Day 13. the *night* hike

Thirteen days in and we still haven't done a night hike. We talk the talk but it still hasn't happened. I would like to say it is the fear of all the creepy crawlies we might encounter, or maybe the lack of essential items, like a flash light. However, the reality is that after a day filled with playing in waterfalls, riding horses, or baking in the sun, our kids, and that for that matter, me, have no energy to go hiking through the wet jungle. Eric, however, decides that with or without a guide he's getting that night hike in. So, with a pair of rubber boots I spied near the pool equipment of the house we are renting and the four wheeler he sets out by himself. Once again, we set a time that he will be back and if he doesn't arrive, I'm suppose to go search and rescue him, just in case a venomous snake finds him. Fortunately, well before the alloted time is up, he returns excited about a huge snake and insists that we all join him. So we pile in the car and head down hill to a stream that runs through Ojochal. The snake, which is quite long hangs in a tree. Graham insists that it is in the boa family and tries to throw rocks at neighboring branches so that it will come down to see us. And, while I do trust Graham, I'm not going to let the off chance of a deadly snake falling on us and insist that he cease his mission of the up close snake encounter. When we can tear our eyes away from the snake, in the darkness you can see hundreds of tiny glowing eyes staring into the same darkness. And upon, further inspection, it is clear that all those eyes belong to hundereds of spiders...huge scary spiders! We also see frogs, giant toads and tiny bugs that glow just like lighting bugs but do not fly. The night is most certainly alive and well! Claire, as well as Ella, aren't too thrilled by this realization and our night hike is short but enlightening. We head back to the light of our home.