. It’s so nice to hear the guitar and singing. It reminds me of sitting around the campfire at the Northern Green Gathering (in August in Yorkshire) with someone playing guitar and everyone singing. It reminds me of every time I have been with people who take time to enjoy the simple things.

I met an overwhelming mass of people. I forgot all their names almost immediately, just as I usually do, except Ricardo, who was the guitarist, and Eugenio (“Uchenio”) whose name I solemnly attempted top pronounce until everyone else laughed and said he was called Gino. He’s another RN and from Spain, he speaks perfect Spanish (obviously) but has a tendency to say “th” for “s” in the Spanish way, but not in the Peruvian style of Spanish. He also speaks perfect English having done an Environmental degree in Plymouth. I also met Aleyo, the chef, to whom Oliver had bid me send his greetings. He’s a small, rounded man who is very lovely and gives an air of happy confidence. He’s worked at the lodge for over 30 years!

During my first few days I did an awful lot of things, most of which I remember as an overwhelming blur of green. We (the RNs) walked 5 km along narrow forest trails and across bridges made of a single narrow tree trunk (around 6´ across the stream – that was fun!) to a large lake (later I found that is was called Katichocha and is the smaller of the two lakes here). It was hot and humid on the way there, but not too sunny in the deep shade of the forest. The forest is a forest. In many ways not that different to my forests (ok, “woodlands”) in the UK, but a stark contrast to the spruce-hemlock forest I’ve studied in Alaska. These forests form a dense canopy far above you, below which little grows, apart from a few shrubs and the occasional herbaceous plant on the forest floor. The trees in the Tongass forest in Alaska may be strewn with lichen, but most of what you see are grey-brown trunks rising up around you. In the tropical forest, by contrast, there are green plants almost everywhere. There are no distinct layers, just green everywhere!

Green, green rainforest!




At the start of our walk, Vikki and Vika are keen that we walk in silence, the better to see any wildlife. Gino, on the other hand, is such an enthusiastic person that he can’t help exclaiming over the things he sees. He kindly pointed out some of the common trees, explaining their uses. Palmiche is a low-growing palm with broad leaves that are used locally (including in the lodge) for thatching roofs, for example. Gino is an entomologist and showed an uncanny ability to find and name almost every insect we came across. We took many photos of strange looking insects and pretty beetles.

When we got to the lake it began to rain – well, it’s not called a rainforest for nothing! We made our way back through the forest more quickly than we had come. My new poncho, just purchased at the market in town, proved a perfect asset – it was long enough to reach almost to my wellies keeping me mostly quite dry.

In those first few days, we also took a night walk to the swamp (“platano”) to find frogs. One of the Peruvian guys who works in the lodge also came along with us (Alex). Walking along the forest trail at night was a great experience! I love walking in the dark. We saw a huge trail of leaf-cutter ants holding their big green prizes aloft as they marched a long. I took a few opportunities to look back into the depths of the forest. Without torchlight is pretty darn dark in there!

The swamp itself was a little scary. There was no path and it was very hard to tell where we were. Vikki and Gino dived in (not literally!) and started the frog hunt. I followed a little more carefully, with Alex coming after me to ensure I was ok. Vikki and Gino found lots of very cute little frogs and we managed to get some really good photos. I was a little upset by the apparent necessity to catch them and hold them firmly by a leg to show the others or to pose for a shot. The natural photos on leaves were much more pleasing. Alex seemed to want to hold my hand to help me a little more often than I felt necessary. I wasn’t sure if he was being helpful but patronising or if he was coming on to me! Either way, it seemed prudent to exert my independence a little more. I began to look around the edges of the water and under leaves for the little tree frogs. The others seemed to find them with casual ease. I came across a huge spider – in the photo its eyes shine brightly, reflecting the light of the flash. Gino described it as a wolf spider and I could all too easily imagine it jumping on its prey!

Wolf spider, a bit smaller than the tarantula above, but only a bit.

At last I found a frog! A common kind that we’d already seen several of, but hey, I was excited still! Vikki and Gino had found several more interesting and brightly-coloured frogs on one corner of the swamp and we all managed to get some good photos. Someone also spotted a snake hiding in the roots of a tree. To my amazement, Vikki and Gino also proceeded to catch and hold this specimen (a water snake) for some pictures. I don’t know how they caught it and I certainly don’t fancy giving it a go!

Eventually we turned to leave. The bog was uneven in places and everyone got muddy stagnant water in their boots. I was grateful for my cosy, waterproof socks!

Cute frog from the swamp! Hyla punctata punctata common polka-dot tree frog

Candyfloss and popcorn
31/1/07

It does feel like I will never leave and I have become almost complacent. I don’t take every opportunity to walk in the forest that I should and no I have only a month left – and the shortest month of the year at that!


Candyfloss
I have found it amenable, whilst walking in the forest alone or at the head of a group (which happens rarely), to at all times carry aloft before me a Spider-Stick™. This stick is best of a length which reaches approximately from one’s waist to a little above one’s head. The girth matters little except that a lighter stick is easier to carry for extended periods. The stick should be carried a foot from the body or thereabouts, and it is preferable that it curves outward such that it is further from one’s body at the head than it is at the waist. The stick is carried such that is vertical and approximately at the centre of the body without compromising the clarity of vision.


“But what is the purpose of this stick?” I hear you ask. It is simple. The stick is your companion. Instead of walking behind another person to save oneself from the unpleasant sensation of strands of cobweb in the eyes, the Spider-Stick™ breaks the threads before your head passes through. Thus you are spared the inconvenience of not being able to see past your companion whilst, at the same time, your head is not used as a “snow plough” against the myriad threads of spiders’ webs which are incessantly strewn across any forest path in the tropics. Not only, might I add, does the Spider-Stick™ prevent the sticky strings from clinging to your eyes, nose, mouth, ears, arms and torso, it is also effective in preventing the spiders themselves from becoming entangled with your hair or clothes with obvious unsavoury repercussions.

Spider's webs adorn every forest path

Perhaps the biggest secret to the effective utilisation of this tool, however, is the “Candyfloss Component”. At strategic points during one’s walk through the jungle, it will become necessary to point the stick downward and move it in a circular motion such as that employed by candyfloss makers. Indeed the principle here is identical – trailing strands of silk can be spun neatly onto the stick rather than left to trail behind it and tickle hands or face. A precaution: it is very important when engaged in the candyfloss stage to refrain from walking forward. Should one be inclined to continue one’s walk whilst twirling, one’s face will be unprotected and exposed, and more oft than not, one will encounter further spiders’ webs which will cling in their entirety to the head, despite valiant efforts to remove them with one’s free arm. Similarly, should one clearly see a web in the path and attempt to swipe it away, this is best done from a stationary stance and the Spider-Stick™ once more held aloft prior to proceeding. This aids one in avoiding the similar sticky sensation from the adjacent cobweb that one had, in fact, not seen in one’s preoccupation with the other.

On one final note of caution… one must never assume, just because a trail has been walked with the Spider-Stick™ and any offending spiders and their constructions have been cleared away, that the trail will remain web-free on one’s return journey, be it an hour later or more. The spiders of the Selva are clearly hyperactive and more than capable of rebuilding their entire web in a remarkably short amount of time. They then await one’s return, perched in the middle of their new effort. Indeed, there are rumours among the cognoscenti that the spiders actually compete to most effectively cover the eyes nose and ears of passing walkers. Top marks are awarded to those spiders who position both the web and themselves with sufficient precision that they can enter the mouth of human walkers as the web covers the head.

Spider-Stick™ part II – The Tennis Racquet
The more advance spider-avoider may be interested in the newly launched “Tennis Racquet” version of the Spider-Stick™. This comprises a branched stick, preferably with a top stick formed by bending one spoke to complete the racquet. This is superior to the single-spoke stick for several reasons.

Firstly, the bi-stick approach minimises trailing threads by neatly catching whole webs between the spokes – this forms the strands of your tennis racquet. Additionally, the candy floss move can be made with the stick pointing upwards and this can be performed whilst walking forward. The two sticks work in tandem to wrap threads around each other whilst simultaneously offering protection to the face.

Secondly, visibility is greatly enhanced with this model as central vision is not compromised.

Finally, after several minutes of walking, one will have collected sufficient cobwebs and indeed spiders, to enjoy the secondary function of this Spider-Stick™ as a mosquito catcher.

Note: this is also a useful tool for budding arachnacologists allowing collection of many species of spider for later perusal.

Popcorn
31/1/07

Video of Vika and I making popcorn…turn up the sound!

Waaah! Can't load video to this site. Any suggestions of a better place most welcome!
Well, here is a photo to confound and confuse you!

Making popcorn...