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Day 27: And I'm so glad to see it! What a night!

At around five in the morning, I was woken by some rustling and gnawing sounds below my body, to my right. Crap! I'd left my bag and all my kit on the floor - the first time I'd done such a thing! Being the jungle, it was pitch black all around, and panic crept over me. This was deep panic, that froze my whole body, unable to move even an inch. I lay there in my hammock, head torch in hand, not daring to turn it on, with the sounds of scuttling continuing below me. Literally just below me in my hammock! I was only feet away, dangling like a giant wrapped-up piece of meat. I knew it must be some sort of animal, perhaps originating from the sheet metal. I should have therefore known that it would be small, but oh no! The only thoughts going through my mind were along the lines of bear or puma. I lay hammock-bound with absolute fear for about an hour, wanting to cry for help, or turn on my torch, but not having the guts to do so. After the most terrifying hour of my life, the noises stopped, and I managed to close my eyes again...

By morning I learned that the mysterious creatures, most likely to be rats, other rodents or civet cats, had paid visits to Calvey, Emma and a few others. I wasn't alone in my terrified state! I kicked the sheet metal a few times, hoping to annoy the creatures, probably under there, probably sleeping. I frantically tried to disinfect my kit in the river, using handwash soap. It didn't feel or look clean no matter how much scrubbing and rinsing I did! The animals had also gnawed my bag strap, played with my bowl and crawled over my socks. I was far from pleased. After washing it, I left my bowl to the guides, as I was never going to eat from it again! Other members of our team did the same, making us feel guilty for giving them our reject items, although they did ask for them. The guides now had quite a loot, and decided to store it at the campsite for when they were next passing. They slid it under the sheet metal...

Back over familiar-looking ground, we were on the final walk back to Bario, scheduled at only about an hour and a half! Entering Bario, Calvey and I took one of the guides, Gabriel, by surprise and hoisted him over the finishing line in our arms. We didn't go and stay in Nancy's house again, but instead walked a fair distance to an even nicer homestay. It had free hot drinks, a TV and loads of sofas. It was bigger and more spacious than Nancy's house too, with dormitory style rooms. It was also clean! What a nice end to all the walking! Even a cold shower couldn't dampen my spirits! At this new hostel, there was a girl from another expedition team with really bad food poisoning. She looked terrible, and was going to have to trek tomorrow. We doubted she'd make it.

That afternoon, we did return to Nancy's for lunch. The rest of the afternoon was taken up by some much-deserved relaxation, ready for the Bario town BBQ in the evening. The BBQ was a gathering for all World Challenge and Trekforce teams in the area, which were more numerous than we thought! In a vast cavern of a village hall, locals brought in plate after plate of food, passed around donuts and welcomed all the groups. The hall echoed with the talking and laughter of more than a hundred people, both the locals and our hiking groups. Various people took to the stage, singing, playing instruments, dancing or all three. A random conga-line appeared from nowhere, but despite all the festivities, most of the hiking groups stuck to their own, with minimal interaction between us. The clmiax of the evening was a local man dressed in animal skins, armed with a blowpipe. Every dart he fired was pinpoint accurate, causing us to gasp as balloon after balloon was popped.

Unrehearsed for several days, we were asked to re-do our rendition of Brown-Eyed girl in front of everyone. The event being so unplanned, we cacked it up, resulting with us being presented with some, as Soosan put it, "sympathy chicken!" Another classic line came when we were watching a Scottish team perform a Scottish song. Once finished, Samira asked, "Are they Scottish then?!"

The night took a nasty turn upon hearing that the hall's toilets had been smashed, and almost certainly by a drunken member of one of the hiking groups. Everyone was disappointed and angry that it had happened, not least the villagers. We never did find out who the culprit was, though I'm sure the truth would have been outed that evening. Once the night was over, we walked back to the homestay, singing.

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