Whilst WiFi does exist in the middle of the Tambopata Amazon national reserve, it doesn’t do picture uploads, which is fair enough. The WiFi is already doing more than I expected it to by simply existing. You know what this means?
It’s description time!
I’m sitting on a shiny wooden chair inside the room that I share with my brother, looking out of the bedroom wall that opens onto the rainforest. It’s been raining all night and is still coming down.
The sounds of the rainforest are dampened by the shower but still present. I can hear macaws screeching and other creatures chirping. Yesterday some of the bugs sounded almost electronic, like the warning beeps of a truck reversing, but I can’t hear them today. Not as loudly, at least.
At the moment, the only thing that separates me from nature is a vertical wooden barrier which comes up to a height slightly above my hip. Outside of the barrier there is a washing line, which is sheltered from the rain by the edge of a thatched roof. Outside of that the thatching ends and nature begins.
Nature doesn’t seem to comprehend that divide. Late at night, or in the evening before lights out, large moths and other creatures loudly and clumsily flit inside the rooms to greet us.
Dad was delighted. He showed me a couple of his large insect friends; a butterfly with wings the size of my hand, and a strange, bug-eyed thing the length of my index finger and width of my big toe. Nature cannot be kept out here and it’s wonderful when it doesn’t bite you.
I’ve taken pictures of caterpillars, plants and super-sized ants on the 10 minute open walkway journey to the central area of the lodge. It usually takes more than 10 minutes because there’s always something to photograph and, if you have dad in tow, he’ll want to get the perfect shot at just the right angle. I can’t achieve all that much on my phone camera; I’m particularly bad at taking close ups, but I try anyway.
It’s colder than I expected, thanks to the rain. Although the rain does limit our activity choices somewhat, I’m thankful for it. Rain means that it’s not as boiling as it was when we first touched down in Lima. If it was, the humidity alone would be unbearable.
At 9:30 we have our first activity of the day: Secrets of the Surrounding. We get to go on a walk around the lodge spotting things. It’s one of the activities that I chose. I like uncovering new layers of the familiar; it makes it that bit more special.
The rainforest and lodge here are beautiful but I can’t help comparing it to the family holiday we had in Madagascar before I began university. It’s not particularly fair of me to make such comparisons. Few things stand up to the amazement and awe I experienced on that holiday, but I’m trying to push it out of my mind in favour of this one. How many people get to visit the Amazon?
I’m more relaxed now that I’m outside of the city. Less casual social interaction is required here and I find the rainforest itself soothing. I don’t have to think; I just have to stare.
So here I am, sitting and staring.
randomsongwriter 