The Sound of Silence
[22:21] [Wednesday, January 31, 2007]
While anchored in isolation in the gorge of the Rio, the silence around us created a kind of awesome bubble. We found ourselves whispering to each other so as not to disturb the quiet. As deep night split into dawn, activity in the jungle picked up to a medley of squawking and chirping, quite an interesting wake-up call for those of us accustomed to sleeping in.
We drank our coffee in the cockpit, listening to the early morning noise die down until only a few birds continued speaking to each other over the banks of the river. Brady could no longer contain himself, and he took up imitation.
Whistling at various pitches earned no response from the wild, so he changed his strategy and let out a hefty, "Ka-kaw!" His shout echoed over the trees and across the cliffs around us, response enough to get us laughing:
Ka-kaw!!!
Ka-kaw!!
Ka-kaw!
In true Brady fashion, he let out another, "Ka-kaw!" and we listened gleefully as his "mating call" echoed again over the Rio. It was like being a little kid on a hike through quiet hills ... He could not help himself. There was an air of both hilarity and embarassment about the outburst. We could almost feel eyes peering from the jungle at us, and all of Guatemala seemed to put its finger over its lips and say, "Stop it."
The bubble burst but our spirits lifted, we raised anchor and passed from the gorge into El Golfete ... Even then, looking out over the lake with rolling hills of brilliant green on the horizon could not have been more beautiful. It is difficult to look out from the cockpit in the morning and not be taken aback by the lushness of this place.
And even near the Marina, when the sun has just begun to wake up the jungle, there is a bubble of silence hanging over the water and the trees. Sadly, though, we are too close to civilization to break that bubble with resounding Ca-kaws. The buzzing of motorized skiffs beats us to the punch.
