Welcome to the Jungle

With the kettle boiling in the background Frank, another German, produces a bottle of rum and offers a "grog". He explains that grog is simply Rum, hot water, and sugar. Holding the spoon, I ask how much sugar I'm to add to my mug. He goes on to explain, "The sugar is optional, and the hot water is not necessary". Grog is good.

After a long day of plain enough sailing, we anchor in a bay. I join the landing party of five. A river cuts through the pale yellow sand beach, but the river runs a deep red, as if it's draining out from a scene in Braveheart. Only Pascale and I are game for a good trek. These islands aren't inhabitated, so when you land, the island is all yours, and largely untrekked by others before you. Traversing the terrain is mostly easy, but where rivers run or once ran, it's jungle-like and tough to push through.

Photo: Frithjof Behne

At some point, we find neither of us are sure what time the sun goes down, nor do we have a torch. From a distance it looks like you can easily get to some point in the distance, but repeatidly, we find these jungle sections to climb in and out, or over. Some concern is simmering about how much light is left and how long it will take to get back. With some relief, we eventually spot the mast of the Santa Maria Australis.

Thirty minutes later, we're still battling to get there. Even so close to the boat, we know that when we lose the light, we can't move at any speed, nor can we be rescued. We, or at least I, am back up to, then past, simmering. We're given the choice of traversing through the last of the thick, and now very irritating, dense jungle crap, or going the long way around. With the sun setting, we choose the hard & fast route. We make it back to the beach no more than ten minutes before darkness.