Sunday Story

I've been taking a little trip down memory lane, comparing my story with my old diary from a similar trip. If you've missed the last two pasts, they're here and here.
Here's an extract from The Virginity Mission about the rainforest:


The rainforest is incredible. If you look at it from above, which happens rarely on our trip as most peaks are so densely vegetated you can’t see anything from them, the canopy is a carpet of green with bumps of larger trees. Some places have a splash of yellow with flowering trees but mostly it’s green. Thick green canopy coating mountainsides as far as you can see.

Underneath it’s different. Fast gurgling streams run over moss covered rocks, boulders and stones at the base of hills. As you climb a hill, the vegetation changes the higher you go. Near the creek are all manner and sizes of bright green ferns. As you climb higher, the vegetation becomes hardier. Tree ferns appear, large leaved palms and ferns, masses of vines reaching out to snare the unsuspecting.


And here's a bit from my diary:

• Heaps of vines and creepers both on trees and from trees
• Green haze to air - often get sick of looking at green
• Heaps of dead leaves and wood lying on ground
• Smell of decay everywhere
• Rotted wood or dead trees often give way, especially when being stood upon or leant upon
• Heaps of ferns especially ones with prickles that you don't see until you put your hand on them
• Dense, takes ages to get anywhere
• Heaps of birds, and insects - mostly heard and not seen
• Epiphytes on many of the tall trees
• Emergents are generally very thick trucked and often have large buttresses
• Some buttresses are like legs that the trees stands up on - saw one which was about 70cm off the ground

 
These photos are from the trip, showing our sleeping arrangements in a clean state and in a morning-after state. I didn't describe the difference in the book - I probably should have read the diary and looked at the photos earlier :)