Expedition: Day 5
When umbrellas are left behind, the rainforest provides! Photo by Callie Broaddus.
Sunday, September 22nd
Written by Carter Ries
We woke up at 7:00 and went downstairs for rice and eggs. We were able to speak to Javier about the day ahead, and as usual, he was super excited. He explained to us that we were going to a beautiful river that ran with heavy water and spectacular creatures roaming around. We all got pumped up about the hike, immediately got our shoes and rain gear on, and hopped in the car. It was a 20 minute ride to the edge of the river, where Javier noticed that a new bridge had been constructed and development activity had increased. We grabbed our gear from the trunk and began the hike as it began to drizzle.
This bridge had been upgraded to allow for further development in the forest down the road. iPhone photo by Callie Broaddus.
We began the climb on a very wet and muddy hill. I looked to my right and saw that Lucy was having a tough time getting one of her boots out of the mud, so I began to walk over to her to help, when my boot got stuck. Instead of slowing down I kept walking, but my boot had other ideas. I stepped, and my left foot—along with my sock—went at least 5 inches into the cold mud. Lucy managed to get her foot out without my assistance, as I was now stuck. I grabbed my boot, took off my sock, and left it there for when I returned.
The Pylon river at an unseasonably low level, potentially due to climate change and human activity. Photo by Callie Broaddus.
As we reached the edge of the river, Javier told us that he had never seen the Pylon river so low before, and that it was extremely unusual. You could see it in his eyes that he was sad and disappointed; the change indicated that the increased local development was taking a toll on the river.
An identified beetle. Photo by Carter Ries.
We continued the walk, and along the way, kept our eyes open for any snakes or interesting insects. There were a few spots where Javier stopped me to show the cool plants that you could eat. They looked like elephant ears and they tasted quite sour, which was nice.
We stopped to munch on edible leaves for a few minutes. From left to right: Daniel, Javier, Carter, Lucy, and Callie.
We arrived at a dip in the river, where we took a break. Callie took out her camera and began taking pictures of insects, the scenery, and of course us. I sat at the edge, talking with Lucy about the life around us wen I saw Daniel taking his clothes off in the corner of my eye. I turned to him as he began to walk to the edge of the water. He jumped in, scrambled out, and did it again. It looked like a lot of fun, so I decided to just take my shirt off to join Daniel in the river. I dove into the frigid water, and it immediately took my breath away. I came up gasping for air and quickly swam to the edge. Javier and Daniel were laughing, and soon Lucy and Callie joined in. I got out and headed to a thin log bridge over the river, where Daniel was waiting.
Daniel dives in as Carter fights the current to climb back up to the bridge. Photo by Callie Broaddus.
He looked at me, smiled and dove into the water 10 feet below him. Again and again, we alternated diving into the water from the bridge, then spent some time trying to ride logs down with the river, then walking them back upstream. I felt the current pulling me, and several times had to brace myself on rocks to stop myself from sliding toward the rapids.
Cleaning Lucy’s boots in the Pylon river. Photo by Callie Broaddus.
I headed over to where Lucy was sitting with her boots in the water and we started talking. I began to clean her boots in which a business idea came up called “Lady of the Lake boot cleaning.” I did an excellent job as Lucy would later describe. I stepped out of the water and sat near the edge as Callie flew her drone, and Javier and Daniel did some bird watching. It began to rain once again, and we packed up.
We sat on the river’s edge watching birds and blue Morpho butterflies while Callie flew her drone. Photo by Callie Broaddus.
Javier walked over to a nearby plant, where he found us some leaf umbrellas. We used them as we walked back up the hill, and right before we arrived at the car, Daniel spotted a toucan in the trees. After watching it for a while, I went to the car, grabbed my muddy sock, and waited for the group. As we drove back to Casa Dracula around 4:30, we saw another amazing bird—the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock.
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. Photo by Callie Broaddus.
We got back, and I went immediately to my room to take a nice cold shower and rinse off the mud. That evening, we met the rest of the current land owners behind our Reserva site—all siblings—and Callie and Lucy spent time interviewing them about how they used the land as kids. About 10% of our site is now recovering pasture land, created when the siblings would hike up the steep ridge with the family’s cattle to graze in hidden patches of pasture. After they left, Javier sat us down, discussed our plans for the next day, and suggested we get a good night’s rest. I headed up to my room immediately after, where I quickly fell asleep, dreaming of the exciting next day. (I later learned that Callie and Lucy stayed up late photographing more orchids, which Marco had found on his hike that day, and which might be new species to science.)
One of Marco’s new orchid finds. Photo by Callie Broaddus.