Day 4+5 - In the Jungle

We’re three days into the jungle and were nice and cozy but still stressed out! 7 out of 9 of us have made it and 2 of us are coming in tomorrow, they’re still alive as well I think! We’ve set up the bashers and hammocks and are in the process of re-doing the tarpaulin shelter. The meals we’ve had are pretty disgusting but surprisingly satisfying and as yet there have been no major problems, although Alex’s hammock fell down with her in it last night! We’re meshing really well and there have been only small minor disputes. Aside from that this stay is going to amazing; the weather is blissful and the area is beautiful; next to our camp site (within our campsite) is a deep plunge pool that we swim in everyday, the work is hard but the reward is all worth it. Toshi and Steph are really missing out but they’ll be able to enjoy the area in the morning. Personally I feel as though I’m already loosing weight; the sweat here just drips off and without a bandana the sweat really gets in your eyes.

The trip down was pretty hectic. We took an overnight minibus and although we knew we wouldn’t be able to get much sleep the journey was so bumpy because the road is made with clay and there are potholes everywhere. Alex got the most sleep because of motion-sickness pills, followed by Emma and Ester. Of the boys 2 ended up trying to sleep on the floor, and Mark was proposed to by a drunken pregnant girl!

Biology-wise we’ve seen all sorts of crazy shit! This morning we found a wasp nest happily taking advantage of our tarpaulin; this was however swiftly destroyed with 100% DEET. We’ve seen a few kapybara (massive rats), a fair few bats and a whole load of weird butterflies. Yesterday we came across an amzingly small spider that mimicked a mould on a twig, putting 4 legs forwards and 4 legs back it could camouflage away. As yet we are yet to see any monkeys or snakes but we’ve seen a fair few birds including toucanettes! Things we’ve learnt so far is that ant bites hurt like hell, black flies bite worse than mosquitoes but mosquitoes bite a hell of a lot more! Mark and Emma are yet to be bitten but everyone else is getting annihilated by all sorts of creepy crawlies! We’ve all begun to not care about the Sun as well, the guys (apart from Ed who has a V shaped shirt tan) are all happy strowling about with no tops on.

The people here are all genuinly friendly. Everyone that drives by honks, which may just be because of a massive camp of white people they usually don’t see, and some just kind of stop by for tea and have a chat, as well as that they all wave. Aparently national figures for tourists in Guyana are at 32/month! Our main ranger is called James, who is can craft pretty much everything you’ve dreamed of – he even made Ester a little step which we now use as a veranda!
Our camp is prime location as well, as right next to us we have a creek with red water, and we have made it our designated pool! The water is really fresh and fast-flowing, so we’re also using it as a fridge, and we’re filtering and iodining the water to drink.

Things are going really well, we’ve made ourselves quite at home; there isn’t much to worry about!

See you all soon
Ct & Ester