Sep from the Kuni tribe was driving the boat I was in. Normally the trip from Boboa to the GFRS takes about 1.5 hours, but since it has been raining a lot at the Lake recently the water is quite high. This allowed us to take a short cut through a flooded forest. We made the trip in 40 minutes.

The evening was getting darker and darker by the minute, as Sep steered the boat in to the forest and navigated between the trees and the bushes. We made left and right turns and had to put our heads down, so we wouldn't get hit by the branches. Finally, we reached the open waters again. In my opinion it was getting too dark to find our way anywhere, since the coves all looked the same to me. After a few more minutes we could see the lights of our camp. We received a warm welcome from a big group of Kuni tribe members and Greenpeace volunteers.

Soon after arrival we were asked to find our torches and follow John. We went looking for our sleeping places in the camp. We climbed the ladders up to a house that has been built on top of tree trunks, something I have only seen on television before. I found myself a place to sleep and a mosquito net. Currently there are about fifteen people sleeping two metres above the ground. Underneath there is a kitchen, storage area and meeting space. The roof of the building is made of Sago leaves and seems to be holding water really well. Since there are no walls in the building we sometimes get a refreshing breeze through the building. A couple of metres away there’s an office building; it’s built in a similar way. I tried to stay up and chat with people but was too exhausted after early wakeup calls and a long trip. I fell asleep listening to the birds singing.

Next morning I woke up to the sounds coming from the kitchen. Kyoko and Susan were preparing breakfast. Pancakes and fried bananas tasted really good. After breakfast most of the people from camp left for a village meeting in Boboa. Myself and the other volunteers who arrived the night before stayed in the camp.

John explained the camp area to us. We have an outdoor toilet a little bit similar to the ones you can find in the Finnish countryside. Basically, it is just a hole in the ground about 50 metres away from the camp. Of course there are walls to ensure some privacy. The rainwater is collected for drinking and lake water used for doing dishes. A small path made of trees and bamboo leads to the lake where we can wash up. We also went through basics of using GPS and the satellite phone in emergency situations.

Most interesting part was going through how to treat a snake-bite. Although I have had first aid training before, this was a completely new skill for me. Most likely, this skill won’t be needed but it’s better to be safe than sorry!

It's now about 8.30 pm, it is dark; the birds started their concert some time ago. We just ate dinner which was deer caught today by the hunters. Hopefully I will get to join them one day on their hunting trip. I have a lot to learn from the local people here. This is going to be an interesting three weeks for me.