OK, my prior statement that “we are now camping in the jungle” was a lie. I didn’t mean to lie on purpose, it was mostly due to my own ignorance. We’re spending the night at 5 Blues National Park - in the real jungle. This quote I just overheard in a conversation right now between my father and James really communicates our surroundings: “We are so thoroughly in the jungle right now, it’s sickening.”
I posted earlier today from a coffee shop in Balmopan. Immediately after I finished writing that post, we hit the road. There really isn’t any particular place where one notices the transition from town to jungle. It just happens. Less then 15 minutes after finishing my iced coffee, the road was surrounded on both sides by thick jungle.
We finally got a taste of some real overlanding again. The road to our campsite was about 4.5 miles long and it was rocky, muddy, and had a lot of water sitting on it. Scott got some great footage of yours truly speeding through a mud puddle. We took what we later found out was a wrong turn and ended up at a river near an agricultural compound (basically an orange grove with a couple of small buildings).
I’m not really an aquarium type of guy but James was super thrilled at what we found in the river. James (and his spouse Stacey) has been in Central American many, many times on mission trips but this river was the first time he had seen freshwater tropical cichlids and fancy-tailed guppies in their natural habitat. The fish were beautiful and the enthusiasm was contagious. My description won’t do this image justice, but the river was right next to an exposed rock face covered in jungle vines. Disgustingly cool.
The road to our campsite was through a pretty thick jungle canopy. We’re down the path from a lake which we plan to explore in the morning. As I’m writing this, I’m hearing sounds that I can’t even identify. At least my tent is elevated.
Chuck
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