I was speechless until the anger hit. ‘Why don’t they do anything to stop this?’ I cursed it all – ‘isn’t there any fucking land management plan around here?’

‘There is,’ said my personal guide, who seemed to have an answer to every question. ‘But there isn’t any regulatory oversight, and there’s a mafia in the government agencies that controls the construction licenses, so who cares if they get approved in rural areas where agricultural projects are supposed to take priority.’ Rudy guffawed sarcastically. ‘And who cares if the sitting secretary changes. That is, boutique hotels can avoid calling themselves “boutique hotels” when they submit their application and be described as “touristic development projects” instead, since they’re allowed… and so on.’

Rudy sat and I followed suit. We shook our heads helplessly. I cursed again. The whole thing was an insult to the intelligence of any resident. Seriously? Was no one hurting over this? No, why would it hurt a hotel owner to see a tree come down – and it’s not even like there aren’t any islanders among them.

I took the monitor from the backpack I’d set down beside me. Rudy watched curiously, and I explained how it worked as I waved my hand over the sensor. Normal, 100, downward arrow, descending. I put away the device and dug out the other sugar mango. ‘It’s so much information that sometimes I feel as if my head’s going to burst like popcorn,’ I told him. ‘That’s how we all feel,’ Rudy replied. He stood up and brushed the dirt off his trousers, then stretched. ‘Returning to the Caribbean is a sure-fire spiritual crisis.’

Making a face in an attempt to extract the mango strands from my teeth, I followed Rudy’s gaze into the withered forest, hoping to see what he was seeing.

‘You’ve devoted your life to studying this, Rudy.’ I spat the skin onto the ground, copying him. ‘I’m only just starting to really think about the fact that I come from this place I used to take for granted. It’s ridiculous.’

Some fifteen minutes later, the guide called out to us: it was time to head back down. We’d be using ropes again for the final stretch. I’d better eat something more substantial soon, I told Rudy, but it was still worth being patient and training my blood a little at a time.