Thursday, November 23, 2017.
Not your typical Thanksgiving!
We woke up at about 4 am to a torrential thunderstorm. The rain was blowing in sideways, drenching the bed and almost hitting all the electronic devices that were on a table near the window. All three of us got up and secured our belongings. As I was getting back into bed (using my iPhone as a guide for all of this), I spotted an ENORMOUS hairy spider on the wall next to the bed. The cabins were equipped with a whistle for emergencies, but no need — I had David. He carefully placed a glass over the spider then slid a piece of paper between the wall and the glass. After that, he was able to transport the glass outside and set it free. He then came back in and said, “If it had been just a tarantula, I would have picked it up. But it was a wandering spider, and they’re not safe.” It was a bit hard to get back to sleep after that.
Today’s plan was supposed to be a hike to a macaw clay lick, but that would have been a complete waste of time in the rain. So after the usual 6 am breakfast we decided to chill a little, and to flip the schedule. At around 9 — a leisurely hour — we traveled (by boat, as usual) to a local family farm. By now our group was just Julio, the three of us, and Michael and Kim from Philadelphia (of all places). The two British girls had left early in the morning. We occasionally shared a boat with another group, but it was nice to have such a small group for most of the time.
The farm was really quite interesting. We saw pineapples, bananas, plantains, all types of citrus, cacao, coca, cinnamon, yucca, corn, papayas, starfruit, and avocado.
The pineapple looks like it was just plopped there. Like a Canadian ground fruit, for you recent Dartmouth freshman trip alumni.
One important lesson we’ve learned from our visits to tropical and temperate rainforests in Australia, Alaska and the state of Washington: It rains in the rain forest. We were really lucky to have just one day of real rain.
Below, Julio gives us samples of what we had just seen growing.
In the afternoon we went to the clay lick, the spot where we were originally scheduled to go in the morning. Thankfully the rain had stopped, but Julio kept our expectations in check about what we would see. The setting is below. There are three huts in which you sit to see if the macaws will go to the clay lick (the exposed red cliff in the distance). They eat the clay because it provides nutrients they can’t get elsewhere. This is the view toward the clay lick:
And here’s the outside of the blind.
There were plenty of macaws, but they didn’t go to the clay lick while we were there.
We spent about two hours in the blind, watching the macaws debate whether they wanted to hit the clay lick. The danger is that they are quite exposed to predators (like the harpy eagle) while on the lick. While it sounds boring to sit for two hours, it was actually quite peaceful to really slow down and just observe the jungle. I had brought a few New Yorker magazines in case we got tired of birdwatching, but we never touched them.
As we were leaving I stopped to snap a few more photos, and the rest of the group took off into the jungle. I was immediately faced with a choice of trails and had a moment of panic. Fortunately I spotted Dave’s neon orange pants in the distance. It made me realize how easy it is to get lost. Over the couple of days that we spent with him, Julio recounted in pieces his story of getting lost in the forest for two days and two nights when he was 9 years old. Needless to say, it’s a terrifying story. (For the record, he was playing at the edge of his uncle’s farm when he saw a group of wild pigs in the forest. Fascinated, he went after them, and his 9 year old self was sure he knew the way back to the farm. He followed them deeper and deeper into the forest, until he finally realized he was completely lost. The first night he was so scared that he hardly slept at all. But the next day he pulled himself together and decided to find a stream, because he remembered hearing that a stream will always lead to a bigger body of water, which will eventually lead to people. He felt better when he did find a stream, but it still took another day and a half before he found a house. The family there had heard about the lost boy, so they knew who he was and got him reunited with his own family, who were of course beside themselves.)
Some observations on the walk back — a termite chimney:
And an interesting mushroom:
On the boat ride back from the clay lick, Julio spotted a caiman on the muddy bank and had the driver pull up close. It was about three feet long.
It was clear that David was chomping at the bit for another chance to grab a caiman after last night’s failure. Julio once against nodded approval, and David climbed onto the bank, moving very slowly. The caiman spotted him and darted into the grass out of sight. David dove right into the grass after him. We all held our breath because we couldn’t see what had happened. He emerged victorious! That’s my boy, knee deep in mud, holding an alligator-like creature. I swear, he has barely changed since he was two.
The boat was full of people, and many selfies had to be taken with David and the caiman. He was pretty happy that he’d succeeded (for David, that’s a very big smile).
Just sayin, the kid hasn’t changed much. But now the animals are real.
Another Amazon oddity: Butterflies eating mud.
Thanksgiving dinner: definitely not turkey. I was kicking myself, because one of the items David had requested that we bring from home was cranberry sauce. I’d left it at the Operations Office with the rest of our luggage. Not sure it would have complemented rice and beans in any event. At dinner I made everyone say what they are thankful for, as I do at home on Thanksgiving. I was thankful that my kids are safe, given all their adventures. Julio was thankful for having his guide job and being able to come up in the world. David, Michael and Kim were, in various fashions, thankful for the opportunity to travel to interesting places like this. And then there was Dave, who was thankful that he had seen some news from home suggesting that Michael Flynn appeared to be cooperating with prosecutor Mueller.
There was no specific activity planned for the evening, but David thought it was the perfect night for a herp walk. It had rained heavily all morning, so the frogs would be out. Julio, David, Dave, Michael and I set out on the trails around the lodge. Here’s a frog carrying its tadpoles on its back:
Dave was the first to drop out. Michael and I bravely stuck with it while Julio and David took us deep into a swamp, well off the trail. This is what it looked like BEFORE we got in deep. Soon after, I started worrying that the mud was going to come over the tops of my boots.
Julio and David were like two peas in a pod. Here they are peering at a specimen. How they could find anything in this morass was a puzzle to me.
Michael and I bailed out soon thereafter, and I met up with Dave in the bar. Julio and David, however, searched for frogs for another hour and half. David upon his return: “I know it’s been a good night when I’m covered with ants.” They had found another of his bucket-list animals: the monkey tree frog. He felt good because Julio had said that for once he felt like the tourist, not the guide, because David knows so much about frogs.