Got up early to take a van to the ferry, then a songthaew for 3 hours with a break for lunch. We arrived in the jungle at our bungalows in the Kao Sok National Park by early afternoon. We went directly to the river where we got into canoes for a tranquil ride through the immense green canyons. The scenery was spectacular, with stark mountains of limestone. The guides pointed out a couple kinds of snakes & a large frog, while I spotted an eagle & red dragonflies. We stopped at a swimming hole, & after a demonstration from one of the guides, several of us climbed a tree to take the rope swing & jump in. It reminded me of the snake pit back home.
Back at the camp we had some free time & free access to the park, so Jenine & I hiked into the park to look for wildlife. Even though we had been told we probably wouldn't see much on our own, almost immediately I spotted a monkey above us. It turns out there was a whole troop of about 7 with him, & we got to see them passing right over our heads & they stopped in some trees nearby to check us out. It made my day! They were black, medium sized & so cute! One of my favorite things is spotting wildlife, & I could spend hours in the rainforest searching for animals. I also spotted some type of ground squirrels, lots of frogs & lizards, & as it became dusk, lots of bats started coming out. It started to get dark & Jenine was a bit frightened, so we headed back to camp. Being from South Africa, Jenine knows a lot about animals & has a healthy fear of what they can do, especially snakes coming out at night. I would've loved to go on a guided night hike into the jungle, which was an optional tour, but no one else was interested & we were told we likely wouldn't see much. I was content with what I had seen on my own, although I'm sure a local guide could've shown us quite a bit. Guess I'll have to wait for South America for that, I was certainly reminded of how much I enjoy the jungle & wildlife.
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