Jungle Love, Chapter 3

With the news that the legend of the lost city of Choque Cota was indeed real and all that that promised for the party and the success of their journey, the whole camp was abuzz with excitement. But the actual discovery and exploration of the city would have to wait until morning.So the group made camp and tried to get some sleep while they waited for the sunrise. For most of the party, sleep came fairly easily.But for the two doctors, sleep would be much more elusive. Dr. Anderson had been dreaming of this day for many years and now the culmination of all that exhaustive research, study, and planning was only hours?instead of years?away.Finally, mercifully, the dawn began to break and the forest floor began to get a few shades lighter. Dr. Hope had finally succumbed to a fitful sleep, however Dr. Anderson, younger and in better shape, had not.It took all of his self-control and patience to keep from waking everyone in the party and rushing headlong towards the direction their travel had been taking them thus far.But he still wasn?t sure of the trail ahead. What if it split and he took the wrong path? Or what if there were unknown dangers ahead that he might stumble blindly into?It would be a much smarter decision to wait a little longer until the whole group was ready to go. After all, he had waited this long, another few minutes wouldn?t kill him! The Amazonian jungle was not a place to be in a hurry to get through!The small group soon began to stir and the activity around the camp began. They were all in a hurry to get to their long-awaited destination and they quickly broke camp.Since they had lost all their tents and most of the other belongings when they were captured, ?breaking camp? was an easy matter of making sure the fire was completely out and picking up their meager possessions and heading on down the trail.Tika knew that the band of Yupanqui tribesmen that had been chasing them were a long way from catching them. Wrecking the rope bridge after they had crossed it forced the tribesmen to go many miles out of the way to find the next nearest crossing point. This effectively put some time and distance between the two groups.So they were safe from any pursuers and could focus their attention forward to the trail ahead of them and the lost city of Choque Cota they Anadolu yakası escort would soon come upon. The explorers began down the trail they had been following since leaving the Yupanqui village. They had been walking a couple of hours when they saw the trail ahead was bathed in bright sunlight.Tika stopped suddenly, holding her hand up. She turned to the group of Americans, ?Ahead is Choque Cota,? she said pointing down the trail, ?We must show respect now or the gods will be angry!?The small band moved forward and in a minute or so broke into the clearing. The forest had been cleared of trees and in front of them was an enormous fortress made of logs that appeared to be similar to the forts of the American west.Logs stood on end and partially buried in the ground, their tops tied together with vines to form high strong walls, surrounded the huge fortress compound.A large double door, Dr. Anderson estimated at ten feet tall and twenty feet wide when fully opened sat at the front of the fortress. Such a large door would enable many warriors to pour quickly out of the fort when under attack, Dr. Anderson thought.They walked across the clearing towards the fortress, about a quarter-mile from the edge of the forest.?This was once farmland for the Choque Cota,? Tika explained. ?They grew some of their food as well as hunted the jungle.? Dr. Anderson could see the ground had been cleared and worked, although now there were a few young trees beginning to grow where once crops were planted. The forest was beginning to reclaim the grounds.?Oh my!? Dr. Hope said aloud. As they got closer, the walls of the fortress grew taller and more formidable. When they reached the outer wall of the compound, Dr. Anderson examined the construction for a moment.He discovered that instead of just one row of logs set on end like the American forts, this fortress had two walls of upright logs, one in front of the other, and staggered so there were no spaces where a stray arrow could pass through!One side of the huge double doors were partially open so the group moved inside the compound. The interior of the fortress was no less impressive.A large open area about the size of a city block, the fortress contained several small buildings, Dr. Anderson assumed Kurtköy escort bayan were individual family homes, as well as a couple of larger meeting buildings.All the buildings were made of logs with what used to be thatched roofs. The roofs had long since dried and crumbled from non-use, but the walls still survived pretty well intact. There was a large pit in the center of the compound with burned logs and old ashes in it."This is the chief?s lodge,? Tika said beginning her tour of the compound. She walked them around describing the compound and life as a Choque Cota resident.?This fire was the main cooking fire where everyone gathered to eat as one village. They hunted these woods and would bring their catch here to have the women prepare it. Everyone pitched in either hunting, picking the crops they grew outside in the fields, or cooking the food.?They walked a little further to the other large building. ?This was the storehouse. This is where they stored all their food. They dried what food they didn?t immediately eat and they put their crops here for storage as well.They also fished in the local rivers and stored everything in here. That way if they were attacked, or if it was a hard year, they had food supplies to last through it,? Tika said.?The Choque Cota was not a warrior tribe, really?not like the Yupanqui. They didn?t take prisoners to sacrifice to their gods like my people do. They were a peaceful people, only defending themselves when necessary.??That would explain the missing sacrifice altar,? Dr. Hope said.?Well, it?s fortunate for us that they were a peaceful people? who knows what kind of unsettled spirits there would be here if they believed in sacrificing their enemies!? Dr. Anderson said.?Tika would it be all right if we gathered a few artifacts to bring back home with us? you know like pottery, arrowheads and the like?? Dr. Anderson asked.?Yes, so long as you leave something in trade with the spirits here. Otherwise, you are stealing and the gods won?t like that,? she said.?Well we don?t want to anger any gods, that much is certain!? he said. They looked at what they had to offer.Dr. Anderson pulled a few coins from his pocket. Dr. Hope pulled a few more coins from his pocket. Marcos had a few coins and Escort Maltepe a lucky rabbit?s foot. They figured that was a pretty fair trade for a few arrowheads and a couple of hand-hewn tools.But in the storehouse, Dr. Anderson found some remarkable pieces of decorated pottery that he wanted to take back.He knew that something more than pocket change would be needed to trade for these, so he took off the gold cross he wore around his neck and put it on the table with the coins. That should take care of a couple of choice pieces of pottery.Dr. Anderson, being an anthropologist, wanted to take back some of the human bones scattered around the compound to study how diet and their lifestyle affected the growth and development of these people.But Tika stopped him, placing her hand over his. ?You cannot remove the bones. The spirit will not rest apart from the bones. It is very bad,? she said. So regretfully, he placed the bones back just exactly how he found them and settled for the other artifacts he had already ?paid? for.Because of the time of day and the fact that Dr. Hope wanted to take some notes and make some sketches of the fortress and grounds, the group decided to spend the night in the compound and start back in the morning.So while Dr. Hope began his work, the rest of the group looked around some more.The next morning, the group gathered their belongings and the artifacts they had chosen to bring back. They headed out of the compound and back along the trail they had come down.Tika planned to take them back the way they came, but before they got to the canyon that had given them their escape, she would veer off on another trail to bypass the canyon and the Yupanqui village, and take them on a round-about way back to the Juruá River and their boats.They began the long hike and were making good time. Tika figured three days hike should get them close to the river.The Americans were happy with the trip and were looking forward to getting back to the river, then back to the ship and heading home. They had been gone for a long time and missed the comforts of Boston and the university.The weather turned rainy as they started back and that made the trail muddy and slippery, it was taking a lot longer to head back than it had to get there.They trudged along though, making as good time as they could. It was early afternoon when they decided that the weather wasn?t getting any better. They found a thick stand of trees that would provide some cover from the rain and moved into it, making camp for the night.