I stared into the
terrifying eyes of a monster in the jungle and lived to tell the
tale.
Better than that, I
photographed the hell beast.
The snarling jaws of death |
Well that's the short
of it, here's the long.
I was hiking through
the rain forest outside Ayampe on the Pacific Coast. It was muggy,
muddy and a million shades of green. From the palms and peace of the
Pacific, the hills rise steeply crowned with impenetrable forests.
Everywhere is noise –
fruit falling from trees, monkeys screeching, the song of rare birds,
and more mysterious sounds besides. The heat and humidity were
stifling. I was on my own and, with the motivating logic of the first
character to die in a horror film, I decided to turn off the path and
venture deeper into the jungle.
It was quite exciting
at first, if I didn't think about the oppressive isolation. I
imagined what I'd do if I got lost and darkness fell. How I would
build a camp, where I would find water. With my mud-caked boots and
beard, I started to fancy myself as a grisly mountain man with eyes
of chipped granite. Of course, I was just a stupid Englishman lost in
the rainforest.
I came across a curious
sign pointing down towards a steep valley. In Spanish it read:
“Descanso de las Hadas” (that's 'Fairies Rest' in English.)
'How fun,' I thought.
'I'll take a photo.' So I did.
After I'd taken the
photo I saw a pair of eyes staring back at me. I wasn't alone. Spiky
heckles, razor claws and a Gorgon's stare. What was I facing?
Obviously I didn't
stick around to find out. I legged it like Brave, Brave Sir Robin in
the Holy Grail when he nearly stood up to the vicious chicken of
Bristol.
Back safe and sound in
Ayampe and armed with evidence of our monstrous neighbour, I showed
the photograph to wiser eyes than my own. Firstly, I showed it to the
Colombian who ran walking tours through the forest. Then I showed it
to our taciturn handyman Jose. The jury was out, but both agreed I
was lucky to escape with my life. Some thought I'd faced a gato de monté, others reasoned I'd made a miraculous escape from the
Qarqacha (more about him later).
Of course, I can now
settle this debate quite easily. I met a biologist when I was filming
at Mashpi Lodge who is an expert on life in the rainforest. He
volunteered to identify my monster... So all I need to do now is send
him the photo.
...to be continued
...to be continued
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