Last Mapping Day

Today was our very last day mapping - as the thirteenth village (lucky number!) Merangin is also the final addition to our study sites.

We started at 7 am as usual, and by 8:30 had reached our destination: a 1500 meter peak. I agree that doesn't sound like much, but when you're starting from sea level 1500 meters in 1.5 hours is quite the workout. We then descended to a creek bottom with huge boulders that was to serve as our trail for the next hour. Boulder hopping in tropical countries is one of my favorite activities EVER. The worst that can happen is that you fall in the water - which is cool and refreshing. We stopped to have lunch on a few of the boulders - the small waterfalls nearby made talking near impossible - fish swarmed around the pools formed by the boulders - and for the first time in months I was really at peace. I don't know how many times in my life I've experienced this feeling - but they are few and far between, so it was truely a great day.

Unfortunately, the second half of our day didn't go very well. Our guide knew exactly how to get to our destinations but his plan for going home was, well, nonexistant. So we wacked our way through bushes for about 3 hours until we finally found a trail out of the forest.

All in all, this was a really excellent way to finish the mapping experience - a bit of guide error, some respectable mountains and streams, and sucessful data collection. Tomorrow the team goes home to Pontianak, and I head to Ketapang to talk with the national park director again.