I woke, it was still dark, the torches hadn't burnt out less than half an hour ago, the embers were still glowing, considering how tired I'd been when I went to sleep something must have woken me.
I slowly sat up slightly and stuck my head over the edge of the hammock, a pair of glowing eyes fixed on mine, I'd been spotted. Slowly I grabbed the short rope to which the machete was attached (at least I hoped it was the machete rope) sure enough as I slowly pulled the rope keeping my gaze on the glowing eyes of the predator below me I felt the handle of the machete fit into my hand.
The eyes seemed to slowly hypnotise you, the pupils mere slits, I slowly dropped my gaze and lay back down and hope the predator would go away. Then again considering what I knew of this particular hunter it could just as likely climb the tree. I waited and listened both wanting and not daring to sleep. I heard it rip into my pack, presumably my food would be gone by tomorrow, I stayed still unmoving for half an hour at least but heard no more before sleep finally reclaimed me.
When I woke my nighttime visitor was gone, the only sign it had ever been here were claw marks in the trees and that my backpack was in pieces, the equipment I'd brought spread across the campsite.
As soon as I was down to the forest floor I examined the pawprints left behind, jaguar and a large one by the looks of it. Slightly more pressing was the matter of food, if I didn't get the hang of spearfishing in 2 days then I'd have to return to the lodge, 8 years of planning for nothing!
So naturally the 2nd thing I did was pick up my wooden spear, put my machete and an unlit torch and lighter through my belt and head off to the tributary I found the day before.
The fishing went well, I caught 3, 2 catfish and one piranha. As I hadn't brought a knife with me I'd have to gut them back at the camp or try and do it with the machete. I chose camp, sure the blood may attract the jaguar but it seemed a safer alternative than accidently cutting my hand off.
Back at camp I eventually lit a fire, it was strange really that so far I had seen no rain in this rainforest, although the air was permanently humid, after rather messily gutting the fish I then proceeded to thoroughly burn them. On purpose I might add as I had no real cooking equipment or a thermometer I thought it best not to risk food poisoning. The fish – naturally – tasted burnt but it was filling at least, I then proceeded back to the river and flung the corpses in.
My next objective was to clear up the mess left from the jaguar's nocturnal visit. My bag was practically torn in half so there was no point in repacking it, which meant I had to find some way of hiding it, which over the course of an hour I did except for a few choice items. Then I had to put small wooden signs by each, by the end of it my knife was blunt.
All that was finally finished just as night struck, so climbing into the hammock I left the machete and torches dangling from the rope – along with a lighter in my pocket as I didn't have time to make some more wooden torches that day – also an item from home (I will say no more) had it's strap around my shoulder and it was dangling by my hip.
Slowly but surely I fell into a fitful sleep.