Jungle camp

It is common knowledge that in times of crisis people attend to do drawbacks towards their inwardness. Therefore, while the Euro sinks and people across Europe have suddenly to rediscover what the original idea of a common Europe has been, while Argentina spoils its 200 years of independence party with internal power debates and answers on the sense of life still lack lasting conviction, what would be a better place to spend the days than the remote rainforest of the Amazon Basin? We went to Cuyabeno, nature reserve in th eastern part of Ecuador, where the rainforest still looks like it should. And indeed, there will be probably no better placer to experience german Romantik.


It all starts with the rivers. There were never other posibilities to overcome the distances of the enormous jungle. We were going with our canu by rain, by sunshine, by day and by night. Stepping into it means stepping into the green all around you, a mosaik of trees and bushes, lianas and orchids. The river floats gravely and slowly below you, sometimes changing colour from brown to black, sometimes allowing a short glimps in its depths. The jungle is all around you and you know its full of life. You hear it and when you are concentrated you might see it. You lift a leave and you´ll find a red bellied frog, you lift your view and see a colourful Tucan on the peak of the tree. Lenni was our guide and guard towards the life. He spottet eyes in the wide green when I was glad to distinguish one tree from the other. Without him, jungle had kept its living secrets for us. Surely, its no zoo and the animals do not get paid for gringo tours. Instead of enjoying our presence the kept their mimikry and our joy was even bigger when they suddenly showed up. A bunge of yelling and swinging monkeys passing by, an anaconda warming up on the braches next to our canu, a slot walking slowly in the heights of mammoth trees. And then the night: Thousands of cicadas, frogs, owls and monkeys shouting and giving the base to a moonlighted performance of spiders and bats.

And while we were watching at the organization of life in the foret - poisend ants living in symbiosis with alimenting trees, trees which lock their rinds up in the rainy season, standing for 5 months in 3 meters of water, pink dolphins survinng geographical changes and ending up as freshwater animals - thoughts go further to the organization of modern human life. We should do exploration tours to the big cities, taking pictures of working society, initiations rituals, freetime behavior. Spotting its amazing facets with binoculars, recording its expressions of communicacion on tape, trying to come closer and maybe become part of it. We are continuing our expedition in Quito. And therefore, although it might be the most fascinating animal life on earth, who needs to go to the Galapagos??