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Up the Rewa from the mouth of the Kwitaro river we go, each on our own personal mission. Jan is looking for more small creeks and rocky pools to fish in. I am seeking a clear horizon for a strong signal to use the satellite phone. Today is sure to lead to another
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| Jensen and Eloise on the Rewa River. |
adventure!
"Only people near here are far, far away," I am told.
After finding a spot to settle, seven of us sling tents and a tarp. It is a 10-minute commute through the rain forest from camp to my new "office" across the river from a cascading rapids and falls. No one lives this far up the Rewa, and only one family lives along the Kwitaro where the rest of the group have stayed: It's just us, one pot, a small fire, and a bunch of fasciated heron. According to the bird books, herons don't live in Guyana, but how would anyone know? No one is here. That is the beauty of science – there is always something new to discover.
PEOPLE: Follow along with Burton Lim, in search of bats.
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"...when I jump in the water for a bath later that day, I jump out just as fast when my bathing suit fills with tiny biting fishes." |
The rocks in the falls are all carved up, both by running water and by humans that have come and gone through the region. From where I write, I can see a triangular rock jutting out with a picture of a grinning monkey. No one knows where the carvings came from, but one of the river crew tells us that his grandmother knew how to make them. So it could have been very recent, or it could be ancient.
When I return to camp, Justin and Jan look sad, "Nothing. No fishes. I need another kind of net for the rocky pools," Jan laments. He must, because when I jump in the water for a bath later that day, I jump out just as fast when my bathing suit fills with tiny biting fishes. Maybe he'll have better luck night fishing with a different tool – something more like my swimsuit.
TOOLS: Learn about the tools used by scientists to find and catch mammals.
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