Once again, life in the tropics have been incredible,
medicinal, beautiful, insightful...After spending some
time at the Maya center, we hiked up to Cockscomb Basin
Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a natural park reserved
especially for jaguars. I only went on one night hike, and
unfortunately didn't see any jaguars or other big cats,
but I did see some of the most dazzling waterfalls. One
day, we hiked up from our campsite to a place called Tiger
Fern Falls, where chilly refreshing water splashes down
limestone boulders into a sweet little watering hole. Upon
arriving there, having just finished a pretty intense
little hike, we promptly stripped down to our Birthday
suits, jumped in, and spent the afternoon swimming,
jumping from the waterfall, crawling around the rocks and
trees. All of those beautiful skins only enhanced the
already incredible scenery.
After Cockscomb, we spent one last night at the Maya
Center, where the couple that manages the place, Arora and
Ernesto, talked to us about their lives and experiences.
Arora is an herbal healer, and I just so happened to have
a little stomach flu, so she brewed me some tea that
worked immediately! This woman really has a magically
strong spirit, and I think if I ever get diagnosed with
cancer I will go straight to her. She talked to us about
how she got into herbal healing, how her uncle passed the
profession on to her, how people started coming to her for
help even before she made her occupation known. Listening
to her was so intriguing; it was so interesting to hear
her talk about the spirits that have helped her along. I
think we all to often dismiss signs and coincidences for
nothing, when we should try to figure out what these
experiences mean for us and learn from them, even if
certain things are hard to explain. Everything happens for
a reason...
The next day we headed out to the Bladen Nature Reserve,
where we spent two nights at a little research station,
then another 5 nights out in the wilderness. The research
station is called BFree, and is run by a man, his wife,
and three kids that all live at the station in the middle
of nowhere. A resident biologist studies snails as an
indicator species of the ecosystem around them, and his
wife keeps him company. A school teacher lives in the back
of the classroom, and the staff live in dorms - basically
its a pretty sweet little deal they got there. The 6 day
backpacking trip was probably the biggest learning
experience for me so far. Only researchers and student
groups are permitted into this ancient forest. There are
only a few trails that meander along 1500 year old trees,
that are completely untouched by humans and completely
covered in vines and epiphytes. The quamwood tree blooms
delicate yellow flowers to mark the start of the dry
season, which now have fallen to sprinkle the richly
vegetated humus layer. Crocodiles glare at us from the
river we hike along, snakes slither under our feet, and
huge spiders hide in decomposing fallen trees. Surrounding
all three of our campsites are watering holes flowing in
from a clear river called Richardson Creek. The limestone
it flows over looks like swiss cheese, and the greens and
golds of the forest around us are reflected in the ripples
and eddies. To me, the only things that makes this NOT
heaven are the little black snails that stick to the rocks
and severely punish bare feet, and the abundance of bugs.
Little schools of fish (apparently related to pirhanas)
nibble at my hairy legs, trying to pinch me awake from
this dream life. I feel so fortunate to have seen and
lived in such untouched wilderness for almost a week, to
have felt so connected to things around me, to see how the
lives of all things in that forest are intertwined, and to
become a part of that system. At our last campsite, we
pitched our tents on a little strip of sandy-gravelly
beach that pretty much sums up the beauties of the forest.
Vines with heart-shaped leaves are tangled on thousand
year old ceiba trees, surrounded by emergent cecropia
trees, next to a late blooming quamwood, which towers over
huge palm frawns, growing shrubs, and baby ferns. The
crystal clear water reflects a fallen tree in the middle
of the watering hole like an Alexander Dali painting. It
would not be surprising to see a Brontosaurus tromp down
river, or a Teradactyl fly over head!
On Wednesday, the 20th, we hiked back to BFree for one
last night in the jungle. We ate dinner, then had a little
group check-in where we all talk about how we're doing
(seriously, I'm getting school credit for this). After a
most intense and beautifully spoken check-in, our spirits
lightened with the positive energy of others, we emerged
from the dining hall to witness the beginnings of a full
lunar eclipse! Things like this just further intensify my
belief that everything happens for a reason, and that all
spirits are connected. I walked down to the river to watch
the shadow of the Earth dim the light of the Moon, letting
the light of our spirits shine out. It sounds kinda
cheesy, i know, but I don't think any living being could
dismiss signs and sounds like these. The best thing I have
felt so far is that feeling of connection, of hearing the
river gurgle over shallow rocks, watching King Toads
enflate their throats to ribbit a most tremulous ribbit,
to hear Howler monkeys growl from what sounds like the
depths of hell just hectare away, to see the brilliant
stars twinkle under the trees, and to watch the silvery
granite rocks that bed this stream become illuminated
under a golden moon, then to feel my flesh and bones on
these rocks. Even the mosquito bites and black flies that
bite and itch and the huge furry black spider that just
bit my foot connect me to my surroundings.
Now I'm in a little beach town called Punta Gorda, which
is about 2 miles long, about 90 degrees hot, where poverty
is present, but the smiles of the locals are constant. It
amazes me how happy the people are here, when so many
people with so much fortune are so unhappy in other places
of the world. I think a guy on a bus put it the best,
"Just another shitty day in paradise."
Tomorrow we leave for Barranco to do Garifuna homestays
(Garifuna is a community of people here with a very
interesting history and culture), then off to BARC, which
is a Agroforestry research center.
I hope all is well wherever you are, that you are happy
and thriving and learning. No stress!
