Archery

After brekkie we re-adjust our hammocks because they sagged overnight in the heavy rain - all night, rain kept pooling up on my basha sheet (the plastic roof) and pouring off in a big dump every 5 minutes. We also re-adjust our mosquito nets to stop Vampire Bats sucking at our faces too! Whilst doing so I look up and see a large silhouette on the basha sheet. On closer inspection, on the other side, it's a giant bullet ant crawling around. This thing is bigger than my thumb! I double check my mosquito net and tighten it up.

Then it's straight into archery, Amerindian style. We're putting our metal tipped training arrows (i.e. no barbs) through our target some 20 feet away. My accuracy was so good to begin with that everyone thought I was a natural. So I tried very hard to prove them wrong! The bow string, after fired, has a tendency to twang back and bruise your wrist and the feather flights start to wear away the fleshy bit between finger and thumb. I fashioned a bandage to stop it getting any worse and kept practicing. I even tried a couple of double arrow shots (firing 2 arrows at once) - it works and is very cool!

After lunch we learn about rainforests (jungles) and the nasties that lurk within. To prove they really exist the local boys brought in some examples they found lying around the camp site in the past hour. They are all tucked away in bamboo tubes, sealed by leaves stuffed down the end. They brought in the usual; a huge brown spider, a yellow scorpion, a small snake and a giant bullet ant (probably from my basha sheet!). Invariably they all scuttle around, fall off the dinner table and get lost somewhere under our feet.

During dinner Ian tries to mislead us with regards to the isolation phase by feeding us mis-information. Net result, we don't know how many days or nights we're going to be alone for or when we're getting back to civilisation. Then it's back into the Caiman (croc) and Piranha infested river for a swim(!) and a wash.

Night time and we paddle up the same river for some wildlife spotting. With only head torches guiding us, all we see are outlines of eerie vines dangling down into the river. The local boys often call out to the various wildlife and usually get a response too! We saw the biggest Emerald Tree Boa ever, Possums, Kingfishers, Kinkajous (the cute big eyed pet that Paris Hilton had once) and a Pit Viper. At one point we looked up to see a huge stalk perched above us, who then promptly took an almighty dump in our boat, landing just 1 foot in front of me! Grr, if only I had my bow and arrow.

Now I'm in my hammock, in torrential rain, giant moths landing on my mosie net and a hole in my basha dripping water on my head. Night night!

Posted by Steve Eynon