Erenrece

I was on an expedition with several travellers whom I’d not met before. We were sleeping in bunked hammocks in a large canvas tent, with our tour guide and all our supplies, somewhere in a rainforest.

I know we will be soon to go on an adventure.

The next morning we prepare, packing everything up into our backpacks, and set out. First we have a short walk to examine the effects of human life on the forest.

Then, we journey into a deeper, more pristine space where all the trees are evenly spaced, facing the same direction, growing horizontally at their base, and curving upward. I am so inspired by this forest. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

The forest is restful, peaceful, but the guide tells us to remain quiet- we can’t make noise in this place. We are also warned not to step too heavily or to damage the trees.

After several hours of this, we glimpse a gorgeous castle of ivory, white through the trees, on the other side of a lake of electric blue which is perfectly still and undisturbed.

We get in a boat to cross the lake, and the guide warns us not to touch the water. We can see the skeletons of long dead beasts, fossilised in layers of brightly-coloured mineral deposits, red, and yellow, and brown. Rock pools, too. The water steams and gently hisses where the boat touches the water.