FIRE IN THE JUNGLE SHOOT

After a long day of travel, 3 plane rides and one dusty car and a charter plane, we finally landed at Tangura a private ranch in Malto Grosso to explore the only fire research centre in the Amazon Rainforest. We were all  a little bit nervous as we were going to participate in a fire experiment and film it at the same time. With the help of Prof Paolo Brando we headed off into the dry jungle with fuel tanks to set fire to a small area where they have been monitoring very precise burn-backs to determine the rainforests resilience to fire and to establish markers for modelling the future tipping points driven by fire. Bernice and Prof Cox both took to lighting the fire with the research crew and soon we were engulfed in flames and smoke - it was very hard to direct at this point, sign language at its best was all we had. The heat was extreme from a small area, and the smoke overwhelming.  The burn back was quickly put out and we all raced for cold water, and fresh air. Not to make light of this shoot, the importance of this research is understanding the trees and plants most resilience to fire to help the scientists to understand the future of this amazing rainforest. Hot but all safe. Liz x

AMAZON SHAMAN MAN

Feeling like I have been hit by a semi trailer - fever, and bad gastro in the middle of the jungle, not a good look.  35 C but I spent the day under a rug...a visit by the local Shaman man Lola told me I needed to drink a herbal tea made from the young leaves of a Guava Plant.  He made up a special mixture and I  drank the tea the whole pot and within 30 mins I stared to feel better - amazing, just can't describe how fast I recovered from this. Such a simple solution - young Guava leaves! Next day I was back on my feet, a few kilos lighter ( good thing) and drinking the next mixture he delivered to me - filtered rice water. Feeling so much clearer, I took a walk in the nearby forest at night with the crew - it was pitch dark, lots of moving shadows, and rustling of leaves. I don't remember this being my idea or even a good idea..I called the shoot to an end and hurried back to the camp - looked for a jaguar but to no avails. Heading back to civilisation in the morning, will be visiting a nearby remote village, before our 32 hour boat trip back down the river to Belem. The howler monkeys keep howling all night, starting to get use to them - just a little bit uneasy when going to sleep as there are no doors on our rooms, and I wonder if I am going to wake up to a monkey bouncing on the bunk bed!! Sleeping under a mosquito net, surprisingly only a few bugs...just have to check your bed for scorpions at night and your shoes in the morning! LC

MAYAN TEMPLE IN THE AMAZON

Sorry for the delay - it has been a huge filming week in the Amazon, no hot water ( will never take hot showers for granted again) and no power, only romantic candles and head torches! We geared up and headed into the jungle today to shoot at the Caxiauna Drought experiment which is a 32 hour boat trip away from civilization. After hiking in, watching for anything moving on the trail, namely scorpions and snakes, we came across 2 hectares of jungle that has been roofed in - it looked like a Mayan temple in the middle of the jungle. Amazing to see what they have created to try to simulate what the rainforests resilience is to drought - one of the key tipping elements facing the Amazon jungle this century.  This part of the forest receives 50% less water, and through this experiment that have been able to measure and see that it is the largest trees at risk not the small trees which was contrary to their initial models. The large trees need more water to move the hydrolics/water up to the top of the canopy, and so they suffer the most after a threshold of 3 years. To view the project they have built a 50 metre tower so we climbed up to the top viewing platform - crew and all - no need to go to the gym, best step machine I have walked up yet and in 35 C with 99% humidity! We completed filming around 3pm, and Prof Peter Cox was a great sport and climbed down into the soil pit after we checked for rattlers, yet we missed seeing the scorpion hiding in the corner, so he made a hasty retreat out. End of day we took 2 hours off and I went for a kayak down the river with Prof Peter Cox, we could hear the howler monkeys all around us, but I just couldn't see one. No one there but the forest, the monkeys and us - really such a privilege to be doing this have to pinch myself some days.  The river is so dark nearly black water, so it is hard to tell where the land starts and the water finishes as it is like a giant mirror reflecting the trees in the water. Off to bed, love to all LC x

INTO THE JUNGLE - MAGICAL!

Magical is the only word to describe the Amazon Jungle - it is so pristine, lush, tall canopies reach above you to the sky line, and the hot moist air hits your face. Over 2/3 of all the bio diversity of the planet resides here in the Amazon which is an amazing fact. We headed up the river over night on the Bom Jesus ( appropriatley named) 12 hours in a tiny cabin you could swing a cat in, the local ferry that tooks us to Breves. Over 400 peole crowded on this boat and they spent the night swinging in their hamocks- quite a sight to see, some had boom boxes resting in their hamocks, and every corner of the ferry had a TV set blarring the entire night, yet between the boom boxes and TV sets, they all seemed to sleep! Morning came and we transfered to our next boat to go deeper up the river and into the real untouched jungle. Prof Lola greeted us ( great name) and we set off again at 9am, the river started to get narrower and little huts started to appear from time to tie along the way. Canoes started to pass us, the day passed by, we swang in our hamocks between filming, and sunset was spectacular. 11pm we finally arrived at the Caxiuana Research Centre in the far North east of the Amazon after traveling for 36 hours, it was exciting to finally arrive. I diligently put up my blue mosquito net in the room which had no fly screens, and no doors, and looked around to see that everyone else had moved their matresses out onto the landing, but I persisted and clamoured under my net and wafted off to the sounds of the jungle wondering if I would find a monkey in my room in the morning - alas I did not but morning came at 6am ( yep no blimds either) and the noise of the camp kitchen motivated us all to head down. It was an amazing sight to step out the doorway and look across the courtyard to see the edge of the forest at out feet - more amazing was the adventure we had when we kitted-up and headed into the jungle for our first day of filming. Magical is what The Amazon is - LC x