Day 99:47 am 83

"Let me show you what we've made," Amanda says, gesturing with an elegant hand that belies more than a week of living in the jungle.

"A manicure set consisting of a nail file made of bone," she pauses before adding, "wooden tweezers that we also use to debone fish. And here we have a grooming set. This razor is mine," she points helpfully to one of the finely sharpened stones. "And that one belongs to Methos because he simply refuses to grow a beard. A reflection in a puddle doesn't make for the best mirror when shaving, so I help him out a bit there. The wooden combs are dual purpose, both for untangling hair and for holding your hairstyle in place." She gestures to a second pair of combs she's wearing that keep her hair turned up out of her eyes.

"Next, are our toothbrushes, which as you can see are just bristles bound with twine and some pointed reeds. Honestly, we could do without them for the short time we are here, but we're both too modern-ified, I suppose. Knocked out teeth grow back when you are Immortal, you see, except those lost before your First Death. I sold my wisdom teeth to a denture maker and those never came back. I don't think I've ever told anyone that before," she admits softly.

"Amanda," Methos interrupts in a sympathetic voice. "I'm impressed."

She shrugs it off modestly and whispers, "I wasn't always a thief." She takes a breath and says briskly, "Moving onto our utensils. Mine are chopsticks. Methos prefers this little pointed piece of bone."

"It's an eating knife. Good for cutting meat and picking it up, no need for a fork."

"Good way to stab yourself in the mouth is what it is. I never cared for it when it was fashionable. Safer to put food in your mouth with your hands, but less sanitary back then and now," she adds.

She returns to her tour pointing to large pieces of bark and some bamboo. "Here are our plates and bowls. No spoons. But the best are the bamboo drinking bottles with lids and these nifty little straps for traveling," she sounds extra proud of them as she points out where they'd thinned the rim allowing a second, shorter piece of bamboo to slide over it making a cap. The whole thing hangs in a netted string sleeve making it easy to carry, which Amanda demonstrates by slinging one strap over her shoulder.

"Methos, I'm tired of being cooped up," Amanda says, looking contemplative. She moves to stand on the ledge in front of their improved dugout and surveys the landscape below. "Let's build a bridge."

"Why?" he asks mildly as he puts away the tools they'd finished displaying for the camera.

"Ever since the camera crew punctured their inflatable raft, they've had to hike to a ford upstream through an area where the insects are brutal and then must backtrack to reach us here."

"It'd be simpler for us to move camp."

She shakes her head. "Ground is too low on the other side."

"I meant moving closer to their ford but not near the insects," Methos clarified. "I agree, the floodplain is dreadful. Where would you site your bridge here?"

"The current is slower today, so I like the brink of the waterfall best. Rocks are slippery, not to mention the drop, but it's shallower to stand in during construction."

He looks seriously at the waterfall for a moment before answering, "You cut the wood and I'll help you assemble it."

At her slightly surprised expression he adds, "I'm not feeling quite as altruistic as you are. I shall supply a small portion of labor only."

"Thank you! I was sure you'd say no," says Amanda as she sets off to chop wood at the top of the bluff.

In a quieter voice to the camera as an aside, he murmurs, "And disrupt our unbounded domesticity? Never."

As she works, Methos carries the cut poles by the armful up to the edge of the waterfall and begins to lay them in an over and under pattern while waiting for her to cut more poles. Chopping all the poles to matching lengths needed takes far longer than the actual process of assembly.

Amanda and Methos are building a self supporting bridge. The earliest known example is the Rainbow Bridge in China which predates a similar design drawn by Leonardo da Vinci by several centuries. Construction is made without nails or ropes or notches to hold it together. Friction forces the wood to remain interlocked.

Maneuvering heavy wood while also standing in swiftly flowing water is no easy feat, yet in half an hour they completely suspend the support structure in a curve over the waterfall. Amanda lays some rough planks to step on across the beams as she makes her way over the bridge to the other side.

"Isn't it lovely? Now all of us will remain dry crossing the stream," she yells from the other side.

"Lovely!" Methos shouts back to her. But to the camera behind him he says in a deadpan tone, "Next flash flood will sweep it all away."

Day 116:17 am 78

Both Immortals are moving easily through the jungle with improved shoes to protect their feet. Each wears woven belts to hold their tools. Methos has his slingshot and both have sheaths made of hide to hold their stone knives and have a capped bamboo tube with drinking water attached to cordage handles slung over one shoulder. They also each now hold a stone tipped spear that doubles as a walk stick.

Suddenly, there is a ruckus ahead and something large and hog-like dashes across their path and plunges itself into the stream. Amanda is instantly in pursuit with her spear.

"Wait," Methos calls out to her. "That one is off limits."

"You sure?" Amanda asks as she tracks bubbles on the surface with her spear.

"Yes, it had a distinctive snout," he adds playfully tapping his own prominent nose.

The Tapir, characterized by it's long snout, is an endangered species. They are shy and run to water for safety, but will defend themselves when cornered.

Despite how soundlessly the Immortals creep, animals go silent and the foliage rustles as creatures hide when people approach. The Immortals stop and look at the cameras.

"This will not do," says Methos, gesturing to the crew off camera. "The noise all of you make is ghastly."

"Even with your best efforts to lock it up, you do startle the game," Amanda agrees, sounding like a movie director. "We worked very hard blocking out the next hunt. So, rather than disturb a hot set, we'd like you all to continue along the waterway, while Methos and I take an inland route."

"Before you protest," says Methos. "I can assure you that you will obtain sufficient video coverage."

As the camera crew proceeds as instructed, the scene becomes foliage only then changes to a bend in the stream that is shallower with a beach. Across the water, the lowland jungle is slightly less dense, but still thoroughly shaded by the canopy. Visible over the grasses, shrubs and shorter palms is a cloud of insects. They disturb a flock of birds feeding on the swarm.

The birds take flight directly into a large net the Immortals suddenly lift up on two poles.

The camera angle jostles as the crew wade across the stream and approach the Immortals. While Amanda and Methos work to bring their catch down, she compliments the crew by saying, "You were at the perfect angle to catch the action. Couldn't have gone better if we planned it."

Methos gives Amanda an sidelong look at her poor attempt to sound like they hadn't intentionally created the entire scenario specifically to use the noisy crew to their advantage.

"After you lot retired to your camp yesterday evening, we discussed how the floodplain is always thick with mosquitoes and flies and plenty of birds to feed on them. So, we brought our net here and cut nearby poles to string it. Building it scared them off, so we decided to return today."

Some birds participate in mixed flocks, hunting for food alongside other bird species and relying on other creatures to spook their preferred prey while foraging.

"We forgot to take the diary camera with us though."

The camera does not linger on the variety of small birds they disentangle from the net, but zooms in on the Immortals' faces rather than show them snapping the birds' necks.

"Breakfast or bait?"

"Both," Amanda decides as she fills her bag with the birds. "Poultry will be a nice change from fish and lizards."

While Methos folds the net and hefts it over his shoulder, he lectures the camera. "A net is one of the most versatile tools. People today only seem to think of fishing, which requires patience and skill to cast. This method on land is almost effortless in comparison. Could even catch monkeys with it."

"Not permitted to eat primates," she reminds him with a sigh as they leave the poles behind and make their way inland again rather than follow the water.

Methos' short reply sounds like he is swearing, but it is not beeped out because no one understands what language he is speaking.

Amanda halts abruptly and points at a plant ahead of her and asks, "Does that look like cassava to you?"

"I think so. It is!" Methos answers and the two of them drop to the ground to dig. Soon they pull up starchy tubers.

Cassava, a native plant, is a staple food for the locals. High in cyanide in its raw form, it must be cooked, soaked or fermented before it is safe to eat.

"You know what this means?" she asks rhetorically.

"We can make beer!" exclaims Methos in reply as he digs up more. They lay out the net and pile their tubers onto it. They have so many, they must lift it together.

Amanda laughs and answers, "Well, yes. I meant we have bread now." She gives him a curious look and states, "We won't be here long enough for beer."

"I only need a sennight and I don't intend to secondary it."

"It'd be grainy as hell."

Methos shrugs his shoulders and beams a winning smile at her while batting his eyelashes. Like a child carrying too many toys, Methos has more of the vegetable in his arms than he can hold and drops some along the way.

"Okay, fine!" she says half amused, half exasperated. "You may use my bucket to brew beer. But clean it first."

"Of course, I don't want it to taste like rat or lizard, now do I?"

"At least now I know why you were so damn excited that I brought a bucket."

"You overestimate me. I couldn't foresee we'd find something suitable for brewing."

She rolls her eyes, obviously not convinced before telling the camera, "Methos thinks he can brew beer from anything."

After helping deposit the tubers at their dugout, Methos leaves to fetch the bucket. From inside their shelter, Amanda retrieves yet another bamboo tube jar with a cap. She uses a long, flat piece of wood to scoop out leftover cooking fat which she then plops onto a slightly concave stone already resting on the campfire outside their shelter. White ashes from a pile in the corner of the oven goes next into the sizzling fat and she stirs it. She enlarges the fire pit, building up the flames and adds more stones to heat on the coals.

By the time Methos returns, Amanda presents him with her concoction and says simply, "Soap," before she moves on to her next task. While she peels and chops tubers, he scrubs the bucket and his mesh bag with the goopy and crude lye soap and some hot water. After thoroughly rinsing out the soap under their water pipe, he partly refills the bucket. He then submerges his mesh bag in it and carefully adds hot rocks from the fire into the bag to avoid scraping the sides.

While the rocks boil the water in the bucket, they dress their birds. A few they roast over the fire, the rest of the breast meat is wrapped in a leaf packet and goes into the oven to slowly bake. They store the remains of the carcasses in some of their bamboo tubes with caps to later use to bait traps.

Though the survivalists rest in between working on the cassava, preparing it is labor intensive and will take most of the day. The energy required means they will use more calories than they consume today.

A time lapse begins in the corner of the screen as the Immortals drop the thinnest slices of cassava into the bottom of the bucket of boiling water. In between swapping out cooled stones with hot ones from the fire to keep the bucket constantly boiling they work together grinding the rest of the cassava onto a flat rock with round smooth stones. They collect more wood and keep the fire high to heat more stones.

"Now that the cassava somewhat resembles flour," Methos narrates what they are doing for the camera. "It can be mixed into a paste with water and spread to dry on some palm fronds."

The camp is surrounded by fronds in the sunlight. "We couldn't have done this on a rainy day or deeper in the jungle where it is too shaded and constantly damp," Amanda tells them. "That is why we are making as much as possible while the weather is good."

Methos checks the bucket of sliced cassava, samples a piece and nods to himself. He discards the water and scoops out the cassava to cool.

"Are you going to film us begin the fermentation process?" Amanda asks the silent crew. "Thought we'd give you fair warning, since the producer declined when Methos urinated on the hides last week."

Methos says, "They can always cut it or put it online as bonus footage."

They both select a cooled slice of cassava, chew it and then spit it out into the empty bucket. Every slice is given the same treatment before they resume boiling it again.

Every hour or so according to the time stamp on the corner of the screen, they go to the spread out cassava flour and mix it up bringing the dampest bits to the surface as it dries. They finish prepping the bucket of mash, squeezing fruit juice into it for sugar, add fresh water from their spout and use their rock trick to get it steaming. When they are satisfied that it is ready, they let it cool and place the plastic cover on it.

By this time their crumbly flour is dry. Methos tests the temperature of their flattest and largest rock on the fire by sprinkling a little water on it and nodding to himself when it sizzles. He then takes a handful of flour and smashes it into a thin disc onto the heated rock. He flips it with a piece of flat bark when it's cooked on one side. Within a quarter of an hour, they have a large stack and still more flour remains to be cooked.

Methos is making an ancient flatbread in a fashion similar to a popular local recipe for casabe. It will keep for weeks in a dry place and is suitable for traveling. Each piece they make contains about 200 calories. It is high in vitamin C, but lacks sugar and fat.

"Pop quiz," says Methos while they enjoy eating their fresh bread. "What's your favorite modern kitchen appliance?"

"The phone for ordering take-out," Amanda says. She places a piece of roasted fowl and some greens in the center of a bread round and folds it into a sandwich. "Not so many kitchens have a telephone mounted to the wall anymore, but it still counts. Why cook when someone else is happy to do it for you?"

"Agreed," he answers, laughing. "But seriously, what cooking appliance? Don't say refrigerator, it only holds the food."

"Ice cream maker. You?"

"Toaster."

"Really?"

"Don't knock a perfectly toasted slice of bread," he answers waving his flatbread. "I'm a poor cook generally."

"Everything you've made over our camp fire and in the oven tastes good," she protests. "You can't really be that bad."

"In a modern kitchen, I am rubbish," he confesses. "I can operate a hot plate and percolate coffee if the machine has a single button. But the oven and microwave are beyond me, never mind the assorted smaller gadgets."

"In other words, you haven't bothered to learn."

"What was that you said about how other people are pleased to do the cooking?" He then pauses and asks, "You make your own ice cream?"

"Well, it's nothing fancy. I mean, the appliance does all the work really," she says modestly. "I do have a rather fine chocolate ice cream recipe, if I do say so myself."

"Anything cold sounds scrumptious," he says, wiping sweat from his brow. He goes over to their hydrofan and turns it to face them.

"Yeah. Doesn't cacao grow around here? We are very close to the equator."

"In orchards probably, but wild? Hmm, let's do a bit of exploring tomorrow," suggests Methos.

Day 14

2:15 pm 80

The Immortal survivalists are halfway through their twenty-one day challenge and despite all obstacles, they continue to thrive in the rainforest of Guyana.

It is raining again, yet the Immortals troop through the jungle anyway when anyone else would remain in a shelter. Each wears a hat of woven leaves nearly as wide as a small umbrella that mostly protects their upper bodies from being drenched

"Well, no luck finding a chocolate tree yet, but we have located an active animal den," Amanda tells the camera as they move along. She is carrying fire embers in a bamboo tube and holds some dry wood close to shield it from the worst of the rain. She wears the sling shot on her belt today.

Methos is carrying the cordage net they previously used to successfully capture birds, but without the long poles this time. "We are going back there now better prepared. We need larger game."

Broken branches and stones mark the way to the holes they previously found. The pair take a moment to judge which hole looks to be the main entrance and which is the escape hole. Finally, decision made, they stake the net around a hole, weighing down the edges to prevent anything from slipping underneath.

Methos looks up from where he is working and announces calmly, "Snake." Even as the camera zooms in, the expertly disguised boa constrictor blends in too well to be seen until he plucks it from the green branch above him. It is only a few feet long and coils slowly for the air is a little chilly for it. Methos helps it wrap itself around a stick instead of his arm and holds it out toward Amanda.

"Perfect!" she says as she sets aside her embers and wood and takes the offered boa. "I hate smoking out holes even when there isn't the threat of rain dousing the fire."

Methos waits by the net while Amanda goes to the other hole and drops the snake into it. The reptile is eager to escape into the dark hole away from her. She readies the slingshot with a stone.

The Emerald Tree Boa is prolific in the rainforest and preys on amphibians, reptiles and small mammals. It kills by constricting its prey and is not venomous. Most survivalists would choose to eat a snake, but the Immortals have the luxury of employing it.

They do not wait long for results. Some brown, spotted animals scramble out of the ground in front of Methos. They growl quite fiercely in reaction to being trapped in the net. Not all are caught as some of the smaller ones slip under the edges anyway. Amanda is ready with the sling shot and hits two in quick succession, but her third stone goes wild, bounces off a tree and strikes Methos in the leg. He growls much louder than the mammals he is wrestling to contain within the net.

"Sorry!" she shouts in passing as she sprints off after their fleeing prey.

Lowland Paca or Labba, also known as the Spotted Paca from the pattern of its pelt, is a large rodent about the size of a small dog. Generally weighing between 12-25 lbs, they prefer to dine on fruits, but are known to eat cassava and sugarcane making them agricultural pests. Boa constrictors, jaguars and cayman prey on them. Labba features in several popular dishes in Guyana. The Immortals survivalists have obtained sufficient protein to sustain them for three days.