01-11-2019, 07:33 AM
2018-12-28: Part 2
Mohsin waits with the rest of us for JJ's return. It's not far, he tells us, so we tell him we could just walk it. We're almost there when JJ returns, so some of us just walk to our destination, a dock where our boat awaits (actually, this shot is of the boat next to ours). There's a small settlement here, and a place to buy drinks. We descend the muddy, slippery slope with our luggage and load up the boat. Once we're all aboard, there's a big splash. Mohsin just dived in. He comes up, climbs aboard, then proceeds to dive in again. He says it's refreshing. Once he decides to join us, we head upriver.
The vegetation steadily gets more jungly (yes, I keep saying that). We see Hoatzin in the shore brush, pheasant-sized birds with a prehistoric look, then spot some capybaras on the shore. Mohsin and JJ say they haven't seen any in a while, so it's a rare sighting. (BTW, LC cut her hair short for this expedition .) After maybe a 30-minute ride, the boat turns into shore at an unmarked spot. This stealth is by design. There we unload and carry most of our stuff up a steep, convoluted series of footholds to steep wooden steps and then to a more gently upsloping path. That eventually brings us to a dilapidated board bridge with big holes that we have to step around, then more steps, some with a muddy walkaround because they're in bad shape and the tree next to them has bullet ants, then still more steps that are very steep. We were very sweaty on the boat ride, but now we're drenched as, huffing and puffing, we reach the top, where the ecolodge is some hundred fifty yards away. JJ built most of it, an impressive achievement. Shoes are forbidden on the wooden deck, so we all go barefoot. Mohsin assigns rooms, and LC and I get the one closest to the restrooms.
After we've had time to settle in, some of us go back down to the river with Mohsin and JJ "for a swim." Actually, we just wade in next to the boat to wash and cool off. Before we do, JJ pokes the bottom all about with a stick to scare off any stingrays. He says they like the spot. We're instructed to shuffle our feet as we wade about, as this is likely to make them move off, where stepping on one will get you stung. As Mohsin tells us, "If you get stung by a stingray, you'll have a very bad day." Mohsin recommends dipping under all at once to get used to the river. Waist-deep, I decide to do so. I ball up and go under, staying there a couple seconds. When I come up, I can't touch bottom. The river has pulled me out over a precipitous ledge. I know a rudimentary swim stroke, but when I try it, my legs don't work like they used to. It's my hips. Seeing my struggle, Mohsin asks if I'm okay. I'm too busy treading water with my arms to answer. I keep hitting a steep cliff of clay formed by boat dockings that bounce my feet off. Finally I grab the lip of the boat and work my way back into shallower water. "Yeah, I'm okay," I tell Mohsin. He grants that there's a pretty strong current past the wading spot. I see it clearly now, and wonder what the hell they could have done if I'd been swept out into it.
Mohsin waits with the rest of us for JJ's return. It's not far, he tells us, so we tell him we could just walk it. We're almost there when JJ returns, so some of us just walk to our destination, a dock where our boat awaits (actually, this shot is of the boat next to ours). There's a small settlement here, and a place to buy drinks. We descend the muddy, slippery slope with our luggage and load up the boat. Once we're all aboard, there's a big splash. Mohsin just dived in. He comes up, climbs aboard, then proceeds to dive in again. He says it's refreshing. Once he decides to join us, we head upriver.
The vegetation steadily gets more jungly (yes, I keep saying that). We see Hoatzin in the shore brush, pheasant-sized birds with a prehistoric look, then spot some capybaras on the shore. Mohsin and JJ say they haven't seen any in a while, so it's a rare sighting. (BTW, LC cut her hair short for this expedition .) After maybe a 30-minute ride, the boat turns into shore at an unmarked spot. This stealth is by design. There we unload and carry most of our stuff up a steep, convoluted series of footholds to steep wooden steps and then to a more gently upsloping path. That eventually brings us to a dilapidated board bridge with big holes that we have to step around, then more steps, some with a muddy walkaround because they're in bad shape and the tree next to them has bullet ants, then still more steps that are very steep. We were very sweaty on the boat ride, but now we're drenched as, huffing and puffing, we reach the top, where the ecolodge is some hundred fifty yards away. JJ built most of it, an impressive achievement. Shoes are forbidden on the wooden deck, so we all go barefoot. Mohsin assigns rooms, and LC and I get the one closest to the restrooms.
After we've had time to settle in, some of us go back down to the river with Mohsin and JJ "for a swim." Actually, we just wade in next to the boat to wash and cool off. Before we do, JJ pokes the bottom all about with a stick to scare off any stingrays. He says they like the spot. We're instructed to shuffle our feet as we wade about, as this is likely to make them move off, where stepping on one will get you stung. As Mohsin tells us, "If you get stung by a stingray, you'll have a very bad day." Mohsin recommends dipping under all at once to get used to the river. Waist-deep, I decide to do so. I ball up and go under, staying there a couple seconds. When I come up, I can't touch bottom. The river has pulled me out over a precipitous ledge. I know a rudimentary swim stroke, but when I try it, my legs don't work like they used to. It's my hips. Seeing my struggle, Mohsin asks if I'm okay. I'm too busy treading water with my arms to answer. I keep hitting a steep cliff of clay formed by boat dockings that bounce my feet off. Finally I grab the lip of the boat and work my way back into shallower water. "Yeah, I'm okay," I tell Mohsin. He grants that there's a pretty strong current past the wading spot. I see it clearly now, and wonder what the hell they could have done if I'd been swept out into it.