Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“Good Lord, just look at that view! I can just make out Déjà vu down there, and that must
be the little town over there,” I said, pointing to the west. The sun had risen quite a lot
and threw the island into a blue, yellow, and green wonder-light. It was absolutely the most
magnificent sight I had ever witnessed.
“Damn! I'm so glad we didn't turn back,” admitted Herman.
“I agree, and you've learned something about yourself and your physical capabilities.”
We turned our attention to the lighthouse and were awed by its ungainly stance on the rocky
mountain top. The four great iron legs spread out beneath it like a squatting, grey beast,
crouching permanently with its feet cast deep within the rocks and concrete. Rusty rivets
adorned its entire surface and gave it a rough, knobbly texture. The legs supported the base
of the lighthouse, and the great glass lens was encased in a metal cage, completing the
awesome structure. Metal steps wound up to a trap door entrance underneath the structure
which was securely locked.
“I wonder how the hell they got it up here?” asked Herman.
“Piece by piece, I wouldn't be surprised. I'm sure they used a chopper. Probably the
Brazilian Air Force helped out here, or it may have been an American construction com-
pany,” I replied, removing my camera from my backpack. I stood up and took several shots
of the view all around us, of the lighthouse, and of the flushed and smiling boy. Herman
also took shots of me and some of the mountains. We both munched our rations from our
packs in silence, staring out into the awesome void.
We decided to head back soon, as people would be up and about now, and we could not
afford to be caught. “What could they do to us if we did get caught?” wondered Herman.
“I imagine they could fine us, even arrest us, and definitely ask us to leave. We must just
not get caught, that's for sure,” I said.
On our descent, I decided to tie my rope in a big loop over the first rung as a safety measure.
Once we reached the end of its scope, I would pull the loose tail through and again attach it
to the closest rung in similar fashion. This way, we both felt a lot safer, and our return went
a lot faster. When we reached the final worn rung, I took out Herman's rope from his pack
and tied them together in a bowline and in like fashion, slipped it over the rung in a con-
tinuous loop, and thus we began our rocky descent. We were both exhausted and flushed
with success as we reached the base. Herman had been silent, and there was no hint of him
wanting to stop this time.
There was no sign of Paula. I looked about to see if we had been observed and, satisfied
that we had not, pulled the loose rope through the last rung so far up above and quickly
