The Bog of Eternal Stench

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The gnome with the very big nose is leading the girl in this filthy, muddy bog. The thick murky brown waters fart to release a foul stench, which makes the journey to save the baby really difficult…

Do you follow me?

The Bog of Eternal Stench is not a product of my imagination; it exists in Labyrinth, the Jim Henson’s movie starring David Bowie in creepy pastel tights. Well, now you’ll wonder where I am going with this.

In the rainforest, the waters are crystal-clear and often travel in grand cascades down the cliffs of the mountains. The latter are like sparkling fields of emeralds, their faraway heads crowned by thin, milky clouds. There is definitely no farting bog and I haven’t caught a glimpse of the gnomes, even though I met a lot of their beautiful fellow magical creatures such as metallic blue butterflies and shiny purple and orange kingfishers. But after 4 days of living outside in Paradise, in the almighty rainy season, I felt a bit like someone must have felt trying to survive the Bog of Eternal Stench.

Every one of the few belongings I kept outside, the plants, the dog, my hair, my shoes, Marc’s hat and my entire being started to grow moldy. You see, it pours down every day, all day. Moreover, you surely smell the mold but it’s only when you leave the dense canopy that you actually see the nice velvety blue covering your cooler, shorts, socks and underwear. The rainforest is so thick that you spend much of your time in a light that mimics the shades of colors dusk paints on the sky. I could hardly believe it, but even my Patagonia state-of-the-art raincoat was moldy, and I had to soak it in vinegar.

Nevertheless, the RAINforest takes on a glowing, breathtaking magnificence under the thousands of shiny raindrops that nourish the soil a couple months of the year. Every leaf, from small like a birch’s up to the giant palm tree “fans”, sparkles like fireworks on a misty lake.

When you live and WWOOF at the Platypus Bush Camp, you come to envy your duck billed friends in the river for they have a very good protection against humidity… And it makes you appreciate the simplest of comfort: something called “indoors”. Since we began our Australian journey, Marc and I have lived in the car for about one month, and then in a small tent for 2 months. With this jungle adventure just ending, I realize once more how beautiful it is to CHOOSE willfully to reduce our level of comfort. It really does make you appreciate the smallest of details so much more. I become ecstatic at the smell of clean clothes, at the feeling of clean sheets on my skin, at the idea of a bed, and at the scent of a good tea. I cannot even describe how good I feel when I find a cozy couch to lay on…

I always believed happiness was weaved of the little things in life. Of course I would add on the grandeur of the loved ones, who would be the pearls embedded in the fabric, making it eternal, as pearls never vanish with time. Plus, they bring a range of changing colours to support our changing moods and hopes…
Thanks for being there!

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