Day 3: BUCKET LIST!!!

It was a Bucket List Day!!! PINK RIVER DOLPHINS!!! They were so close and it was so peaceful that I could even hear them breathing. They really are pink! And small. 💕 AND, then later, the other species of fresh water dolphins, the grays, came frolicking by, leaping and tail splashing and showing off. It was unexpected and incredible and exactly what I hoped to experience when I decided to come down before my research project started. 🤩 Seriously though, PINK DOLPHINS?!? Amazing! (No photos because I was fully living in the experience.)
The rest of the day was also full of joy and wonder. I had my morning coffee staring into the lush forest. Or first morning adventure was piranha fishing with wooden reed poles. I caught mine and flung it into the rafters accidentally. 😂 After our photo shoot, we set him free to swim again because he was too little. Check out those teeth though! That was enough for me and I did some watercolors while everyone else fished. (Their catches made a tasty fried fish lunch!) We then headed to a gently sloping bank and I put my feet in the river, opting out of the swim call.
After lunch the rubber boots went on and we went for a jungle walk, almost immediately getting caught in a rainforest downpour. The volume of water and size of the raindrops were astounding, all while the sun danced through the leaves. Everything in the forest simply adjusts…the leaf cutter ants switching to the underside of their branch, choosing to fight gravity over deluge, as an example. I can’t wait to have the time to sit and watch and notice the small things when I get to the field station… We saw three species of monkeys, lots of medicinal plants, crazy insects, and my favorite of the walk: the Great Potoo bird which is so crazy looking and cool. If you didn’t know where to look you would only see a tree stump. (I could not capture its photo, but put a screenshot in for you.) I cooled down from the hike in the pool, watching the spider monkeys frolicking in the trees. I’m currently living a dream.
After dinner we went for a night hike in the jungle! Let me tell you, those “lullaby” sounds I listened to from my bed last night? They sound VERY different when you are walking in the darkness with a little flashlight and one guy with a machete. 😆 I was practically glued to our guide and cannot imagine spend more than an hour out there. Mercifully we only saw some very cool insects including a tarantula and a scorpion spider. The photo does not do it justice - its legs were 6 inches long! I was very glad to climb back under my mosquito net tonight!
Tomorrow is a sunrise boat ride. More wonder to look forward to. xoRead more