Mark Rochefort

South American Tales – jungle stories

to shave the couple of days it would have taken us to get to the reserve part of the jungle (by bus and canoe), we decided to get a plane. at the airport and i was looking to see what plane it was. saw a small plane with two propellers that looked about right from the departure lounge and started getting excited about the thought of the ride. then we were led out onto the tarmac towards this plane and we walked past it, to another smaller plane that was hidden behind it. a tiny one propeller charter plane – for 8 of us. they weighed us on these ancient scales and we duly clambered aboard. i will never forget the ride – first between the snow capped peaks of the andes and then across miles and miles of lush green jungle. 45 minutes later we touched down on an airstrip in the heart of virgin rainforest (incidently, the airstrip was under the control of drug barons until the early 90s – the wreck of an overloaded smuggling plane still lays at the end of the runway). hard to comprehend where we were exactly – this is still quite unchartered territory – in ’96 they contacted a previously unknown indian tribe just a few miles from here. the entire reserve area (about half the size of switzerland) is strictly controlled and, in the last 10 years, as the drug barons have been pushed out by the government, the area has become a sanctuary from exploration and exploitation for both wildlife and indigenous people alike.

the thick and hot air hit us as soon as we stepped off the plane. so did the insects. three hours later by canoe, we arrived at the jungle lodge. this place was comparative luxury to the places we’d be staying in for the next week. showers, floorboards, mosquito nets, generator, etc. after this it was tents on wooden platforms.
the only way to get about is by river and we travelled for hours by canoe each day. little hideouts dotted around some of the paths that have been hacked out from the river provided us with excellent cover to see all the wildlife (and sitting ducks for the insects too). i could give you a blow by blow account but i think that’s better saved for when we see you. though we did spot several endangered species over the next few days – beautiful macaws (parrots), giant otters, loads of diferent monkeys, black and white caiman (crocs), several tarantulas on our night walks, and a million ants and other creepy-crawlies.

suprisingly, the insects weren’t enough to put claire or me off and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. waking and sleeping with the sun, surrounded by the hum of the jungle, in the middle of nowhere and everything at the same time. neither of us were relishing the though of sleeping in tents in the thick of it but we both loved it.