A Walk in the Jungle

Wednesday November 20, 2019

“She says the jungle…it just came alive and took him”

- Quote from the film Predator

In the late 1980’s Arnold Schwarzenegger was becoming a major action figure in movies and a box office juggernaut. His career would peak in the 1990’s with films like Terminator 2 , Total Recall, and Kindergarten Cop. His films were never complicated, just reliable entertainment.

In 1987 he was here in Mexico filming Predator. Interestingly, he would also marry Maria Shiver here during a break in filming the movie. I began to notice when we arrived at the souvenir stands something odd. In amongst the pictures of the artist Frida and the numerous skulls celebrating ‘The Day of the Dead’ were figurines of the monster from the movie. I wasn’t sure why because there were not many other pop culture toys for sale.

Now, here at the edge of the jungle it makes sense. The movie was filmed just south of here. It is easy to see why after spending some time here. As mentioned previously, this jungle is a perfect backdrop for a classic monster movie.

Today, we traveled up river a few miles. There is a notable botanical garden here to visit and you need to ride the local bus to reach it. Riding local buses are always a bit of an adventure. Some are not clearly marked where they are going so you have to use your primitive Spanish to try to deduce if you are on the right one. Once on board, it is not a tourist bus and it is full of locals who all know the route and where they are going. The driver does not alert you that this is your stop nor is there signage. His stops are very brief, so if you are not moving towards the front, he will move on. So, after your third time of asking him ‘Jardin’? he understandably tells you impatiently ‘Si’ and gestures for you to get off the bus.

The garden sits on a hill top and covers about 60 acres. The trails are well marked and you can hike down to the river that feeds the one where we are by the sea. The water runs swift and clear and feels amazing to wade into the middle of when you want to cool off.

It is easy to get to an area by yourself here and feel like you are in the middle of the jungle. The heat of the forest leaves a sheen of sweat on you and you can let your imagination go wild as you peer into the emerald interior. Over 1200 species of flowering orchids are found here and well as a Vanilla plantation which is rare to see outside of Madagascar. I did not know that Vanilla plants are also a type of orchid.

The ficus were huge as well as the coconut, and banana trees. The insects were ever present but not too bad, especially if you could find a breeze. But such breezes are rare on the jungle floor. It is dense and quiet save for the endless bird calls.

Jaguars actually live here. And maybe murderous space aliens as well? We did not see any.

I guess that is the idea.