Trapped! Our last day of 2005
From UNRAVELING INDIA in Kumily, India on Dec 30 '05
This entry is about:
Snap! Snap! Snap! The ground below me was giving away. There was a snapping of branches and crackling of leaves as we ran for our lives through the jungle. “Faster! Faster! Faster!” screamed a voice behind me. We scampered through an unmarked trail as our enemy, invisible against the dense jungle foliage, made its presence known through the thrashing of trees and tall grass as it pursued us. We had invaded their territory. They were a few hundred yards behind, but they had the capability to outrun us. Snap. Snap. Snap. The sound of breaking branches frantically chased us. My heart beat a million times faster than the fluttering of a humming bird’s wings, as I ran through the brush and ducked under low lying branches, not knowing exactly where I was headed, except away from those who were pursuing.
Three hours earlier around 6 a.m. we met with a local we had hired to be our “unofficial” guide for a jungle walk through a “back” entrance of the Periyar Wildlife Reserve. Seven of us – including the driver and our guide - crammed into a tiny rickshaw meant to seat three and zipped through the bumpy roads until it finally led us to our starting point. It was the dead end of a small road, which led to the unmarked “back” gate into the sanctuary.
“Maximum Speed. Three hours maximum!” said our guide, in his broken English. Sofia, Annika, Tara, Melinda and I nodded in understanding. He turned on his heel and strode off into the jungle. We followed. Mist blanketed the trees, and the sun - scarcely peeping out at that hour - barely penetrated the thick foliage. In our half run pace, we ambled up and down the jungle - hopping, climbing and stepping over fallen trees that littered in our path. We waded through long blades of grass, weeds, and low lying branches which slapped your face and stung, if you didn’t give a few steps of cushion between you and the person in front.
The walk through the jungle was mesmerizing. Our feet rustled leaves and snapped branches, adding to the cacophony of nature’s music of twittering birds and cackling baboons. We were surrounded by the dazzling glow of an emerald forest and the numinous mist, which cloaked the trees, enhanced the mystical feeling. Mist reigned the territory between the breaks in the foliage. It felt as though we were entering heaven as we walked into mist so dense - we couldn’t see and didn’t know what lie before us. We inhaled the refreshing air, allowed it soothed our lungs and continued forward.
Elephant excrement, occasionally, littered our path and we stopped as our guide examined them. He poked and prodded each one with his walking stick in order to determine the time when the elephant left its mark. To our disappointment, his conclusions were, “One day” or “Two days,” which meant the elephant was no longer nearby. We continued forward hoping for a glimpse of the wild asian elephant.
Amidst a beautiful clearing and lush surroundings, our guide stopped and pulled out a plastic bag filled with tobacco. “For leeches!” he assured us - in response to our puzzled expressions. He bent down and sprinkled the tobacco onto Melinda’s shoes. “Don’t wear bright clothes it attracts the animals and don’t wear open toe shoes because there are leeches”, warned the girls, the night before. I looked down and wiggled my sock covered toes under my stretchy Nike sandals and laughed. They were the only pair of shoes I had brought other than my flip flops. He stood in front of me and I prepared myself for a stern look and lecture. I pulled up the legs of my jeans and let out another fit of guilty giggles. Under my jeans, I was wearing a silly ensemble in an attempt to ward off leeches – a pair of long white socks tucked over an extra pair of thin khaki pants as well as a short pair of black socks to match my black sandals and for added protection. I could have done without the extra pair of pants and socks, but the ‘fashionista’ in me refused to look silly with the white pair of socks exposed and tucked over my jeans. The lecture never materialized. Instead, tobacco was diligently sprinkled over my socks and sandals. It helped lessen my fear of leeches, but little did I know, there were other things I should have feared.
The mist in the trees slowly dissipated and the sun sent glorious beams of light as it pierced through the branching foliage. Once again, elephant excrement littered our path but this time it was fresh. “Stay,” instructed our guide as he set off to scan the surrounding area. We waited in silence. The minutes ticked by and we began to wonder if he was ever coming back. Finally, he reappeared in a distance shaking his head with disappointment and motioned for us to continue forward. We crossed a creek, passed a bend, hopped over a fallen tree and scanned a clearing with no signs of a trail. It was virgin jungle. “Impossible!” concluded our guide, signaling the end our hunt for the wild asian elephant.
Our heads hung low with great disappointment as we climbed back over the tree, trudged up a hill and proceeded to an invisible exit out of the sanctuary. We were left breathless after the climb and once again our guide disappeared among the trees. He returned with a grin so wide it exposed his full set of teeth. “Elephant!” he said excitedly as he pointed forward. The news jolted us out of our disappointment and we gathered closer. “Elephant dangerous. Must run fast. Is okay?” Our eyes widened as we shook our heads vigorously with excitement, unaware, if not denying - the potential danger we were about to encounter.
Snap. Crackle. Rustle. The musical staccato our lightened steps created, as we quickly tottered on the jungle floor. A few yards ahead, our guide motioned for us to stop in order to ensure we maintained a safe distance. Sofia pointed to a rustling of trees up ahead, “I see it. There!” she exclaimed. We gathered around her - stepping on large rocks and tiptoeing for a better view. Our guide returned and stood beside me. “One elephant?” I inquired, lifting my forefinger for emphasis. His face crinkled into a proud grin, as he lifted his hand and motioned 3 fingers. “Mom, dad and baby!” Our jaws dropped as we inhaled sharply in realization of our luck. We whispered excitedly and tiptoed higher to catch a glimpse of the baby.
The rustling stopped. All was silent. The silence was broken by a furious rush of snapping branches. Our guide turned and jumped in front of Sofia to shield her. It took a few seconds for our minds to register that her bright blue sweater glowed against the lush green foliage and became the target. The elephants were charging. Their ferocity evident in the furious snapping branches, as they approached closer. In a panic, our guide motioned for us to run. Since I was positioned in the back of the line as we approached the elephant, I became the first in line, for our retreat. I turned and ran for my life. I jumped over tree roots, willed my legs to run faster steadied myself from slipping in my cursed sandals. “Go! Go! Go!” someone screamed from behind. My legs struggled to go faster but my sandals kept slipping and sliding on the leaves and catching under trees roots. “Faster! Faster! Faster!” screamed Annika. My socked feet slipped in my elastic bound sandals. “I can’t run any faster!” I yelled back in desperation. The next moment came too quickly. It was every woman for herself. I was violently shoved aside and few bodies blurred past me. The push broke my momentum and flung me against bushes that slapped me with its thorns - slightly cutting my hands and face. Everyone halted a few yards ahead and looked back. A minute passed. Nothing moved and there was silence. The stinging in my hands and face gradually came as the fear of danger started to subside. Suddenly, the rustling started. We ran to the safety of a rock filled ledge at the edge of a hill. I scanned the edge and silently decided I would fling myself over the ledge and roll down on my side, in the event that the elephants decide to charge. It was the only solution other than being rammed or trampled by the elephant. Sofia crouched low shielding her self behind a thorny bush. Her face had gone ashen at the thought that the elephants were targeting her bright blue sweater. “Does anyone have an extra sweater,” she asked in desperation. I pulled off my extra layer and handed her my black sweater. There was rustling behind us -opposite the direction in which the elephants would come. “There’s an elephant, there!” said Annika motioning the presence of yet another elephant on the other side. We were trapped, there were elephants in front and behind us and there was no other way out. My earlier thoughts of flinging myself off the ledge dissipated for it would only lead me to another set of elephants.
Armed with our water bottles, cameras and our guide’s flimsy stick, we spent the next half hour, like soldiers, wading, crouching and silently hiding between the dense foliage, in an attempt to evade our enemy.
Thirty minutes later, our guide safely led us to the edge of the jungle and into a clearing. We sighed in pure relief as we marched towards a village, which lay ahead, marking the end of the day’s adventure. We walked through the village, kept our heads high with pride, and were greeted by the village folk, like war heroes. “Thanks for pushing me into the thorny bushes!” I said jokingly as I turned to Tara, lifted my hands and showed her my battle scars. We laughed. “I didn’t want to risk all of us dying because you can’t run!” she said earnestly, as she glanced at my sandals, “besides, Annika was frantically yelling for us to go faster!” she added. “Our guide was beating my backpack with his stick saying ‘Go! Go! Go!” said Annika as she furiously beat an imaginary stick in the air for emphasis. Our heads tilted back as we laughed heartily, remembering that moment.
We survived, that’s all that mattered. Now, we have an adventuresome memory of how we ended the year 2005.
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