Wednesday 8th Feb.

A walk in the jungle

It's not itsy bitsy

It felt hotter right away this morning and although the laundry we had hung out the evening before hadn't fully dried - it surely wouldn't take too much longer. We assembled at 8:00am for a jungle walk and over the course of the approximate 10km round trip, we got a close up look at the vegetation, flowers and insects of the surrounding area.

Moon bear claw marks

There were claw marks of a moon bear on one of the trees, its nearby existence confirmed by some fresh bear scat on the trail. It was a fatiguing dusty heat and I think we were all glad to return in time for a chance to freshen up before lunch.

Teaching English

That afternoon we walked about 1 km north to the local primary school and divided into groups of four - there were only two classrooms, separated by age group - and improvised an English lesson, song and then some outdoor games.

The children were keen and polite students and seemed to have as much fun as we did! We had brought some school supplies with us from Canada and gave them to the teacher of the older pupils, which she seemed very grateful for. The children at this school are from local families who cannot afford the school fees, the classes are taught by volunteer teachers after regular school schedule.

Arun Rhea's Mahout

After returning to the sanctuary, we prepared that afternoons 'ele' treats and Jordan and I set off with Say to chop down a couple of the older banana trees that had already fruited, to add to the feast. The banana tree trunks retain a vast amount of water and provide a succulent and crunchy meal.