Flight issues and paddling
With an early start we headed towards Benjamins only to have 2 tocos cross our path so we chased them instead. Benjamin was strimming in the area and pointed us in the right direction of the tree they kept going to. We found it with relative ease and at one point had a toucan sat above us but that was it. It didnt head towards the tree and didnt return and didnt perform! I decided that would be tommorows mission to investigate further today the plan was to walk via the river and find Benjamins toucans. It should have been easy.. but as you have no doubt come to realise that word + mairee dont really go well.
To say some aeas were overgrown was an understatement, then we encountered a huge pile of trees and stuff the river had dumped at the side at some point. This pile was easily 6ft plus with huge overgrown things the other side. Now Vero is only a little thing and along the trip we had both gained sticks to beat plants back. Shes quite lethal with it so Ive now put a 3 ft barrier in any given direction of where not to stand when she starts. Im probably a good ft and a half taller than her and was smirking to myself that she was hobbit like ( not that she has hairy feet) and has now perfected Come on Mary! I sometimes wonder who is teaching who!
After 2 river crossings 3 barbed wire fences 1001 ticks 2 l of water and 4 hours later we eventually found a way out. Only to discover we were well past Benjamins and right near the other end of the village. The church is very quaint and I dont mean to offend anyone by writing this but theres a mural on the wall that I presume is Christ exposing his knee and leg it reminds me of old films where the dame exposes her leg to get a lift! Anyway we sloshed our way back calling in at C & S house to use the mobile phone hot spot.
I had recieved a message from Andy saying Austral were trying to get in touch with me because of a change in schedule. Bearing in mind I have 2 flights on the 3rd and only reconfirmed one I was in a bit of a flap. Theres no house phones no stable mobile signal internet only at night and an hour n half away no bus till 7am C&S away so no transport its new years weekend etc etc you get the picture. But knowing theres not a lot I could do there was no point in fretting (in theory anyway)
On the afternoon we headed back to the field and had 3 sightings we thought we had identified the right tree, however on further investigation theres a 50ft canyon and the tree and surrounding trees are way too narrow for a toucan nest. Oh well back to square 1.