Now the first thing I want to make clear is that while the idea of wandering around in a cloud forest is terribly romantic, the reality is somewhat different, largely because a cloud forest is a forest in a cloud, and clouds, while very pretty to look at floating in a clear blue sky, are actually well, the best word is- damp- when you are in the middle of them. Damp, damp, damp, incredibly, invadingly, inescapably damp. Very pretty of course, and great for seeing all kinds of birds and wildlife that thrive in these conditions, but oh so, so damp. The ground is wet, in varying degrees, all of the trees and leaves are wet, the rocks are wet, obviously the river is wet and even the air is wet, oh and from time to time it becomes mist life- like somebody is spraying you all over with a very fine mist of water. Which is great for a bit, and would be a really lovely respite from a hot summers day, or perfect if you were a vegetable in a supermarket, but when you´re already wet, and tired, and cold, it just kind of sucks. But back to the days activities...
The day got off to a brilliant start when I woke up and felt a strange crawling sensation around my toes. I pulled my feet out of my sleeping bag only to discover I had spent the night curled up in bed with a friendly, furry caterpillar, which it turns out is certainly one way to get me moving in the morning! We then had our morning coffee and set off for teh riverbed. We followed the same trail we had the day before but this time with full packs, which made some of the climbing a little more interesting, but it was good fun. Until we reached a point where the river met teh cliff face and it was clear there was no going forwards. We attempted to cross in a few places but it was too deep and in the end we decided to attempt to follow a different riverbed in a different direction which should also take us to another one of the official trails eventually.
This river was much smaller, and while it was frequently necessary to cross backwards and forwards across it, this was almost always reasonably straightforward and we managed to stay relatively dry for most of the day. That said, towards the end of the day Rick did slip and end up with soaking wet shoes and socks, which was a bit of a blessing as it meant that when we reached an uncrossable section he just picked me up and slung me across his shoulder and carried me, pack and all, across the river. We also discovered ´quick mud´- a strange cross between mud and water which looked solid enough until you tried to stand on it and promptly disappeared, often almost to the top of your shoes! The really peculiar thing about it was that if you walked on it quickly enough it was almost solid, but prod it with your shoe a few times and it was practically water. Thanks largely to this we were covered in mud, almost to our knees, by the end of the day, and fairly wet all over, thanks to a combination of the general dampness and a few ill-timed river crossings. There was also a concerning moment when a bush we were walking past let out an audible growl. It was then that I got to wondering exactly what animal the Italian boy had been so excited about possibly seeing. We had a bit of a chat about it- I was wondering if there were mountain lions and Rick was telling me I was being silly. That night be consulted the wildlife book that the ranger had given us and discovered that the park is home to a population of panthers! He then told me that the Italian boy had mentioned tigers but he assumed he meant panthers and that he hadn´t told me as he didn´t wish to alarm me! Perfect- a jungle forest containing panthers and we were armed with a solitary swiss army knife! That night when we made camp we decided to build a very big fire! Which, incidentally, was not as easy as it might seem when everything is damp, and I mean everything. The wood, the leaves, the stikcs, the ground, even the bloody matches! In the end we chose the dryest bit of ground, built a substantial fire, doused it in petrol (from the cooker) and managed to ignite it with about the 20th match and an enormous woosh of blue petrol flame. We also discovered why you shouldn´t build fires on top of river rocks, but figured that the regular explosions, coupled with the vast quantities of smoke given off by the damp wood, would no doubt keep the pathers at bay. I also discovered that if I put my boots too close to the fire the tops of them start to melt... On the upside, at least with all the dampness I didn´t worry that the remaining embers might start a forest fire and I went to sleep safe in the knowledge that there would still be a large damp jungle surrounding us in the morning.
