We woke up and jumped on a motor boat down the river which was just delightful. I really love the feel of wind on my face and was happy as can be. Then we turned into a 'tributary' which was nothing more than a very small opening in the shoreline, with an arch of vegetation. We switched to paddles and wove our way through the narrow bit of water which reminded me of the setting for "Kiss the Girl" in the Little Mermaid except without the singing crab. Eventually we came to Turtle lake (which is only a lake when there is rain) and jumped out at the base of a trail.
Side note- All the trails we walk are cut by Lawrence and his friend on days when there are no guests at the Field Station.
We started hiking and walked for about four hours until we reached the summit of turtle mountain and were able to look down on the whole canopy of the rainforest. It was breathtaking and my photos do not do it justice in any way. Then we had chatting time with Lawrence which was equally pleasurable.
We learned about a guest who went off into the woods by himself and got lost and caused a huge panic at the Field Station and teams of workers had to go out and look for him. Turns out, it's a guy working in Georgetown who Shaan knows...
We learned about felling trees which is fascinating to me. Apparently, half of Iwokrama National Park is entirely protected and no logging or hunting is allowed. On the other half, only sustainable logging is allowed. Basically this consists of first mapping every tree in an area and then only felling the ones that 1) won't leave a hole in the canopy 2) won't take others trees down with them if they fall 3) isn't within 30 feet of another tree that has been cut down. Looking at the size of these trees is seems impossible to plan how to extract one without destroying everything around.
The trip down was faster and ridiculously hot. But totally peaceful.
This is my weird "I"m at the top of a mountain" face
And this is my shoe to prove I'm in this picture
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