LOST IN A JUNGLE

M

y father took part in a scientific expedition in the Brazilian rainforests. Their task was to study the ways of living of all the inhabitants of the Brazilian jungles.

I wanted to go – so he took me with him. I thought it was going to be interesting and at the end, it turned out to be a bigger adventure than expected.

Three days had passed before my adventure happened. We had already set up a camp – right after our arrival with a jeep from Rio de Janeiro’s airport.

Everyone from the expedition crew (except me) went on a little research excursion around. It was supposed to be easy and quick. I stayed to guard the camp.

But, unfortunately, a terrible storm happened. The jungle was darker than usual. It was raining heavily, the wind was blowing hard and it was foggy, cold and scary. The others didn’t come back that day.

I stayed in my tent that whole day, covered in blankets to warm myself up and with a candle to make it lighter inside.

The first thing I did the next day was putting up a square ~ shaped fence around the camp. I put some roughly cut pieces of wood.

There were several packs of canned food in the other tents, but I had already eaten them. To survive, I had to climb up the trees and pick fruits. Trees are pretty high in the rainforests, luckily I had a 50m – long – rope which made climbing easier.

Water wasn’t a problem – I had a stock of 6 gallons, but still, I didn’t afford myself to wash the fruits with it, so I peeled them with a pocket knife.

It was rather difficult to make fire, because it was constantly raining (not heavily, fortunately, more because of the humidity). I had matches, but I also needed petrol in order to keep the rain longer (because of the rain). But all I could find were a few little bottles of pure alcohol. I had to use them!

That night, I heard footsteps. Actually, just steps. I was afraid from the wild animals. I was terrified because the steps were becoming louder and louder. I had a torch, but no batteries for it. Therefore, it was useless. I was at the edge of my nerves when I saw shadows at the side of the tent, but I felt relieved and very happy when I saw my father’s face!

I spent a week alone in the middle of the Brazilian rainforest. Although I had a cellular phone, I was not able to use it due to lack of network! I was literally cut off from civilisation. But, I attained a good… Well, better to say - useful experience!

Written by: Viktor Janevski – I year