Parkinsons Arrive - Day 3

I was up at 5:30 ready to shower, but when I turned the spigot, the water only dripped out.  I decided to take my chances and lathered up my hair.  And the water stopped.  I waited impatiently knowing most everyone else was asleep.  I ventured out in my towel when I saw Lisa and my mom awake at 6:00 and had them ask about the water.  10 minutes they were told.  If only.  By 6:30 I relented and used a filled water bottle to rinse off.  Apparently someone had left the water on the night before and entirely drained the system.  

After an early breakfast we started our next adventure at 7:30. We took the canoes with us so we could spend the morning in the seasonally flooded forest.  It felt other worldly as we glided silently through the dimly lit forest.  We enjoyed the cool and calm of the other-worldly Varzea Forest.  The dank air held a hint of rot.  A white-faced tree rat (known locally as a jungle guinea pig) peered out at us from a tree hollow.  Our guides repeated the Giant River Otter’s cry and cough with amazing skill but to no avail.  Though the water was only a few feet deep, we pushed deeper and deeper into the forest, what felt like a mile or more from the main river.  We canoed through the forest until we reached terra firma where we got out and walked on clearly marked trails for an hour while our guides taught us about the many different uses for the native plants from a vine that holds potable water to a monkey comb, an umbrella leaf (the guides called it natures umbrella and when it started raining we were all greatful to be able to break one off and not get drenched), the material for darts, malaria relief, weaving fibers, and an iodine like substance for cleaning wounds. The girls loved the walking palm tree seeds that the natives use as beads; we found two of them and they were treasured.  There are surely more important discoveries to come from the Amazon flora’s wealth.  Mom took two good diggers on the trails as the many roots snagged our feet.  She got back up each time unscathed.  It’s really hard to look up for animals without getting tripped. 

 We “retraced” our path back to the parked motor boat in the canoes, but honestly I’m not sure I would have been able to find it paddling deep through the forest without any fixed reference land points.  The guides at the prow of each canoe carried machetes that were used repeatedly to remove vines and small branches to allow our passage.  You have to look for ants and wasps before touching any branch or vine or you’ll quickly have unwanted guests in the boat.  In our drive back to ARC we found yet another three-toed sloth, a mother Monk Saki Monkey with its child on its back, and a reclusive Dusky Titi Monkey.

 

Laurie’s family finally caught up with us after missing their connecting flight to Lima in Dallas and having to fly to LAX, wait a day and then catch a red-eye to Lima.  In the afternoon they, with Natali and Kate, went fishing and were fortunate to hear a group of river otters.  Natali caught it on video.  We played that video so many times amazed who they sounded like human babys screaming. They even caught a fish that was added to our dinner menu.

Bode and Hazel joined our afternoon exploration yielded our best views of Common Squirrel Monkeys and another sloth performing a high wire act more than 75 feet off the ground.  After a couple of days my neck and arms were a bit sore from craning up into the trees and holding my near 10 pound camera and lens. I’m fascinated at times just to watch our kids while we traveled in the boat.  The back row was frequented by Lisa as she deferred to the rest of us.  The engine drowned out the words from the spotting guide up front so it was hard to follow everything.  Andrew was hard to dislodge from the front row as he sees it as his right as THE animal lover.  I bounced around in the front two rows to maximize the photo opportunities.  Kate looked disinterested most of the time and I took a coupe of funny pictures of her.  One ride however, Mack and Kate ended up in a long discussion practicing their posture.  The guides arranged for a couple of chairs that sit on top of the benches and provide back support for my mom and Lisa.  Each time in and out of the boat we held our breath that mom wouldn’t fall or hurt her ankles.  After a couple of days she figured out a better way by sitting on the prow and then spinning her feet into the boat rather than climbing up and back down on the unstable boat.

At the conclusion of dinner that night the chef brought out a multi-layered gorgeously frosted birthday cake to celebrate recent birthdays for Harper and Andrew.  We took a short night walk behind the research center and were rewarded with a couple of giant Smoky Jungle Frogs, a Common Opossum, a Red Acouchy, and a Paca which the guide said he hadn’t seen for 2 years.  We paused at one point and turned our headlamps off to experience the utter darkness under the canopy at night.  We could not see our hands in front of our faces or any sign of stars or the moon. Grandma played games with the littles so we could enjoy the walk.  I think I’m falling a bit behind on my sleep.

 Greg wasn't the only one short on sleep.  The little kids had who is sleeping where drama and the big kids stayed up so late talking and laughing together.  We may have lost sleep but the kids were loving the cousin time.  The Parkinson brought a new wave of enthusiasm with them.