island shoreline. The reeds were dense, and the marsh now extended
inland for a hundred yards.
‘This must be the river outlet,’ Kevin said. ‘I hope there is a channel
or we’re out of luck. There’s no way we could get the canoe through
those reeds.’
Ten minutes later, without having found a break in the reeds, Kevin
turned the boat around. He was careful not to foul the towline for the
small canoe.
‘I don’t want to go any further in this direction,’ Kevin said. ‘The
width of the marsh is decreasing. I don’t think we’re going to find a
channel. Besides, I’m afraid of getting too close to the staging area
where the bridge is.’
‘I agree,’ Melanie said. ‘What about going to the other end of the
island where Rio Diviso has its inlet?’
‘That was exactly my thought,’ Kevin said.
Melanie raised her hand.
‘What are you doing?’ Kevin asked.
‘It’s called a high five, you jerk,’ Melanie teased.
Kevin slapped her hand with his and laughed.
They motored back the way they’d come and rounded the island to head
east along its length. Kevin opened up the throttle to about half speed.
The route gave them a good view of the southern aspect of the island’s
mountainous backbone. From that angle, no limestone was visible. The
island appeared to be an uninterrupted mountain of virgin jungle.
‘All I see are birds,’ Melanie yelled over the sound of the engine.
Kevin nodded. He’d seen lots of ibises and shrikes.
The sun had now risen enough so that the thatched shelter was useful.
They all crowded into the stern to take advantage of the shade. Candace
put on some sunblock that Kevin had found in his medicine cabinet.
‘Do you think the bonobos on the island are going to be as skittish as
bonobos normally are?’ Melanie yelled.
Kevin shrugged. ‘I wish I knew,’ he yelled back. ‘If they are, it might
be difficult for us to see any of them, and all this effort will have
been in vain.
‘They did have diminishing contact with humans until they were there in
the bonobo enclosure at the animal center,’ Melanie yelled. ‘I think we
have a good chance as long as we don’t try to get too close.’
‘Are bonobos timid in the wild?’ Candace asked Melanie.
‘Very much so,’ Melanie said. ‘As much or more than chimpanzees. Chimps
unexposed to humans are almost impossible to see in the wild. They’re
inordinately timid, and their sense of hearing and smell is so much more
acute than ours that people cannot get near them.’
‘Are there still truly wild areas left in Africa?’ Candace asked.
‘Oh, my Lord, yes!’ Melanie said. ‘Essentially, from this coastal part
of Equatorial Guinea and extending west northwest there are huge tracts
that are still essentially unexplored virginal rain forest. We’re
talking about as much as a million square miles.’
‘How long is that going to last?’ Candace questioned.
‘That’s another story,’ Melanie said.
‘How about handing me a cold drink,’ Kevin yelled.
‘Coming up,’ Candace said. She moved over to the Styrofoam chest and
lifted the lid.
Twenty minutes later, Kevin again throttled back on the motor and turned
north around the eastern end of Isla Francesca. The sun was higher in
the sky and it was significantly hotter. Candace pushed the Styrofoam
chest over to the port side of the pirogue to keep it in the shade.
‘There’s another marsh coming up,’ Candace said.
‘I see it,’ Kevin said.
Kevin again guided the boat in close to the shore. In terms of size, the
marsh appeared to be similar to the one on the western end of the
island. Once again, the jungle dropped back to approximately a hundred
yards from the edge of the water.
Just when Kevin was about to announce that they had again been foiled,
an opening appeared in the otherwise unremitting wall of reeds.
Kevin turned the canoe toward the opening and throttled back even more.
The boat slowed. About thirty feet away, Kevin put the motor into
neutral and then turned it off.
As the sound of the engine died off, they were thrust into a heavy