A Little Touch of Paradise

   

A silvery moon shone high in the sky. The leaves of tall rain forest trees gently whispered and rustled. The frogs chirped brightly, calling out through the night air. The forest pulsed and hummed as millions of insects conducted their business. Birds and other animals used the forest’s highways and byways to travel and search for sustenance. And thrust into the middle of it all, was one American teacher very far from home.

As I stood in the Peruvian rain forest, it struck me…I was in the midst of true, pristine nature. This place, virtually unspoiled, was about as far removed from Ohio as the moon. Now that my group and I had arrived in a place that wasn’t close to any civilized location, I truly felt that I had come to an exotic paradise, a place where humans were the visitors and nature was at its most virulent.  

It was just me and the moon alone on this walkway at night.

And yet, Refugio Amazonas, a travel lodge two-hours by boat from the closest civilized location, was our oasis in the midst of this vast wilderness. Unseen from the river, it was a ten-minute hike through the woods to reach this slice of heaven. As we hiked, the humidity of the forest once again enveloped us like a thick blanket. Even though I only had my field pack, my arrival at the lodge found me dripping with sweat. Fortunately, we did not have to carry our larger suitcases because I’m sure I would have been soaked to the bone on the walk from the river to the lodge. The staff at Refugio (as we called it for short) took them to the lodge for us.

When we finally emerged from the forest, the lodge rose up in front of us. As we entered, each one of us was handed a washcloth that was cool and wet because it had been kept in the refrigerator. I laid the whole thing across my face and just let it lay there for a few minutes. I'm not sure if I've ever felt anything so refreshing and wonderful in my life. It felt like air conditioning for my face. There was also cold juice for us to drink. Delightful!

I couldn’t help but marvel at this place. Refugio was a big, beautiful lodge dropped in the middle of an already spectacular setting. There were even creature comforts, something we had sorely missed at our last location, CECCOT. Our rooms at Refugio were enormous. One whole wall was open to the forest, and it was peaceful and serene. We had a bathroom with running water, a flushing toilet, and an actual shower with big towels to go along with it. The water was cold, but after being so hot and sweaty all the time, it felt refreshing. The beds had the requisite mosquito netting, which the staff came and set up while we were at dinner. This was definitely my style of life.

Of course, as much as I wanted to lounge in the lap of luxury, we still had tasks to accomplish and things to learn. One evening’s activity was a caiman search. Caimans are relatives of alligators, and they like to come out at night. So, we all hiked back down to the riverbank, got into the boats, and cruised up and down the shore looking for caimans. The guides shone lights along the riverbank trying to get reflections from the eyes of any caimans that were out there. We only saw one, but it was fun to search.

When we got back to shore, some of us stayed on the beach for awhile. We sat and listened to the sounds of the forest. The moon was full, and it was a bright orb hanging in the sky, keeping us company and lighting our way. After awhile, I laid back on the sand to watch the moon and stars and listen to all the animals. I saw constellations that were new to me, and as I listened to the frogs calling in the trees, I was in awe of the beauty and splendor of the forest around me. The symphony of the forest were so soothing, I could have stayed on that beach all night.


Several nights later, I walked back to my room alone. Most other people in the lodge were already asleep, so it was just the jungle and me. As before, the moon was brightly shining, casting its silvery light all over me. There was something eerie and beautiful about that light. The forest seemed to glow with it, and yet, I couldn’t see into the forest’s depths. I stopped and stood on the walkway by myself, taking it in. It was just me, the forest, and the moon. I felt very small in a big world, but so happy to be standing in the middle of paradise.

Bats....Why Did It Have to be Bats?

 

Of all the things in this world that I am afraid of, bats are close to the top of my list. So, I should have known that I would have some bat encounters on my trip deep into the Peruvian Amazon rain forest. I didn’t want to have to face my fear, but once I got to the rain forest, I realized there would be no escape. There were bats, lots of them.

One of the many bats in the rain forest.

The first place our group stayed, CECCOT, was rustic. It didn’t have running water, electricity, or flushing toilets. The cabins were all open air. This would not have bothered me too much except for the bats. They roosted in every cabin, including mine. When I realized this, I knew that these three days were going to be long ones.


The first time I walked into the cabin and saw bats flying, I turned right around and ran out as fast as I could. It was daytime! Bats are nocturnal. I could not believe they were active during the day. I guess we must have disturbed the sleeping bats, and so they decided that flying around in the cabin would be a good thing. Thank goodness for my cabin-mates, Julie and Sue. I called them my "bat buddies." They helped shield me from bats as best they could. I don't think I would have survived without them.


The bats didn't just fly around at the ceiling. Oh, no. They liked to fly back and forth under our beds, too. I would often stand by my bed only to feel the wind on my legs that was created by their wings as they flew back and forth. That was nearly enough to send me into a panic attack. When we brushed our teeth each morning, we all stood by the side of the cabin wall, brushed, and then spit the toothpaste over the wall onto the ground. I got “buzzed” by a bat every time I brushed my teeth. By the second day, I learned to keep my eyes closed while brushing so I wouldn’t see the bats flying around my head.

If I had to go back to the cabin by myself, I felt some trepidation because of the bats. I would stand at the door and open it slowly to peek in and see if any bats were on the move. If they weren't flying, then I could enter the cabin with confidence. If they were flying, then I had to make a decision. How badly did I need to go into that cabin? Sometimes I ran in, grabbed my things, and scooted right back out the door. There were a few times that I didn't go in at all. I decided that whatever I needed wasn’t important. There was more than one occasion when I didn't think the bats were around, and I went into the cabin. They started to fly, and I ran right back out the door. I’m sure my jumping around and shouting outside the cabin was a funny sight to anyone who might have been watching.


The best time to be in the cabin was right after night had fallen because the bats weren't in the cabin at that time. We liked to say, "They were out for dinner." During that time, I would take a shower (in traditional camp shower-type fashion) or do anything that needed done in the cabin because I knew it was a "bat free" time. That's not to say I never ran into them after dark. I could hear them flying around during the night as they ate insects. I am thankful that we slept under mosquito nets. The safety of the net, plus the fact that I wore earplugs while I slept, helped me get a good night's sleep.


The last two places we stayed on this trip, Refugio Amazonas and the Tambopata Research Center, did not have as many bats. They had netting in the ceilings that kept the bats from roosting up there, so I only came in contact with bats when they flew around at night. After CECCOT, I felt that I could handle the nighttime flying and feeding. There was one night, however, that I woke up at 3:00 a.m. to loud screeching. It was the bats. I even heard them while wearing my earplugs. Talk about the stuff of nightmares (at least for me). I knew I couldn’t do anything about them, though, so I put the pillow over my head and went back to sleep. That's when I knew, that while I still wasn't fond of bats, I had come a long way in just a few short days. I was way out of my comfort zone, but I was surviving.

Refugio Amazonas...A Little Slice of Paradise

One of the places we stayed in the rainforest was Refugio Amazonas. I would best describe this as a "jungle lodge," and even though it was in the middle of the rainforest and there wasn't electricity for most of the day, it was a great place to stay. I think it probably felt especially nice because we had just come from three days of no running water, flushing toilets, or electricity of any kind.

We had to take boats to get to Refugio, and it was about a two hour boat ride. I loved the time we spent in the boat. The sun was shining and we were moving quickly enough that there was a great breeze which kept us all cool. It was very refreshing. When we got to Refugio, we had to walk the trail for about ten minutes to get to the lodge. Fortunately, we did not have to carry our own suitcases because the staff took them to the lodge for us. At first I thought they carried them by hand, but later I saw that they had carts and a pulley system. Very sneaky!

When we came out of the forest, there was the lodge rising up in front of us. It was two stories tall and it looked like a little slice of Heaven to me. As we came in the front, they handed us each a washcloth that was cool and wet because it had been kept in the refrigerator. I laid the whole thing across my face and just left it there for a few minutes. I'm not sure if I've ever felt anything so refreshing and wonderful in my whole life. It was almost as good as air conditioning. They also had juice for us to drink. Delightful!

Our rooms were big and beautiful. One whole wall was open to the forest, but it just seemed so peaceful and serene. I was happy to have some creature comforts...a bathroom with running water and a flushing toilet. An actual shower with nice big towels to go along with it. The water was cold, but after being so hot all the time, it felt really refreshing. The beds were comfortable and had the requisite mosquito netting. The staff came and set up the netting while we were at dinner. This was definitely my style of life.

One night we went out on a caiman search. This was fun. We got back into the boats and cruised up and down the shore looking for caiman. (I've included a picture of a caiman that I took during the day so that you can see what they look like. I couldn't really take good pictures like that at night.) The guides would shine lights along the riverbank trying to get reflections from their eyes. We really only saw one, but it was still fun to look.

When we got back to shore, some of us stayed on the beach for awhile. We just sat and listened to the sounds of the forest. I thought that this was one of the best moments of the trip. We could hear frogs and insects, and it was very peaceful . The moon was full, so even though the rest of the forest was very dark, we had a lot of light. The night sky looks different in the southern hemisphere than it does in the northern hemisphere. The view of the moon is not the same...there's no "man in the moon," and there are other constellations that what we're used to seeing in the north. After awhile, I laid back on the sand and just watched the moon and stars and listened to all the animals.  The sounds of the forest were so soothing, I could have stayed there all night.

Several nights later I was walking back to my room. Most other people were already asleep, so it was very quiet. Again, the moon was bright, and it was a surreal moment to stand on the walkway in the moonlight with nothing else but the sounds of the forest. I felt very small in a big world

that night.

Bats...Why Did It Have to be Bats?

Of all the things in this world that I am afraid of, bats are pretty close to the top of the list. So, I should have known that I would have some bat encounters on this trip. I think in the back of my mind, I knew that I would have to deal with this bat fear of mine. I guess I was hoping that wouldn't be the case. Wrong!


The first place we stayed, CECCOT, was fairly rustic. There was no running water, no electricity, no flushing toilets, and the cabins were all open air. This would not have bothered me too much except for the bats. There were bats roosting in just about every cabin. They were definitely roosting in mine, and when I realized this, I knew it was going to be a long three days.

When I first went into the cabin and saw bats flying around, I turned right around and ran back out. It was daytime! Why were there bats flying around during the day? Bats are nocturnal. I guess we must have disturbed these sleeping bats, and now they decided that flying around in the cabin would be a good thing. They seemed to really like hanging out in the bathroom part of the cabin, so I took the bed farthest from the bathroom. Thank goodness for my cabin-mates, Julie and Sue. I called them my "bat buddies." They helped shield me from bats as best they could. Bless them. I don't know if I would have survived without them.

So, anyway, I was particularly annoyed by these bats because they didn't just fly around at the ceiling. Oh, no. They liked to fly back and forth under our beds, too. There were several times that I was standing by my bed, and I could feel the wind on my legs that was created by their wings as they flew back and forth. That was nearly enough to send me into a panic attack. Wind on my legs from bat wings ...are you kidding me??

If I had to go back to the cabin by myself, I usually felt some trepidation about that because of the bats. So, I would stand at the door and slowly open it to peek in and see if any bats were on the move. If they weren't flying, then I felt okay to go in. If they were flying, then it was a toss up. Sometimes I just ran in, grabbed my things, and ran out. There were a few times that I just didn't go in at all. I decided that whatever it was that I needed, I wasn't that desperate for it after all. I will admit that there was more than one occasion when I didn't think the bats were around, I went into the cabin, they started to fly, and I went running right back out the door. I don't think anyone ever saw me do that, but if they had, I'm sure they would have gotten a pretty good laugh over it.

Speaking of laughing, I really didn't admit this fear to the entire group until the end of the trip. My bat buddies knew, of course, and there were several other people to whom I confessed my fear, but overall I tried not to broadcast it. I didn't want people to laugh at me or think I was a wimp. It's amazing how peer pressure works, even for adults. By the end of the trip, we had to share with the group what one of our challenges had been, and mine was the bats. I'm sure some of people thought it was ridiculous, but for me it was a big deal. It's still a big deal to me, but it was a fear I had to deal with. I couldn't ignore it on this trip.

The best time to be in the cabin was right after night had fallen because the bats weren't in the cabin at that time. We liked to say, "They were out for dinner." It was great, though. That was when I would take a shower or do anything I needed to do in the cabin because I knew it was a "bat free" time. That's not to say I never ran into them after dark. I could hear them flying around during the night as they were eating insects. I am very thankful that we slept under mosquito nets. The safety of the net, plus the fact that I slept with earplugs in, helped me get a good night's sleep. The earplugs served really two purposes: one, I couldn't hear the bats as well, and two, I couldn't hear other people who snored. Since every cabin was open-air, there was virtually no privacy in terms of sound. I could hear snoring from other cabins, so the earplugs were a lifesaver in more ways than one.

The last two places we stayed, Refugio Amazonas and the Tambopata Research Center, were not quite as bad in terms of bats. They had a type of netting in the ceilings that kept the bats from roosting up there, so the only time I came in contact with bats was if they were flying around at night. After CECCOT, I felt that I could handle the nighttime flying and feeding. There was one night, though, that I woke up at about 3:00 a.m. to loud screeching...it was the bats. I even heard them with my earplugs in. Talk about the stuff of nightmares (at least for me). What could I do, though? Nothing. I put the pillow over my head and went back to sleep. That's when I knew that, while I still wasn't fond of bats, I had come a long way in just a few short days. I was way out of my comfort zone, but I was surviving.

(Thanks to my friend Dave for sharing the picture of the bats roosting on the ceiling!)