Shelter and Traps

Harry and Thomas (with a little help from Ian) build a shelter to show us how it's done. It's got a water and wind proof roof, a bed, a fire and a stove (complete with cooking pot). It even has a radiator to keep you warm! Mental! And it only took them 20 minutes! Graham, Richard and I have a go collectively - it took us 1½ hours to get anywhere close! Whilst cutting down a palm tree for the roof I get stung - lots - by these bee waspy things - Ouch! Oh well, it is the Jungle, could have been worse! e.g. Thomas, whilst cutting down his palm accidentally chops a snake in half - he didn't see it! All the other locals find his poor eyesight hilarious!

We each make a cooking pot from a large section of bamboo. I start a start a fire (for practice) and then it's on to the good stuff - Traps! We were shown two: a bow and arrow trap and a spring loaded snare. Awesome!

The afternoon was the calm before the storm. We all milled around checking and rechecking the contents of our survival kit. All we know is that tomorrow (Monday) morning we go into isolation and that by the end of Thursday, somehow, we'll be in Somara Village. The scenario I'm playing is that I'm a researcher heading to a Lodge up the river. I send all my stuff up with the porters in a canoe up front whilst I follow behind in my own canoe - it sinks! Therefore it'll be the end of the day before they realise I'm not there, another day to organise a search party and another day to find me. But when they do, they'll have no provisions and we'll all have to make our own way back to the village, somehow. For all those worried people, I will have a walkie talkie as a life line - that is, if I'm not too injured to use it!

The day has fallen, night has come and all I can say whilst I write this is, "Bring It On!" Graham asked if I had any last requests should I die - all I could think of was, "Tell everyone I was killed by a Jaguar and that I died with a smile on my face!"

Posted by Steve Eynon