“It’s called a high five, you jerk,” Melanie teased.

Kevin slapped her hand with his and laughed.

They motored back the way they’d come and rounded the island to head east along its length. Kevin opened up the throttle to about half speed. The route gave them a good view of the southern aspect of the island’s mountainous backbone. From that angle, no limestone was visible. The island appeared to be an uninterrupted mountain of virgin jungle.

“All I see are birds,” Melanie yelled over the sound of the engine.

Kevin nodded. He’d seen lots of ibises and shrikes.

The sun had now risen enough so that the thatched shelter was useful. They all crowded into the stern to take advantage of the shade. Candace put on some sunblock that Kevin had found in his medicine cabinet.

“Do you think the bonobos on the island are going to be as skittish as bonobos normally are?” Melanie yelled.

Kevin shrugged. “I wish I knew,” he yelled back. “If they are, it might be difficult for us to see any of them, and all this effort will have been in vain.”

“They did have diminishing contact with humans until they were there in the bonobo enclosure at the animal center,” Melanie yelled. “I think we have a good chance as long as we don’t try to get too close.”

“Are bonobos timid in the wild?” Candace asked Melanie.

“Very much so,” Melanie said. “As much or more than chimpanzees. Chimps unexposed to humans are almost impossible to see in the wild. They’re inordinately timid, and their sense of hearing and smell is so much more acute than ours that people cannot get near them.”

“Are there still truly wild areas left in Africa?” Candace asked.

“Oh, my Lord, yes!” Melanie said. “Essentially, from this coastal part of Equatorial Guinea and extending west northwest there are huge tracts that are still essentially unexplored virginal rain forest. We’re talking about as much as a million square miles.”

“How long is that going to last?” Candace questioned.

“That’s another story,” Melanie said.

“How about handing me a cold drink,” Kevin yelled.

“Coming up,” Candace said. She moved over to the Styrofoam chest and lifted the lid.

Twenty minutes later, Kevin again throttled back on the motor and turned north around the eastern end of Isla Francesca. The sun was higher in the sky and it was significantly hotter. Candace pushed the Styrofoam chest over to the port side of the pirogue to keep it in the shade.

“There’s another marsh coming up,” Candace said.

“I see it,” Kevin said.

Kevin again guided the boat in close to the shore. In terms of size, the marsh appeared to be similar to the one on the western end of the island. Once again, the jungle dropped back to approximately a hundred yards from the edge of the water.

Just when Kevin was about to announce that they had again been foiled, an opening appeared in the otherwise unremitting wall of reeds.