The distant sound of squawking parrots startles you out of a deep sleep just as the small bi-plane touches down onto the isolated airfield. You grimmace at the pained squeal of the wheels as they bite into the gravel, but the landing is uneventful and you are soon walking down the metal steps - rusting in the humid heat. On the edge of the strip of gravel, the Amazon river flows languidly by.
Go to [[6]].It surprises you how dark the forest floor is. Above you, the trees tower away a hundred feet or more, and their broad leaves block nearly 98% of the sunlight reaching you. They also trap the moisture in the air, and you soon regret wearing so many layers in the humid atmosphere.
As you push your way deeper into the shadows, you recoil as your clothes become damp with drops of water from the large leaves. Eagerly, you cut samples to take back to England - you know that some plants have evolved this broad leaves to capture what little sunlight and water reaches them, but you are keen to no more.
To push on further into the forest, go to [[4]].
To climbs one of the trees, go to [[5]].Carefully, you ease your way down the slipper bank of the river towards the murky water. At this point, the Amazon is at its widest - it is nearly 6 miles wide here in the basin. It flows by so slowly that you have to remind yourself that it is actually moving.
Remembering the story of a previous explorer who wandered too close to the water's edge, you proceed with caution. Caimans and anaconda lurk in the muddy river, ready to snatch anything that ventures into their domain.
Behind you, howler monkeys break the silence, and you decide to explore further. Go to [[6]].You drop to your hands and knees to get a closer look at the animals on the forest floor. Millipedes and woodlice scurry around under the leaf litter, an important part of breaking down and recycling the life of the rainforest. These detritivores can be found all over the world in one species or another and feast on rotting material, such as wood and leaves.
As you stand up, you notice an agouti searching for food amongst the plants. It spots you and stands up on its back legs. Somewhere in the distance, an animal roars and the agouti sprints away.
You turn towards the noise and watch as a jaguar - graceful and deadly - clambers away into a tree.
You decide to follow it - go to [[5]].Fig vines clamber up the outside of some of the tallest trees, providing a handy ladder for you to scramble up. Ahead of you, a jaguar moves along a branch that seems far too narrow to support it. You try to ignore the large, green snake that is winding its way through the branch above your head, instead focussing on the monkey that the jaguar has spotted.
You decide that you don't want to witness the harsher side of nature, and return to the plane in the clearing. Go to [[6]].You are eager to explore the area, but you need to decide where to head next.
To head into the rainforest, go to [[2]].
To explore the river, go to [[3]].
<script>
function EmbedTwineUpdateHeight(){
var passage = document.getElementsByTagName("tw-passage")[0];
if (passage === undefined){//SugarCube
passage = document.getElementById("passages");
}
var newHeight = passage.offsetHeight;
if(newHeight<500){newHeight=500;}
window.parent.postMessage(["setHeight", newHeight], "*");
console.log(newHeight);
}
setTimeout(EmbedTwineUpdateHeight, 50);
</script>