Day 6: Rain and hostility, Dec 23 2017.

We decided for a quiet day after our rain-forest heroics, so we descended the stepped pathway beside Andy's Bar to Parlatuvier Beach. Most remarkable were the flocks of frigate birds overhead; usually I only see them in ones and twos. On the way back we saw an immature yellow-crowned night-heron and a pale vented pigeon. So where are the photographs you ask. Just as we reached the steps it started to rain. And then pour. Tropical rain forest rain. By the time we reached the shelter of Andy's bar we were drenched, and so was my camera.

I've drenched cameras before, and they never minded, but this little Canon EOS Rebel SL2, which I'd bought just before we left, figuring these days a camera is just a box with a CCD, and the lenses are the important part, had a fit. I tried to dry it out, but it was doing all sorts of wild impetuous unpredictable things, and so, after getting home, and following some internet research, I opened up all its apertures and blew it with the hairdryer, set low. Still didn't work. So we went to lunch, at Eula's in Englishman's bay. Food was good (yeah, fish, in curry sauce), and I noticed with amusement and a little exasperation that some of the birds I had spent time trying to photograph in the forest were hanging around Eula's. A mot-mot didn't make it inside, but a banded shrike did, and started clearing off a plate left by one of the other diners.

Englishman's Bay is pretty. We walked along it, spying a tricolored heron on the rocs at the west end. Then we headed back up to Parlatuvier along the road. As the crow flies, this is about a mile. Along the road, it's more like two, with two major descents and ascents to cross the river torrents that flow off the rain forest. Along the way, we saw a golden-olive wookpecker on a telephone pole. (no photo, natch). Then something unexpected happened. We were walking along the road, into the traffic, as advised, and a car came around the bend and headed straight for us. We both managed to make it up the grassy verge, and as the man and woman in the car sped past, we could see them laughing uproariously. This was something that also happeend the first night we were here, but then, we assumed we'd done something to annoy the driver. This time was unambiguously hostile. Hatred for strangers, white people, tourists? Impossible to say; maybe all three.

We hung around Gloucester Place the rest of the day. Fortunately, after the hairdryer treatment, my camera decided to start working again. Unfortunately, I took a few test shotss and then deleted all photographs taken that day, including the night heron, frigate birds and pale-vented pigeon. So you'll just have to take my word for them.

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