A Nice Trip
By Monica Jaen
When I was 23 years old, I finished my biology course at University, and started working in the Amazon forest. I lived in a small city called Alta Floresta and worked in environmental education together with the State Cultural and Environmental Offices.
In the Amazon forest I met Fidel, who is now my husband, and because I was missing him a lot I decided to come back to civilisation. However, before I returned to São Paulo, I arranged a trip to the north and the north-east of Brazil with a friend of mine, who is a geologist.
When he arrived we planned a three-day trip into the forest, because we wanted to find a beautiful waterfall, which only a few people know about. I called two guys who I knew before in Alta Floresta to help us to find the waterfall.
The trip started very early because we had to get a private boat, and we took the Cristalino river in the direction of Piauí. We travelled all day long and at nightfall we found the track to the waterfall. We quickly arranged our things, and while some people were getting some wood to make a fire at night, the others were preparing the hammocks where we were going to sleep. It was a great experience, and fascinated me because it was the first time I was really interacting with nature. During the night, because we were beside the river, I could hear animals which I had never heard before, and I could feel how we are part of nature in spite of the fact that people aren't usually conscious of this.
In the morning we walked until midday and we found the waterfall, but that is another story...
(300 words)