Hike to Solette, then to Lumi. 12 July

We awoke the next morning around 8am, having been allowed to actually sleep in.   The villagers did not make much noise that morning (as they would customarily do), probably not a coincidence, and we were grateful.   We arose, had breakfast of sorts, and we tri-pla meri chatted for some hour and an half.   Finally, Jean said we really had to go, and it was back on the trail.

Jean made the executive decision that we were not going back the way we came, but rather, via the other, less difficult route which included Soulete village, and thus past the more problematic village of Yongite.   The trouble with Yongite, Jim had explained, is that when they had told Jim and Jean which parts of the forests and mountain they owned, they had sort of fudged the boundaries.   Now someone from TCA had come with a GPS unit to get the exact measurements of Yongite Village's property and they were furious, threatening to fight.   Evidently, they very nearly smashed the GPS unit in anger.    I think the issue is that they thought if the map boundaries showed that they did not, in fact, own a big swath of the forest where the rare Tenkile tree kangaroo lived, they might not then be eligible for conservation rewards such as water tanks, and chickens and rabbits for farming.   However, Jim said they got it all wrong, and that their assumptions were incorrect.   Jean thought the whole situation was a tempest in a teapot (or perhaps a molehill out of a mountain) and it was decided that we would return to Lumi via a path that ran right near Yongite village.    She hired "bodyguards" (men who were their friends, with machetes) to accompany us, should there be any problem.

Rachel poses with a beautiful (but dead) bird of paradise
in Soulete village.

But first we hiked about 3 hours to friendly Soulete, and there we were feted yet again by the locals, who tried to outdo Miwettem's outstanding sing-sing performance of the previous night.  Somehow, the message got through a a few hours before that we were coming, and in just a very short time they gathered up their sing-sing song-and-dance party gear and got ready for us.  Another fantastic event was presented for us here.   Rachel and I will treasure this sing-sing always!  In Solette, there was one man who I just loved... he had a lesser bird of paradise on his head, and he had these weird shell circles around his eyes that looked rather like makeshift Steampunk glasses.   What a trip!

Man with a lesser bird of Paradise on his head
performs a dance in Soulete

Hilda, one of Jean and Jim's remarkable liaisons in Soulete, helped to sing another song to us, about TCA (Tenkile Conservation Alliance) and saving the tree kangaroos.  We felt so happy and honored, and pleased to be part of the celebration.  Hilda helped to prepare a nice lunch for us in Soulete.   It started to rain a bit while we ate, and everyone crowded underneath a tarp, but it was all good.

The words to the song the villagers sing to us:

Welcome, welcome to you tourists!

Ohhhhhhhhh, Tree Kangaroos

Ohhhhhhhhh, Tree Kangaroos

Tree Kangaroos open the doors from TCA

Tree Kangaroos open the  doors from TCA

TCA can bring tourists to our village

TCA can bring tourists to our village.

Hilda and friends sing a song about TCA (Tenkile Conservation Alliance.)

After thanks and goodbyes (and some giant bear hugs from some older ladies, which took me and Rachel by surprise; Jean remarked that this was all the love and attention these older women got), we headed down the hill.   Presently, we passed by Yongite Village.   All was quiet, not a soul in sight.  It was so quiet there, it was actually creepy.   But we were in luck. Not a bit of trouble.   A couple of kilometers past Yongite, Jean thanked the squadron of bodyguards who had accompanied us thus far, and waved them goodbye.

We tried to make it down the trail as quickly as we could, beating the sunset by about half an hour.   One of the Thomas's assistants, Francis, handed me a welcome Otter Pop (actually frozen!) on our return to the compound.   Hot, sweaty and tired, that frozen pop sure was delicious!   Jim and Jean have a solar refrigerator, but Jean said the freezer part of it is dicey, so I'm not sure how they got hold of a frozen Otter Pop, but color me happy!