Day 3 -– Rainforest

We woke up early for our trip to the Tijuaca National Park for our hike. Because of the winding nature of the roads and grade, we had to divide up into six smaller vans as we wound around the mountains, up to the forest. Some of the boys commented it was sort of a Jurassic Park feel. No T-Rex paddock though. After we got to the park, we divided up into 3 groups for the hike. Before we began, the guides had us stretch in a circle. Our guides Alexander and Philip told us that a very rich man and his 5 slaves reforested this area over a period of 10-15 years. It is a 3200 sq km area and there is a monument to the efforts of the slaves. During this time, he brought many of his friends to the area to garner support and raise awareness of the beauty of this rainforest area and it eventually attained natural park status. We then went on a 1.5 mile hike along trails on muddy ground and uneven terrain. There was abundant flora, several picturesque waterfalls, and we hopped across several streams on sunken logs and stepping stones. Unfortunately, the only wildlife we saw were wearing red Kantorei shirts. In a clearing at the end of the trail, we gathered in a circle and the boys sang the Rainforest song, which was rather haunting in the woods. All the boys survived well and with the abundant aroma of mosquito repellent, I didn't hear one complaint about being bitten.

We then were transported to the beach where we had a demonstration of Copeira. There were several musicians with congas and mirambou and several dance/fighters. This is a type of dancing with cartwheels, leg sweeps, karate-type moves and jumps. They then grabbed several boys and Mr. Ross and taught them the moves, then they had them dance-fight with each other. The sand made it quite easy to fall harmlessly and other than large amounts of sand in their shoes, no hardships were encountered.

Larry Prabhakar