First Night

Sentinel Island Camp - Night time.

You take turns in pairs keeping watch over your camp. The light of the moon does not filter well through the thick canopies of the jungle and with no fire going you are well hidden but cannot tell much about your surroundings. You keep watch for any signs of movement or for unusual noises, for flashes of light or voices. Anything that can give you an indication that you are being watched or about to be attacked. You are on edge for most of the night. Apart from Tarmen, most do not sleep well. The jungle is teeming with life, a concert of humming, thrumming, buzzing and chirping. Frogs, cicadas, insects and even some bird calls keep most of you from truly resting.

When standing still in the dark, the noises get louder because the absence of sight refocuses ones attention to sound. In some regards, whenever you are navigating the dark, you can hear a lot of different noises and sounds and often it can be difficult to know where to focus your attention. Determining if a sound is one worth your attention takes a little bit of practice. Deciding what noise merits attention and merits drowning out, sounds simple but it really takes practice and something else... A kind of gift.

It does not rain during the night for which you are grateful and it does not get to cold. The night passes by without any major incidents except that you all experience something you all find odd. Around the camp and along the river back you can see small dust devils forming and disappearing, sometimes in less than a heartbeat through the dark hours.

What will the new day bring?