Well it was the last night in the rainforest and we thought we were all alone. The previous night I awoke at about 4am and thought I saw a light in the forest (everything is black until about 5:30). I could hear twigs snapping and things moving but this is expected because the ground is patrolled by Tapir, Armadillo, Puma (although the Puma are not often seen) and a host of other small/medium sized mammals, so maybe I had just imagined the light. This morning at about 4:30am I awoke again, I could see a light, it was too big and white to be fire flies, somebody was out there! The source of the light was about 40 metres away, it occasionally was pointed upwards and lit the canopy, it lit the bushes, and sometimes disappeared. I remained silent and watched. I tried to think what did I have that could be used as a defence tool? bugger all was the answer, but then remembered the bottle of Trivu Malbec I had bought for Jade (my daughter). It was close at hand so I was comforted. Either intentionally or unintentionally, whoever was holding the light source circled the tent, it took them about 30 minutes. The light then moved away into the forest and was gone. Only 30 minutes to go until it gets light, and the bottle of Malbec was still intact.
At breakfast I told the guide of my experience, she told me that a security ranger makes his rounds and usually gets to this part of the forest at around 4am…..pheew!