Day 100 & 101- a milestone in a cave in the jungle

Day 100

So there we go! I have hit 100 days which is something I think people doubted would happen. To celebrate this I had to do something a little different. My stupid self thought that a 10km hike through the jungle and spending a night in a cave before hiking another 10km would be a great idea. Well... what can I say.

We set off at about 9 to go and get our permits. At 10 we were crashing through rapids and getting soaked. This was great fun and the jungle looked beautiful from the river front. We started our hike at about 12. I knew by 2.5 km in that this would not be as easy as I anticipated. The ground was ridiculously slippery and uneven. The humidity made us sweat and the bugs were huge... when I say huge the ants were the size of a 10p coin. The leeches were out in force and the bees were absolutely brutal. It is apparently bee season and there were hundreds. 

Now don’t get me wrong, the jungle was beautiful. Loads of untouched trees and beautiful plants but the hike was brutal. Every time we stopped for a water break the bees would swarm us which made us continue. There were hills and rivers to cross with fallen trees to climb over.

We had an amazing guide who was very enthusiastic. Stopping every so often to show us animal poo and paw prints and telling us which animal they belong to. Everything from boars, panthers and even elephants. My enthusiasm to look at this stuff had completely diminished. I just wanted the trek over.

At the 7.5 km mark we were taking a water break when we came across loads of beautiful yellow butterflies. They absolutely loved my green on my top. It was really pretty. Fun fact, butterflies are attracted to animal wee. So wherever an animal wees there will be butterflies.

We eventually reached the cave by about 5pm. The cave itself was huge. It was also dry and mostly bug free. We went to the stream to collect some water for cooking and also to have a soak. Because it is dry season the levels are quite low but it was still a nice way to cool down.

In the evening we sat around a fire talking and cooking some food. We made fried noodle veggies, rice and chicken curry. I was responsible for chopping veg (I know mum, you are shocked, they still weren’t evenly cut).

After dinner we were asked if we wanted to go for a night stroll. Now... by this point, I had already decided I would never do this again, therefore I felt that it would be silly not to join the walk. Walking in the jungle in the dark was scary. I’m not a massive fan of the dark but this was seriously dark. Not even moonlight made it through the dense trees and bushes. Our guide showed us a black scorpion. When you shine UV light on them, they glow. This looking back was pretty incredible. At the time I was more concerned by its size as the fact that I didn’t want it near me. 

After our walk I wanted to use the toilet. I went looking for a nice spot in the bushes. As I was looking I heard a hissing sound and felt a sharp burning pain in my foot. I ran screaming convinced I had been bit by a snake also convinced I was going to die in the middle of the jungle. My guide took a look at my foot and then went back to the spot where I felt the pain. He saw a whole load of fire ants. Now there is a reason they are called fire ants. They burn! Not deadly or even dangerous but it still burnt. By this point I was done with the jungle and ready for a nights sleep. Just as an FYI, the burning stopped after about 10 minutes. 

We arrived back in the cave to see the porcupines had arrived. There are 3 porcupines that visit the cave nightly, a dad, mum and baby. They come to eat our leftover dinner.

We slept on the floor in sleeping bags. Did I have a good nights sleep? Of course not, between the hard ground, the unidentifiable sounds and the overheating from the campfire, I had an awful night sleep.

Day 101

We woke up and had some breakfast before packing up. 

It was another 10km hike today to get back. I wish I could have appreciated the beauty of the jungle more but my main aim was just to keep one foot in front of the other. Along the way we saw a cute little birds nest.

We stopped for lunch at a nice little swim spot, it was a beautiful river where we got some muscles from the river. They were delicious.

After lunch we had the second part of the trek which went really quick. Overall it was about 5 hours of hiking and about an hour lunch stop. Luckily on our treks we encountered no big mammals which are bad news as they are completely wild. By the time we got to the boat I was physically knackered and I was emotionally drained, here is my victory shot! 

On the way back the boat captain decided to get us as wet as possible. I was so dirty by this point however it was not enjoyable being splashed by the dirty water. 

We also stopped at a little village where the people live away from civilisation. They have no technology and use old practices to create fire and hunt from the land. They let us try out their blowpipe which they use to hunt animals which live in trees, such as monkeys. I was pretty rubbish on my first attempt but slightly better on the second. It’s not easy!

Back at the hostel a beer was well deserved.

Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t love the day hiking and the cave however the people I was with were super kind and we had a good laugh. There were 6 of us in total, a couple from France, a girl from Taiwan, a guy from Austria, our local guide and of course me! I am also incredibly proud of myself. I completely underestimated my ability to do this trek but I proved to myself that I am emotionally and physically capable of more then I give myself credit for. For this reason this trekking experience was amazing. I pushed myself further than ever before and came out the other side alive with slightly sore feet!