Cassava. Cassava leaf. Cassava fish. And now, a cassava snake. One word for a lot of West African things. Five days in the rainforest of Sapo National Park and this was our best wildlife sighting. Monkeys and guinea fowl made cameo appearances. Our fearless leader Jefferson crouched in the trees once and busted out his duiker mating call, resulting in one super-confused little deer wandering into the clearing. And huge forest elephant tracks were everywhere. By the way, when a cassava snake gives birth, the babies explode out of many different holes up and down her body all at once, thus killing the mother. So they say.
Our guides quickly proved their worth. On arrival at this campsite, we moseyed on down to check out the river. Ten minutes later we returned and they'd already built this sweet shelter from scratch. They tossed a butt-large tarp from the United Nations refugee agency over the top as the finishing touch. The T.P. is our contribution. (By the way, ever dared to relieve yourself in the middle of the night in the middle of the rainforest? I don't recommend it.) The guides also loved to fashion all-natural custom chillin' chairs for themselves. Cutting down trees in a protected forest for all this construction seemed questionable. But hey, it's their park.
Solo caught us delicious catfish for dinner a couple times. The guides' daily menu lacked some variety. Every meal began with the same familiar white man-black man exchange. Hey, what are you guys eating? Rice! Ahhh...not exactly a shocker.
We picked up our small friend Prince from his village and took him on his first trip outside Grand Bassa County. He was a little freaked out by the 8-hour car ride and endless hikes through the forest. Who'd have thought an African boy would complain about walking far distances? I guess it's different walking with a purpose and just walking through the woods for no apparent reason. Prince was baffled, even at the end of the trip, as to what the heck we were doing there. And don't ask me what he's up to in this photo. Boys will be boys.
The Sapo River. An ideal hangout for killer crocodiles and hippos if you ask me. Supposedly, they're in there, but we never saw any signs. It's unclear why Frederick is half-naked and stuck in that tree. Looks like easy prey.
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