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In spite of what to us was a disappointing waterfall experience there was plenty to shoot in the area. Ever in search of the perfect tree branch pattern, I thought this one was worth keeping, with Find Edges effect applied below:
Once we crossed the second bridge we made our way down to the river, where these photos were captured. We thought, "Hey, this is neat, and sort of pretty, but don't see why it would draw a flock of tourists from anywhere". As it turns out, we were NOWHERE NEAR the cause of all the construction. After doing research to pinpoint the true location, I discovered that we were probably more than a mile away from the real focus of all this attention. That would have meant more than a mile through undeveloped jungle, and probably through the broken down infrastructure they were replacing. If memory serves, there was no obvious path or old road to follow, so it's probably a good thing that we didn't realize it at the time.
View below of the end of this cascade, with overall view at bottom:
A short hike around the bend and we ran into this, the second of the two new bridges built to prepare for the expected flow of tourists. Different angle below, with my nephew Terry standing at attention with the ever-necessary umbrella:
Poor Terry. Whether we were on one of these hikes, or at the zoo, or on a bus, he was pretty much a captive audience and couldn't get away, so I peppered him with a constant stream of stories, observations on life, and nuggets of wisdom as I saw fit to dispense...
This was the first sign that change is on the way...a brand new bridge. After walking for almost a half hour the jungle cleared to reveal the wide river valley where this came into view. Other than this and another bridge you'll see later, the whole area was a construction zone, with heavy equipment standing out incongruously against the virgin jungle mountainside.
Different perspective with closer view of marker below:
But wait! What's this? Yes, as the sign suggests, there WILL BE A REVIVAL of tourism in this area, as new roads and a safe passage is now being constructed so that citizens can safely make their way to the falls. Funding was approved several years ago, and another couple of years will probably be needed to finish everything, but the project is underway to (literally) pave the way forward. After seeing this we could hardly wait to check on progress...
As mentioned in this post from a few days ago, a thriving tourist trade, one that perpetuated a brisk flow of people through the little town year-round, fell by the wayside when they closed the falls to public viewing. Many businesses closed, which slowly resulted in the abandoned houses seen in subsequent posts. But evidence of those bygone days extend beyond the village, along the route to where the falls are located. The picture above features a railing no longer maintained, and below is an abandoned vendor stall where they sold who-knows-what, crumbling and overgrown:
And, very sadly, this is where the ancestors of our friend the monkey might have ended up as a spectacle for curious eyes on the way to the falls:
Afterword to yesterday's post: Our friend the monkey was absolutely right, in that once he climbed down into the foliage we had no chance of seeing him, though we strained our eyes for the slightest glimpse of fur or rustling of leaves. Because of that, on every subsequent hike at this spot Terry and I stopped, remaining totally quiet for several minutes, looking up into the trees while remaining absolutely still (if it weren't for the killer heat and mosquitoes we would have done so for much longer). One day we were rewarded with a deep-throated bark, perhaps signaling annoyance or a warning to others nearby. Those guys are everywhere, though not seen. Would love to set up a blind with a 500mm lens and just wait...
[continued from yesterday's post]
"Crap, they're not going away! Better get back home 'cause it looks like they're going to walk that way. Dang it...no fruit this morning!"
"Gotta hurry. These humans are unpredictable, no telling what they'll do..."
"Still there? OK, trying a different tack...must go to Plan B."
"...will go slow, and act very nonchalant. If the humans know they don't scare me they'll mosey on, and I can come back later for the fruit."
"Yes, getting closer to home and my monks." [as opposed to peeps, which he couldn't say because he's not a people - ed.]
"...almost there, and safe at last! Once I climb down these vines those dummies will never catch up. People! I'll be so glad when they become extinct!!"
