Page 104 - Exile-ebook

104 AN EXILE OF THE MIND THE RIVER OF LANTERNS 105

situation. Without the means to
make a cuppa I set off into the jungle
following abandoned chiclero huts
until the trail collided with a wall of
trees. Chicleros extract sap from the
tree of a sapodilla to make chewing
gum. Unable to retrace my steps I
tramped deeper into the maze.
Squinting at the shafts of light
bursting through the ceiling of green
leaves in the early morning dawn,
I could see dark shapes swinging
Painting: Marcel Priest. echoed around me. The large Howler
from tree to tree. Loud guttural roars

monkeys were not happy about me
stealing their berries. My food had

Mountain lions are good climbers. run out and I drank from creeks and Wash day on the Mopan River.
tentatively sampled a smorgasbord of
monkey food.
the shaman’s crow flies when it’s on The algae in the water I drank, jungle. Perhaps to keep me in mind Guatemala border several times.
the wing. called Arthrospira, was a food for the next day’s dinner. With my backpack now heavy
This site, hidden under the dense source known to the early Maya. We Several days later muffled voices with cans of food, in case I got lost
cloak of the jungle, was not to hear the now know it as spirulina, which con- could be heard in the distance. Sol- again, the soldiers pointed the way
scrape of an archaeologist’s trowel for tains remarkable nutrients. I wasn’t diers turned to stare open-mouthed and off I went with new maps, a
another 20 years. I set off with survey to know this at the time. as I staggered into a clearing. A Brit- compass, boots and an officer’s
maps and restless enthusiasm at the Walking along a narrow track a ish Army contingent, dropped into bush jacket which I wore for many
prospect of rediscovering a lost city. mountain lion suddenly appeared the jungle on survival training, were years. The cans had no labels and
Instead, I became lost myself in the ahead looking for a meal. Staring about to have lunch. Good timing. there was no way of knowing what
vast expanse of the jungle. into its eyes to show who was boss, My bad manners were again on they contained. I would eat plum
“Take a deep breath. Put on the I inched towards the nearest tree to display by eating anything edible pudding for breakfast from one can
kettle, make yourself a cup of tea quickly climb it, unaware the lion within sight. To then throw up on or pork sausage and beans from
and relax.” was a much better climber than I the forest floor. I had been walking another. My surplus army rations
This is what the survival manuals was. I wasn’t on the menu and the in circles for several weeks and were bartered in the village for a
advise when faced with a sticky big cat casually loped off into the unknowingly wandered over the ride back to the capital.