Once Upon a Night at Sea by Barbara Longley

Author:Barbara Longley [Longley, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Published: 2014-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

#

Marin took her place in the semicircle around their guide. Jason hooked his little finger with hers, and a ridiculously giddy thrill tingled all the way through her.

Conway, their tour guide, held up a small yellow fruit with a dark brown apostrophe jutting out from the top. “Who can tell me what this is?”

“A cashew,” someone in their group called out.

“That’s right, and did you know that if you bit into this nut as it is now, your lips would blister?” Conway pointed to the cashew-shaped nut on the top. “We burn off the outer shell, and even then we must wear gloves to handle the nut if we don’t want our hands blistered.” He went on to describe the complicated method used to harvest the cashews. “Harvesting cashews is labor intensive, and that’s why they’re so expensive. You may have noticed the table out front as you entered the sanctuary. A few of our locals are selling cashew wine here today.”

Marin shared a surprised glance with Jason. She’d never heard of cashew wine before. It might be something worth trying.

“It’s very sweet,” Conway continued, “and it continues to ferment after you drink it. That’s why if you get a little buzz from it today, you’ll get another one the day after. It’s a two-for-one kind of wine.”

Their guide led them down a path into the jungle. “The family of howler monkeys we’re going to see today are not in a zoo. There are no fences holding them in here. We’re in their natural habitat, a corridor that landowners in Belize volunteered to leave alone so the monkeys have a place to flourish.”

Conway motioned toward a loose mound of sandy soil teaming with tiny red ants. “Be careful not to step into one of those. They’re fire ants, and they sting.” He continued to point out items of interest along the way, including termite nests and fruit-bearing trees used for food and medicines by the locals.

Marin reveled in the jungle surroundings and held her camera at the ready, hanging on every word and taking it all in.

The group followed Conway along the jungle path, and when they came around a bend, he pointed out a troop of black howler monkeys in the treetops ahead. Conway walked to the base of one of the trees and clapped. The dominant male howler let loose with an ear-shattering barking howl.

“There’s a new baby just born a couple of days ago,” the guide said, pointing to the mother. “You might be able to see him, but he won’t leave his mother at this age. Howlers rarely touch the ground, but the younger ones will come closer to have a look at you.”

As if on cue, a small male climbed down to a low branch, as curious about them as they were about him. Marin raised her camera and crept closer to get a better shot. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her waist, and she found herself suspended in air. Jason’s grunt filled her ear as he swung her around and set her down again.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.