Another Colombian animal update

By Oren:

One of my favourite things about Colombia is the wildlife and some of my most amazing nature memories were made in a town called Minca. Last weekend we went back to Minca so we could see our good friend Niall and meet his girlfriend, RyAnn, and also to see the wildlife. Because last time was so awesome I thought that we might not manage to see as much new nature, but I shouldn’t have worried.

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Brown basilisk just after it ran on water!

While we were in Minca we saw a lizard when we were out swimming one day, basking on a rock by the edge of the water. We must have startled it because suddenly it shot away from us into the water right next to a waterfall and Brae and I thought it was going to drown! But amazingly it didn’t because it actually ran along the surface of the water like lightning and scampered out the other side!!!!! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it. When we got home we searched online and found out that it was a brown basilisk, which is sometimes known as a Jesus Lizard. I have read about these lizards but I never thought I’d actually see one doing it. It was insane.

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Chicharra

The other new wildlife experience that I will never forget (but not in a good way!) was the sound of a very annoying bug in the jungle in Minca. On Saturday, we tried to go out for a peaceful evening walk to see the sunset but it turned out to be torture! It was all thanks to a bug that a Kogui tribesman told us was called a ‘chicharra’. We were walking down a path and we were deafened by a horrible buzzy drone, which seemed to be coming from the trees around us. It was so loud that it seemed like someone was drilling the road and we had to cover our ears! These nasty cicadas were all over the mountainside and the noise got carried on the wind so you could hear it wherever you went. If you don’t believe how loud it was play this video on full volume and it still won’t be as loud as it was in real life.

minca2-17 When we got home to our apartment the next day, a chicharra flew right into our lounge through the door to our balcony. It flew around the room bashing into the walls and making a big racket. This one was green and you can see how big it is by comparing it to my dad’s phone.

In my previous post about animals, I mentioned that the last time we went to Minca we saw a massive Iguana. We were hoping to see it again but this time we saw a different one! We were making a video to send to Emerald class and as we were filming Brae spotted a baby Iguana. We had to stop the video so we could get a good look and some proper photos of it (sorry Emerald class!). It was a baby one and it was bright green and we had never seen a baby before.minca2-2minca2-4

 

Everything is so awesome in Colombia and I am so lucky to have seen so many incredible things, but I still have one dream – to see a monkey in the wild. Next weekend I really hope to see one when we go to the national park “Parque Tyrona”, so wish me luck!

You can find the previous Colombian animals post here.

And in case you don’t already know, we’re now trying to do something amazing and really help children in Colombia. Check out our fundraising page: EverettsInColombiaFundraising

4 thoughts on “Another Colombian animal update”

  1. Those cicadas are really noisy! They are called “cigarras” in Brazil. I’m not sure if it’s the sound recording, but they seem to have a higher pitch in Colombia.

    How is the visitor map coming on? I asked a friend in Chile to look at your blog, so that should help a bit!

    1. Yes the noise was unbelievable, it took us a long time to work out it was a natural noise.
      Thanks very much for passing on the blog’s web address, Chile has showed up on our map! We are doing well in South America and western Europe – just Asia to conquer!

  2. Hi Oren and Brae,

    The funny food sounded funny but I would like to try it. I liked the blog about meeting the man opening the coconut.

    I have been doing good learning at school. My school is called Bonneville primary.

    I am really looking forward to seeing you when you get back. I hope you like the rest of your holiday.

    I like all your blog and I will see you when you get back from Colombia.

    Lots of love, Thomas Clark and Harry Clark and Sam Clark and Cat Clark.

    The end.

    1. Hi Thomas, thanks for the comment. It’s good to hear from you. I think you would like most of the funny food here because you’re a really good eater. Looking forward to seeing you lots. Lots of love from Oren and Brae xx

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